Shalimar Pointe Golf Club in Shalimar, Fla. was shuttered in April of 2022 for a restoration originally planned to take just six months. TifEagle Bermuda now blankets the greens, bunkers have been renovated, and tee boxes have been added and reshaped. Cart paths have also been restored and a new irrigation system is in place.

Shalimar Pointe Golf Club in Shalimar, Fla. has reopened after a 14-month, $1.8 million renovation, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported. The course sits on Choctawhatchee Bay, just across from the tourist hotspot of Destin.

Shuttered in April of 2022 for a restoration originally planned to take just six months, the course has returned from its 14-month slumber and opened back up to the public on June 16, the Daily News reported.

The course originally opened in 1986 by architects Joe Finger and Ken Dye and was later purchased by a group of 108 Shalimar Pointe homeowners and nearby residents in 2012 after a developer planned to bulldoze it, the Daily News reported.

It became a nightmare to maintain, however, the Daily News reported. Perhaps USGA Agronomist Chris Hartwiger summed it up best when he toured the course in 2021 and said: “If turf conditions matched the layout, Shalimar Pointe will have few peers along the Gulf Coast.”

TifEagle Bermuda now blankets the greens—the club’s calling card for size and slopes, the Daily News reported. Bunkers have been renovated—the “Grand Canyon” that was No. 13 no longer covers the entire fairway for approach shots—and tee boxes have been added and reshaped.

Cart paths have been restored for a new fleet of golf carts and a new irrigation system is in place, the Daily News reported. The course is set up for the long haul by the tireless effort of the 77 members who kept the club afloat during this expansive project.

It was those 77 members who believed in the process, who believed the best days were ahead for the 6,765-yard course butted up to Choctawhatchee Bay, the Daily News reported.

Dr. Barbara Palmgren, who chronicled the club’s history in “Saving A Golf Course,” is one of those proud members, along with serving on the board of Preserve Shalimar Pointe, LLC, the Daily News reported.

“We’re thrilled with how the restoration turned out and we’re excited to show the course off to the public,” she said. “It’s just beautiful.”

Fittingly, Shalimar Pointe brought in a fresh perspective to helm the re-opening: General Manager Jacob Hill, who spent the previous three years as Head Pro at Indian Bayou Golf Club, the Daily News reported.

A good sign for the future of the club is that membership has risen by 15 in the last couple of weeks, the Daily News reported. Opening the course to the public after a 14-month layoff will help as well. That’ll enable new golfers to experience what Hill felt the first time he saw the renovated course.

“I’m in love with the green complexes out here,” he said. “The renovation has taken really well and the greens have grown in really well, and I love the fact that no shot feels the same out here,” he said. “I think golfers playing this course for the first time will love the greens.”

But maybe not the pin placements, the Daily News reported. After all, the elevation changes in slopes can provide for some tough approach shots.

“This is a play to the center of the green and figure it out golf course.” Hill said.