17
T
he Federal Aviation
Administration’s upgrade to
taxiways, runways and safety
areas at Venice Municipal Airport
necessitated a 10-acre land swap with
neighboring Lake Venice GC, a 27
hole pay-to-play facility, owned by the
City of Venice and built and operated
since 1959 by Venice Golf Association.
The club hired Jan Bel Jan, ASGCA
to oversee a redesign of the third nine
and the construction of a new practice
area. Bel Jan was asked to keep the
course walkable and provide alternate
tees, as well as addressing the ‘prison
links’ appearance created by the chain
link fence. All of this was required
within a modest budget and a short
time frame that would avoid loss of
high season revenues.
Bel Jan’s re-routing was cleverly
planned to save as much of the original
nine holes as possible, meaning that
four greens and four teeing locations
were retained and upgraded to match
the quality of the newly-designed and
constructed tees and greens.
“We focused on keeping the greens in
close proximity to the most frequently
used tee of the following hole, to
maintain the course’s walkability, and
added new forward tees for improved
scoring, more fun and a quicker round
of golf that can be more enjoyable for
more players,” says Bel Jan.
Practice facilities were relocated,
keeping them as close to the
professional’s shop as possible but
away from the runway safety area.
This included a chipping area and,
close to the 19th tee, a new putting
green was constructed.
Finally, the overall aesthetic of the
course has been much improved
by landscaping that focuses the
golfer on the holes, rather than the
airport and its perimeter fence, the
appearance of which has also been
neutralized by green vinyl coating
and low-growing shrubs.
Location
Venice, Florida
Architect:
Jan Bel Jan, ASGCA
Jan Bel Jan Golf Course Design, Inc.
Project summary:
FAA upgrades to Venice Municipal
Airport meant that its perimeter fence
would need to encroach onto the
property occupied by the Gulf Side
Nine of the neighboring Lake Venice
Golf Club. ASGCA architect Jan Bel Jan
oversaw the subsequent redesign and
improvements to the 27-hole
pay-to-play facility, within a tight
budget and deadline.
Partners:
Barbaron, Inc.
AquaTurf International
Mondragon Golf, Inc.
Toro
American Infrastructure Development
Owen Ames Kimball Co.
Gulf Breeze Landscaping
City of Venice
Curb Systems of SW Florida
Advanced Asphalt of SW Florida
Raplh White Turf Consulting
Pipe drainage was installed to carry flow off runways and under the course
LAKE VENICE GC
