The non-profit organization “Keep Golf In Boca” held a successful meeting this week with a standing room crowd of over 100 supporters for the meeting. Presentations were made to inform the residents on the selling process of the current municipal golf course west of the turnpike. This process includes an offer by Lennar that provides the city the opportunity to Bring Public Golf Back to Our City as the now closed Ocean Breeze golf course is included in the offer.
Residents were informed that the current beach & park district commissioners are 100% behind the acquisition and improvement of the Ocean Breeze golf course property, BUT there is not a majority of the city council that has announced support of the acquisition of this property. Accordingly, resident/voters who want Public golf in the city were encouraged to attend upcoming city council meetings and speak at these meetings in support of bringing Public Golf Back to Our City.
Residents who are unable to attend and speak at the meetings were encouraged to email and call the city council members while being professional and persistent in their communication to the city. It is important to note that a Public golf course would be a benefit to ALL residents of the city who currently have to travel to Delray, Deerfield or west of the turnpike for public golf access.
Children in our community are unable to learn to play golf at a public golf course while many other children’s sports programs are fully supported by facilities provided by the city or the beach & park district. Visitors to our city have no place to play championship level golf in the city. The annual Allianz PGA golf event is supported by the city council which has brought millions of dollars of economic benefit to our city and is broadcast to millions of households around the country every February. Yet there are no championship level Public golf courses in our city.
This is a very unique opportunity that has not been available in over 40 years and this should be a win-win for the city, the residents and the visitors to our city. The city should acquire the former Ocean Breeze golf property and utilize it as a major recreational facility for supporting the golfing vision that Boca Raton is known for. The city council has recently supported the “golfing vision” for our city by allocating $10,000 for a putting green in Mizner Park.
The majority of the residents at the meeting were golfers and they are certainly looking forward to the opportunity to play golf at a championship level course within our city. The city council has currently determined their plans to make a decision on the sell of the west glades road municipal golf course at their Nov. 22nd meeting. All residents, golfers and parents of golfers in our city are encouraged to attend this meeting and speak in support of the importance of bringing championship level Public golf within the city of Boca Raton.
FORE!
This is not a win win situation for anyone except the residents of Boca Teeca. Why not just come clean about that and stop talking as though it is a great thing for golfers…it isn’t. It’s pathetic and the course is pathetic and always will be. There are plenty of courses around for kids to learn to play on including Boca Muni which also serves as a better course for adult players…..Boca Teeca residents ought to at least be honest about their intentions.
As a regular player at Boca’s Municipal course and an occasional player at Ocean Breeze (formerly Boca Teeca) I was surprised at the push for a “City Course”. Boca Muni is a far superior course and a pleasure to play. It has been the “city course” for over 30 years and is loved by most players. I have never heard of any Muni players praising Ocean Breeze. Most who have played it were disappointed.
When analyzing the benefits of selling the Muni for housing to save greenspace downtown, I trust the city will weigh the cost of remediation of the contaminated soil, the reconstruction of the course, the loss of tax revenue from the development of Ocean Breeze’s homes, and the loss of golfers to Osprey in West Boca.
John A. Wood
I am upset that the only solution offered is to sell one excellent 18 hole course that also offers a great mini 9 hole course for juniors to keep another 27 hole course that needs work. Why can’t both courses be supported? I am not a resident of either course but I do own homes both inside and outside of the Turnpike. If the Boca Municipal is making money, why sacrifice it for a course that has continually lost money? That does not make sense.
Thanks to my Boca Raton neighbors for organizing residential efforts to bring a championship level golf course into the city that will be available for public access. This is a unique opportunity that will be a truly Win-Win situation for city residents, that is the city will get over $50 million for their capital projects while residents get a 200+ acre recreational facility within the city. When my family visits from all over the country they usually play golf so it will be so convenient for them to play locally instead of driving west of the turnpike (Glades Rd. traffic–UGH!).
From the point of view of the prospective builders, the location of the Muni course off Glades Road is much more desirable than Ocean Beeeze. That is why bids up to $50 million are expected. Although the Lennar bid will not be the highest, it’s offer to sell the rights to own the Ocean Breeze land for just $10m to the City if the City selects Lennar’s bid to develop the muni course is a financial win for Boca Raton and a huge win for golfers or lovers of green space in the entire Boca/Delray area. I respectfully dissgree that a newly revamped 27 hole OB course benefits Boca Teeca residents only. Before it closed, and while it was in poor shape golfers from Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale came to T up. Can you imagine what a championship level 27 hole course will draw? Lennar’s bid will be large enough to totally renovate the OB course and the result will be a beautiful and challenging round for all levels of players.