Ohio Golf Journal December 2020

Ridge. It was something special to both father and son. “We traveled every winter and stayed at a little hotel behind the course. I’ve been part of that facility all my life, so getting to embellish and restructure that course has been a lifetime dream, because it was the fabric of both my family life and my design life. Coral Ridge was dad’s baby. When I was first there, I was 11 or 12, so I was just past a baby then.’’ In his childhood days, Coral Ridge was a swinging place. The legendary New York Yankees’ pitcher, Whitey Ford, was a member, as was Joe Namath. Pro golfers Julius Boros and Lew Worsham were also regulars. Boros lived on the 11th hole and gave Rees golf lessons. “Historically athletes really liked to hang out there.” Dave Thomas, who created the Wendy’s restaurant chain, was also a special friend of the Jones family. “Coral Ridge is a very special place. There’s no other place like it in Florida. He went to the club every day and had a lot of friends there.’’ Five years ago, Rees designed a par-3 course at the club, called “The Rees Nine.’’ With holes ranging from 70 to 200 yards, It has become popular with higher handicappers and junior golfers, who like the challenge of the undulating, multi-tiered greens. Jones understandably likes everything about the new course, a par-72 measuring 7,322 yards from the back tees. “The routing is the same, though we slightly relocated the ninth and thirteenth greens. All the fairways were elevated, and