By Mike May
Over the last 100+ years, Florida’s development can largely be attributed to the ambition of the late Henry Flagler and Henry Plant, plus their strategic use of the railroad. Not only did the railroad bring visitors to Florida, it was the key to the growth of many of its golf courses, as explained in the book The Two Henrys – Railroads Carry Golf Across Florida.
The 53 golf courses that are part of the Florida Historic Golf Trail, all have interesting tales to tell. For instance, Riviera Country Club in Ormond Beach has Sissy’s Ridge, Miami Shores Country Club in Miami Shores has “the hole,” and Lake Worth Municipal Golf Club in Lake Worth has a monument to honor “The Dogfighters.” Most of these Florida courses were built because of the railroad.
Florida East Coast Railway, Key West Extension. Henry Flagler on the back of a train car. Gift of O. A. Sandquist.
Still today, when you play the Clearwater Country Club, your round will be interrupted by a passing train. Twice a day, a train rolls through the middle of the golf course, traveling along the CSX Railroad.
The railroad track theme continues at the South Course at the Daytona Beach Golf Club, a Donald Ross design, which opened for play in 1921. A passing train is a common sight as the 4th, 5th, and 6th holes are separated from the main golf course by railroad tracks. The 12th, 13th, and 14th holes are bordered on the right side, by those same railroad tracks. Slicers beware, the tracks are clearly marked, ‘out of bounds.’
“It is one of the few courses in America that still has a train running through the middle of the course,” said Brian Jaquet, director of golf, Daytona Beach Golf Club.
At the Bartow Golf Course, a CSX train track borders the 8th fairway and it rolls by several times a day. The train does not impact play, it’s simply part of the atmosphere of playing golf in Bartow.
While playing the Winter Park Nine, you can see a train from Sun Rail, or AMTRAK on the 5th tee, 6th green, or 7th tee and is simply a part of the Winter Park Nine experience.
It’s worth noting that inside the Winter Park Nine’s clubhouse, the ceiling beams feature a timeline of the club’s historical moments. The timeline describes significant events during this club’s first 100+ years and features a list of people, who helped shape their first century of play. Just like the trains that need to run on time, there is a large clock on the first tee to remind all golfers to be on time and keep their round moving.
While golf course architects like Donald Ross, Seth Raynor, and Tom Bendelow designed and oversaw the construction of these historic courses, it was the development of the railroad, under the leadership of Flagler and Plant, that brought the tourists and made golf popular in Florida.
