The name of the center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. is paying homage to 1971, the year that the club hosted four major golf tournaments. Two of those events were won by Jack Nicklaus—the World Cup of Golf and the PGA Championship. The center is set up on the north end of the newly opened practice grounds and provides members with a 3,000-sq.-ft. central location for custom fittings, club repairs, and golf instruction. “I truly believe our new ‘71 Learning Center will have a positive effect for our members,” says BallenIsles Country Club Director of Golf Jeff Fitzherbert.
BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. held an event on March 23 to celebrate the grand opening of its new ‘71 Learning Center. The name and reference to ‘71 pays homage to the amazing “year to remember” of 1971 when the club hosted four major golf events, two of those won by Jack Nicklaus – the World Cup of Golf and the PGA Championship. Nicklaus Design recently completed its reimagining project on the famed East golf course and practice grounds, with the Learning Center serving as the proverbial, closing birdie for the win.
The innovative ‘71 Golf Learning Center is located on the north end of the newly opened practice grounds and provides members with a 3,000-sq.-ft. central location for custom fittings, club repairs, and golf instruction. Inside the demo and fitting suite, a full team of professionals are on hand to assist members in finding golf clubs that perfectly match their swing. Two indoor and two covered outdoor practice and learning bays, each equipped with state-of-the-art Trackman technology, will help members perfect their swing, while a SAM PuttLab 3D putting analysis and full indoor synthetic putting greens will assist with putting. The Learning Center also has retail space, a dedicated club repair facility as well as an outdoor area to host social activities or for lounging. The outdoor area is also home to the club’s food truck featuring chef-inspired street food.
“I truly believe our new ‘71 Learning Center will have a positive effect for our members; lowering handicaps while increasing their enjoyment of the game,” said BallenIsles Country Club Director of Golf Jeff Fitzherbert. “The state-of-the-art Fitting Suite is inspired by Callaway performance and innovation.”
Another BallenIsles official sang the praises of the center.
“The ‘71 Learning Center is the final piece of our golf entertainment area, offering state-of-the-art technology for any ability of golfer,” said BallenIsles Country Club General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Walls. “Our new Nicklaus Design Practice Grounds is now complete, offering the most diverse and full range of golf learning and fun in South Florida. From our Short Game area featuring our Snead Green and pitching and chipping complex, to the Long Game area complete with wedge range, Toptracer and Flagd technology, and now our new golf Learning Center. It is truly an immersive golf experience for every member of the family to enjoy, regardless of your golf ability. Our club is centered around socialization, and our practice grounds is the latest in our offerings to provide space to socialize and enjoy time with others.”
The opening of the new ‘71 Golf Learning Center follows the late January unveiling of a renovated and modernized East Course and newly reimagined practice grounds – both were also led by Nicklaus Design. The $6.3 million East Course renovation focused on updating the course’s design, including bunkering, greens complexes and strategy, a complete re-grassing of the course and improvements to playing options for members and tournament players alike. The state-of-the-art practice grounds incorporates an all-new 65-bay, two-sided 12.5-acre Long Game area, complete with Toptracer technology and Flagd Golf digital yardage boards, an abundance of aiming targets for all types of long shots, a practice putting green, rough, uneven lie and fairway bunker practice areas, along with a wedge range with targets from 30 to 105 yards. The four-acre Short Game area features the 25,000 sq. ft. Snead Green putting course, five pitching and chipping greens, warm-up green and the world’s flattest putting green.
The recent golf enhancements to the East Course, practice grounds and ‘71 Golf Learning Center follow the construction of a $1.3 million pickleball complex in 2021; the 2020 redesign of BallenIsles’ South Course by famed golf course architect Rees Jones; and a 2018 $35 million clubhouse renovation. The club also recently announced a $19 million renovation and expansion project of the club’s existing sports complex. Construction is expected to begin on the phased project in late 2023, with project completion slated by the end of 2024.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.