PALM COAST, Fla. -- The latest golf course in this growing area, The Conservatory at Hammock Beach, has broken ground as a Tom Watson design. The course, Watson's third for the Ginn Company, developer of The Conservatory at Hammock Beach, is scheduled to open in March 2006 as the centerpiece of the 340-home resort community near St. Augustine.
Ginn's portfolio includes Hammock Beach & Yacht Harbor Village, Reunion Resort & Club of Orlando, and Belvidere Club & Resort, which encompasses RiverTowne Country Club, The Cottages on Charleston Harbor and Patriot's Point Links golf course in Charleston, S.C.
Watson's other courses for the Celebration, Fla.-based Ginn Co. are the Independence at Reunion Resort and the Tesoro Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The Conservatory at Hammock Beach will be a 7,200-yard, par-72 layout that will feature a 170-yard, par-3 island green complete with a waterfall.
"Bobby [Ginn] has really taken this course under his wing and is committed to it being the finest course he can possibly build anywhere," Bob Van Bergen, general manager of The Club at Ocean Hammock, told PGA.com. "He wants it to be among the very best courses in the nation, and in Florida, for sure. The landscape budget on this is going to be huge -- probably the largest landscape budget in the state of Florida."
Over the past couple of years, The Club at Hammock Beach has helped raise the visibility of this area as a resort and second-home destination that was originally envisioned by ITT -- Palm Coast's original developer -- more than 20 years ago. The club's 11-story tower of suites soars above the Atlantic Ocean and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Ocean Hammock Golf Course, one of the last courses that likely will ever be built on the ocean here in the Sunshine State.
"Ocean Hammock is a definite plus to have next door to us," Van Bergen said. "We try to keep that relationship transparent so it's a good experience for both sides. They support us its good experience for our guests."
Besides Ocean Hammock, the centerpiece of The Club at Hammock Beach is a 91,000-square-foot, $6.5-million water pavilion that features a lagoon, two waterfalls, lazy river, water slide, two pools and a bar and grill -- all overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Ginn Clubs & Resorts said it has sold 340 custom home sites for more than $144 million at The Conservatory at Hammock Beach. All told, the company said that since 2002 it has sold nearly $400 million in real estate at five of the private club's communities, including The Club at Hammock Beach, Yacht Harbor Village, Admiral's Cove, Ocean Towers and The Conservatory at Hammock Beach.
"The word is definitely out about who we are and where we are," Van Bergen said. "Our occupancy for the Super Bowl [The Club at Hammock Beach is an hour south of Jacksonville], Bike Week [in Daytona Beach, 45 minutes south] and the Daytona 500 was very strong. We've done a tremendous amount of group business, too, so we're getting guests from leisure, group and special events."
Copyright 2005 PGA.com. All rights reserved.
