Golf Course Architecture: Issue 57 - July 2019

68 THE BREAKERS OCEAN COURSE Weaver. Their vision for The Breakers was inspired by the Villa Medici in Rome, and 75 artisans were brought in from Italy to paint the astoundingly ornate ceilings in the lobby and throughout the first floor. The opulent hotel sets an incredibly high standard that guests will expect to also be met by its two golf courses. One of those is a short drive directly west of the resort and was completely rebuilt by Rees Jones in 2004. Clearly satisfied with his work there, in 2018 the owners returned to Jones to explore the potential for the Ocean course, where the turf was reaching the end of its lifecycle, providing a sensible opportunity to re-evaluate the design. The Ocean course has its place in history, with an original nine holes laid out by Alexander Finlay in 1897 making it the oldest layout in Florida. But the brief for Jones and his design associate Steve Weisser was to create a modern, functional course that would make the most of its small site and provide resort guests with an experience fit for those high expectations set by the hotel. The course’s property is bisected by two roads, creating four quadrants, each comprising four or five holes. This meant there was little flexibility with the routing itself, so Jones’ focus for the redesign was to maximise the golf that could be delivered. “We wanted to show that you can “create a great golf experience on a compact site,” says Jones. “And we wanted to provide the resort golfer with an enjoyable round while also being able to challenge the better golfer.” Perhaps counterintuitively – one The renovation of the Ocean course at The Breakers has seen bunkering reduced to about two-thirds of the previous total, all now strategically placed