The famed Palm Beach, Fla. luxury beachfront resort hired Rees Jones for a redesign project on what is believed to be the oldest actively used golf course in the state, originally laid out in 1897. But the project that began in April lost over 1,300 construction hours due to excessive rain, leading to an appeal that the city council has granted conditionally for a waiver from normal construction hours, to allow Saturday work and an earlier start on weekdays.
The Breakers, the famed Palm Beach, Fla. luxury beachfront resort, should be able to move more quickly with the makeover of its golf course this summer, now that the city of Palm Beach has agreed to allow work to occur on Saturdays, the Palm Beach Daily News reported.
According to President Paul Leone, The Breakers is believed to have Florida’s oldest actively used golf course, the Daily News reported.
Originally laid out by Alexander Findlay in 1897, the course was redesigned in 2000 by Brian Silva, and The Breakers has now hired renowned golf architect Rees Jones to design this latest project, which began in late April. The new design eliminates many side bunkers and increases the size of the greens.
After 18 years of wear and tear, it was time to replace the grass, Leone said. But there’s a larger goal at play, he told the Daily News—to make the course more enjoyable for players.
“The game of golf has changed,” Leone said. “Twenty years ago, designers and resort owners were trying to make these courses more challenging. It sort of backfired. People don’t want to spend five hours playing a round of golf. They want to have fun and they want to move around the course more quickly.”
On June 13, the Daily News reported, the Palm Beach Town Council granted the resort a waiver from normal construction hours, which limit work to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Jamie Crowley, the lawyer representing The Breakers, said the golf course project lost more than 1,300 construction hours because of recent rain and needs to make up that time to meet a late-fall completion goal.
Protecting neighbors’ peace and quiet is a concern, however, because bulldozers are being used to reshape the course, which means dust and noise. “We’re moving a lot of dirt,” Crowley told the Daily News.
That phase of the work will end in early August, followed by 12 weeks of seeding and growing grass, Crowley said.
The council granted The Breakers’ request to allow work on Saturdays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., but prohibited the use of heavy equipment on Saturdays on the two fairways near Via Bethesda and Pendleton Avenue, the Daily News reported.
The board also allowed work to begin an hour earlier, at 7 a.m., on weekdays, but said heavy equipment can’t be used before 8 a.m. on the four fairways near Via Bethesda, Pendleton Avenue and the northwest corner of the golf course near Cocoanut Row and Royal Poinciana Way, the Daily News reported.
But the council also set a condition, the Daily News reported: If there are valid complaints from neighbors about the pre-8 a.m. work or the Saturday work, then it must immediately stop and the matter must come back before the council.
Councilwoman Bobbie Lindsay said no one wants to see work on the 80-acre course continue into the winter holidays, the Daily News reported.“It’s in everybody’s interest to get this finished before the season,” Lindsay said. “This has been extraordinarily wet weather.”
Council President Danielle Moore recused herself from the discussion and unanimous vote because she lives on Pendleton Avenue, which abuts the course to the south, the Daily News reported.
For the Daily News’ full report, go to https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/local/breakers-golf-course-being-renovated-palm-beach-allows-saturday-work/D613qZsmRmtBXoThS5MR1O/
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