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WELCOME
Welcome to
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2013 Best Publication Award
Connecting Golfers on the West Coast of Florida.
Mary Raimondo,
Publisher Greater Sarasota Area and Southwest Florida Mobile: 410-449-2822 mary@golfcoastmagazine.com
Bruz Fellenz,
Publisher - Tampa Bay Area Mobile: 727-409-0797 bruzfellenz68@gmail.com
Ryan Ruppert,
Partner Office: 941.361.1536 ryan@golfcoastmagazine.com
Rose Ruppert,
Partner rose@golfcoastmagazine.com
Tami Vaughan,
Production Manager
Olivia Baldassari,
Digital Marketing Manager olivia@golfcoastmagazine.com
Mark Cardon,
Golf News - fcardon@aol.com
Golf Coast Magazine is published by Golf Coast Magazine, Inc.; 3X’s a year and distributed along the West Coast of Florida.
© 2021 Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this guide. Golf Coast Magazine and it’s affiliates are not responsible or liable for any errors, omissions, or changes in rates or information.
The summer of 2021 promises to be exciting. While
most of Florida has been open for a long time, people from other states are dusting off their suitcases and returning to the travel market for the first time since the pandemic. Fortunately, golf courses are seeing record high rounds, so we should expect a busier summer than ever before! With golf participation at all-time highs, courses are competing to attract summer golfers with both summer membership options and great deals on public play. We are also seeing major renovations at many of our favorite courses – such as at The Meadows Country Club in Sarasota, where they completed a large revitalization project during the summer of 2020 and reopened in January with brand new greens, tees, fairways, and bunkers. The Big Summer Golf Card® is the card to get for those who will be enjoying Florida golf this summer. With unlimited play and no blackouts, it will give golfers the best golf rates at courses all over Florida. Their main season is May through October with new courses being added each year, with a select number of them on the The Big Money TourSM giving golfers the chance to win over $30,000 in prizes each month. This summer we are also celebrating the retirement of Jean Couser, our Sarasota publisher who has been leading our magazine for 35 years. While she won’t be working day to day, she’ll continue advising the magazine and we know that her work will continue to have a major impact on our community. We know this summer will be one filled with travel, memories, and many rounds of golf, so we hope to be your tour guide for the local golf scene. You can visit us at GolfCoastMagazine.com to keep up with the latest golf stories and don’t forget to subscribe to our free weekly e-newsletter. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as well. Fairways and greens,
Mary Raimondo, Bruz Fellenz, Ryan Ruppert, Rose Ruppert
The Meadows Golf And Country Club Country Club
Changing With The Times
Sarasota hasn’t always been the
busy city that it is today. Just a decade ago a great deal of the land being developed on University Parkway was farmland, the Mall at University Town Center was swampland, and there were nearly 100,000 fewer people living here. Sarasota has evolved, and so has the Meadows Country Club.
First conceived in 1974 as Taylor Woodrow’s dream of a diverse community with a theme of teamwork and volunteerism, the Meadows has grown from a community club with a small tennis facility into one of Sarasota’s premier full-service country clubs with 54 holes of golf, 17 har-tru tennis courts, pickleball, a junior Olympic pool, a fitness center, two restaurants, and six unique event spaces that host over 200 events per year. stopped – most recently working to build a new type of Country Club, focused on amenities, culture and programming for the whole family. The Meadows’ evolution has been a multiyear project – from developing world-class social facilities, to an enormous renovation of the Meadows (members-only) golf course (2020), to expanding the outdoor dining and spectator galleries around the highly regarded tennis facility. The community has just broken ground on a new building to house meeting rooms and community gathering facilities plus a new state-of-the art fitness center.
The team at the Meadows is focused not only on providing its membership outstanding amenities; they are also dedicated to creating a warm, inviting atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable and where friendships and fun flourish. In
addition to “The Member’s Course”, The Meadows has an 18 hole Championship layout (The Highlands) that challenges the most serious golfer, plus a family friendly par 65 golf course (The Groves) offering 9 par 4’s and 1 par 5 (“The best course in Sarasota for families, juniors and golfers of all levels that want to test their game” says GM Tony Johnson, PGA). The Groves greens were completely renovated in 2019. The regular program of golf and tennis related games combined with social events are fun for all. In addition, there are dances, special holiday dinners, parties by the pool, trivial pursuit, artistic activities, fashion shows and events that offer something for everyone, no matter their age or physical capabilities. “We have an unbeatable location within minutes of downtown Sarasota, the UTC Mall and I-75. No one can match the natural beauty of our property and its mature plantings. Our goal is to capitalize on these incredible strengths and restore those areas of our club that need a bit of polish without compromising the warm, friendly atmosphere our members cherish.” Phil Boyle, President, The Meadows Country Club Board of Governors.
The Regency Room
The Regency Room has always been the premier destination for fine dining and many of the club’s member events. In 2020, the Meadows completed a full facelift of the Regency Room – centered around an “Old Florida” look with mid-century accents. The upgraded Regency Room captures the history of the Sarasota area while also offering amenities that you will only find at the finest hotels in the region.
The Meadows Members-Only Golf Course
The Meadows Member’s Golf Course has just completed an enormous renova-
tion that involved new greens and tees along with complete re-grass of all fairways. Nothing has been left untouched. The new playing surface has garnered rave reviews from members and guests.
The course has been changed to improve playability – adding challenges in some places, and making other holes a little easier. Bunkers have been added to catch balls that would otherwise end up in the forest, while others have been placed to challenge golfers’ approaches to the greens.
“We are extremely proud of our new Members Course and it matures better every day! The feedback we have received from those who have been playing the course for years, and those playing it for the very first time, proves that we have a truly wonderful course as planned. Everyone loves it, no matter how good a golfer they are.” Pat Franklin, Director of Golf Course Maintenance.
The renovation promises to make the course more inviting to players of all skill levels, offering up one of the best golfing experiences in the Sarasota area.
The Centre Court Lounge
Florida is best enjoyed from the outdoors, and this is especially true at the Meadows, where you can enjoy mature landscaping with towering oaks and lush plants and landscaping. The Meadows is also expanding the deck dining where members can enjoy exceptional food with great views of the tennis courts and pool.
The Lifestyle & Wellness Facility
Country clubs have evolved from facilities focused solely on golf and tennis, to providing a wide variety of activity for the whole family. After golf and tennis, fitness facilities are the most demanded amenity at country clubs.
The Meadows will have a world-class fitness facility when construction of the new Lifestyle & Wellness Facility is completed in 2022. The new facility will feature a cardio studio, massage room, a muscle activation technique room, and large social spaces.
With an extraordinary fitness facility, and the already long list of amenities and programs that the Meadows has to
offer, the club will truly have something to offer to everybody.
Putting Family First
The Meadows has built a facility that has something for everyone – fine dining, golf, tennis, pickleball, fitness, and more! If you enjoy health and wellness, there are a wide variety of options for you at the Meadows.
“Our main mission is to deliver a fun experience to all our members, no matter their age, interests or physical condition. Our creative team of professionals takes pride in getting everyone involved in our programs at the level that bests suits him or her. And it’s not all about golf or tennis either. Our members have full access to all the amenities The Meadows has to offer, including a range of dining options, miles of biking and hiking trails, pickleball, card games, swimming, fitness center, craft clubs, book clubs, dances, holiday parties family nights, almost anything you can think of. We are an inclusive club, not an exclusive one and I think you will find a home for you and your family here at The Meadows. Our membership programs are designed with the whole family in mind. The time is now to join The Meadows CC and experience what so many people are talking about.” Tony Johnson, PGA General Manager, The Meadows Country Club.
There are options for everyone, including younger families! People who are under 50 are eligible for a Young Professional Memberships with reduced rates and full access to all the facilities at the Meadows. There are opportunities for the littlest golfer and tennis players through the junior and PGA clinics. During the summer month, kids can keep busy with the activities by the pool, in the game room, or by enjoying the ever-popular Meadows Sports Camp.
www.meadowscc.org
Big Summer ®Golf Card
Pays for itself in 3 rounds or less!
PLAY THE COURSES YOU LIKE AT GUARANTEED LOW RATES ALL SUMMER AND MORE! “DON’T PAY RACK RATES IN SUMMER EVER AGAIN!”
The Big Summer Golf Card saves you money playing your favorite courses at rates not available to the general public. Save every time you play knowing the card can pay for itself in 3 rounds or less!
Copies of the BSGC Golf Rates 2021 are available at every participating course. The Website is updated daily with rates for every course, special offers, play dates and all the details you need to know about The Big Money TourSM .
Every Big Summer Golf Card holder is automatically registered to play The Big Money TourSM in SW Florida with 10 monthly prizes May to October of $2,500 cash, rounds of golf and top of the line golf equipment including a monthly Grand Prize of $1,000! Since 2013 over 500 area golfers have shared in more than $270,000 of prizes.
