The goal of the renovated Seagate Golf Club is easily expressed by General Manager Michael Rosa.
“We want to be a top 75 course in Florida within the next two years,’’ Rosa said as he sat in a meeting room inside The Seagate Golf Club clubhouse in Delray Beach, FL.
A lofty goal, to be sure, but understand that Rose knows a thing or 12 about operating high-end golf clubs, having served as GM at fabled Lake Nona Golf & Country Club near Orlando, and La Gorce CC in Miami Beach.
Drew Rogers’ renovation of Seagate Golf Club certainly has all the ingredients to land it among the top 75 courses in golf-mad Florida. Using Joe Lee’s original plans he found scribbled on a notepad, Rogers kept the 1973 routing, but basically blew up each bunker on the course in order to create new fairway bunkers and greenside bunkers.
Rogers also lowered many of the tee boxes; created “low mow’’ areas (think courses in the Australian Sandbelt) that allows players to putt the ball from off a green; added undulation to several greens (the fifth green drops as much as nine feet); put in a new pump station; and used caprock to fortify and highlight the greens complexes that are surrounded by water.
The results are an extremely playable course that doesn’t beat up members and guests, and is challenging enough to make low-handicap players think on each shot.
“Drew was adamant that he really wanted to keep the (original) routing intact,’’ Rosa said “Nobody has had a more profound impact on Florida golf courses than Joe Lee.
“When it comes to the bunkers, there now are some incredibly interesting bunkers out there.’’
That’s evident right out of the gate, as a large bunker dominates the right side of the par-four, 441-yard, first hole.
“We actually decreased the number of bunkers,’’ Rosa said. “When the members found out, they thought the course would be too easy. That lasted about one day. For example, the he acreage of the bunkers on the back nine is about 30 to 40 percent more than before.’’
Some tee shots, particularly from the back sets of tees, require players to thread shots in between bunkers on one side of a fairway and water on the other side.
“The course is really meant to challenge lower-handicap players,’’ Rosa said. “Intermediate players can set up in front of the bunkers or try to carry the bunkers.’’
The course officially plays 6,747 yards (par 72) with six sets of individual tees and five sets of hybrid tees. It can be stretched to as long as 7,200 yards.
“Bimini,’’ a fine-textured Bermuda grass known for its dark green color, is featured throughout the course, with Tif-Eagle grass on the greens.
“The shade tolerance of the Bimini is unreal,’’ said Club Director of Agronomy Alan Fike. “It sort of resembles Bentgrass. We’ve had a lot of other course superintendents from the area here and they’ve been impressed the grass.’’
Located inside a private gated community of 330 homes, The Seagate Golf Club, which includes a renovated 41,064 square-foot clubhouse, is the centerpiece of The Seagate Hotel destination – three miles to the east on trendy Atlantic Ave. The 154-room hotel and nearby Beach Club each will undergo renovations later this year. The hotel’s Atlantic Grille also will be rebranded and re-imagined into what promises to be an eatery that will send Delray Beach into a tizzy.
But the fact that The Seagate Golf Club was ownership’s first priority in the renovation process, speaks volumes about the Club’s importance to the overall Seagate brand.
“The Golf Club,’’ Rosa said, “paves the way’’ for the future renovations.
“It was the most in need. So, Alan got to start fresh. We want to give him the tools to make this place shine.’’
Feature Photo Courtesy of The Seagate Golf Club