Ohio Golf Journal March 2020

Daytona Beach: Great for Racing, Better for Golf By Mike May T hat old adage definitely applies to beach lovers, who also enjoy golf and motor sports. Golfers, who are planning to visit Daytona to watch a race or two, should also be prepared for long walks on the beach, and birdie putts, as well as, bumper-to-bumper racing at the Daytona International Speedway. “If you ain’t rubbin’, you ain’t racin’.”……… Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) in Days of Thunder Miles of hard-packed sand await all beach walkers to the ‘World’s Most Famous Beach.’ The three big car races on Daytona’s calendar every year are the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, Daytona 500 in February, and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August. There is plenty of golf, too. Three Florida Historic Golf Trail courses, the South Course at the Daytona Beach Golf Course, Riviera Country Club, and the New Smyrna Beach Golf Course provide ‘thrills and chills’ for every skill level. The par-71 South Course at Daytona Beach Golf Course features three sets of tees that range from 5,200 yards to just over 6,200 yards. The course follows the original routing of renowned golf course architect, Donald Ross, from the 1920s. A passing train is a common sight on the South course. Six holes, three on the front nine, plus three on the back side, border the railroad tracks that split the course. For golf history aficionados, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret played a challenge match here in 1946. Demaret shot 64 to secure the win with the other three legends carding, 67, 67 and 69. ‘Great things happen in bunches of threes.’ Ohio Golf Journal