Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/251767
At one point, an old city dump stood in the northeast corner of what is now the course. And the natural drainage was rearranged when the state and county widened Fruitville Road, which runs along the course's southern boundary. So all is not as it was in 1925. The club is composed of three courses and a small training/warm-up area. It offers the American, the British and the Executive courses. The British Course co-opted some of the original Ross design, and then the cur- rent clubhouse was built atop the old first tee of the Ross course. The Executive Course is a shorter affair in terms of playing time and distance — not quite a par three design but close. Doug Jeffcoat, the city's public works direc- tor, opened and closed the meeting on Jan. 28. At one point, he asked for a show of hands. "How many like the American Course?" A few hands were raised. "The British Course?" Most hands went up. The Gillespie [execu- tive] Course?" Very few hands went into the air. Pierson has four separate initiatives for the course that he thinks will revitalize flagging interest in the facility. He names them after a few of the great golfers of the past and pres- ent. The Bobby Jones initiative would be a branding exercise, plus an exploration of ideas for a new clubhouse. The Donald Ross initiative would attempt to restore the ini- tial design: "Let's put the Ross course back together again," Pierson said. The Paul Azinger initiative is named after the city's most famous local golfer, a Sarasota Members of the nonprofit Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club hope to see improvements made at the city- owned course. Image from friendsofbobbyjonesgolfclub.org. Sarasota News Leader January 31, 2014 Page 53