The $2.5 million project will start July 5thand be overseen by Brian Silva, with an expected reopening in December 2019. The project will add new Bermuda grass on existing tees, fairways and greens, incorporate new bunkers, establish challenging signature holes and extend the course’s overall length to over 7,100 yards. The property’s short-game practice and range areas will also be enhanced.
The Biltmore Hotel, a national historic landmark established in 1926 and now an iconic luxury resort property in the heart of Miami’s exclusive Coral Gables area, has announced plans to restore its 18-hole, 71-par golf course to the original grandeur of the 1925 Donald Ross-designed Biltmore Golf Course, which is one of only nine Donald Ross-designed golf courses in the top-100 golf courses in the U.S.
The $2.5 million project will start on July 5th when the golf course grounds close, and the course is expected to reopen in December 2018.
“The ultimate goal of restoring the golf course is to make the intended Donald Ross design an authentic experience for today’s sophisticated golfer, while still allowing for the average player to enjoy this spectacular course,” says Bob Coman, Director of Golf.
Veteran golf course architect Brian Silva will oversee the restoration project, which will add new Bermuda grass on the existing tees, fairways and greens, incorporate new bunkers, enhance both the short-game practice as well as range areas, establish challenging signature holes, and extend the overall course length to over 7,100 yards to make it worthy of championship-level play.
“The original 1925 Donald Ross course routing plan demonstrates a greater number of bunkers than now exists on the course,” says Silva. “The additional new bunkers will provide more ‘movement’ to fairways and more twists and turns from the tee to the green into the hole.
“This movement has great impact on both aesthetics as well as the strategic playing interest of the golf course,” Silva adds. “Reacting to this movement, the more accomplished players can take the risky route to shorten the distance from tee to green; which is the ultimate litmus test for a good golf course. And such a course will maintain the playing interest of the accomplished player, while still being entirely manageable for the leisurely player.”
The Biltmore golf course is currently home to the University of Miami Women’s golf team and the NCAA Hurricane Invitational. In January 2018, it also became the headquarters for the Jim McLean Golf School, and it is being considered as a potential host site for a future PGA-Champions Tour event.
For 54 consecutive years, the Biltmore golf course has also been the annual host site to the Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship for boys and girls.
The 275-room resort property also features the largest hotel pool on the East Coast of the U.S. with private cabanas, in addition to tennis courts, a European spa and a fitness center. The hotel’s dining destinations include the award-winning Palme d’Or; Fontana, a traditional Italian restaurant surrounding The Biltmore courtyard and fountain; the poolside Cascade, and the 19th Hole Golf restaurant. The hotel also has a culinary academy offering an array of hands-on cooking classes for adults and children.
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