THE MISTWOOD GOLF DOME, is now open daily until 10 PM, come checkout the new Toptracer and McWethy’s Sportsbar on Rt. 53 in Bolingbrook (630)-739-7600. IT’S year round golf at the Schaumburg Golf Club on Roselle Road, the simulaotrs havebeen updated with Top 100 and Ryder Cup courses. Schaumburggolf.com (847)-885-9000.     _____________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation, Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, Linkedin and Facebook. On the 17th hole on the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Resort.

MATTHEW WAS HERE and now Jack is back.

The Hammock Beach Resort in the Palm Coast area on the East Coast of Florida, has a Jack Nicklaus designed golf course, that included six golf holes that gave views of the Atlantic ocean, that is normally a great golf experience.

Then one day in October of 2016, the course had a visit from the forceful winds of hurricane Matthew and things changed quickly.

The Bermuda grass was never intended to handle the amount of salt water that Matthew dumped on the Ocean Course. The nine foot waves crashed all over the course and killed the grass, and did damage to other parts of golf course.

The par 4, 9th hole runs along the ocean, and is rated as the No.1 handicap hole on the golf course.

So on October 6th of 2016 the course was closed and the Nicklaus design team was contacted, and a master plan was created to restore the ocean front golf course.

The restoration of the golf course included staying with the original Nicklaus design, but included a re-grassing of all fairways, greens and rough, with a salt-tolerant “Platinum Paspalum.”

Reconstruction was needed to repair all of the tee boxes, bunkers and green complexes, most of which has been damaged in the storm. But the work didn’t stop there. The Ocean Course has a dune line that runs for over a mile, and is still being restored to the guidelines created by the State of Florida Conservation Department. As a result, there are some new dunes forming that are creating better protection for the coastline, while the clearing out of the bush-line along the coast, has created amazing  new views for golfers while playing the Ocean Course.

The 174 yard par 3, 17th hole on the Ocean Course.

Nicklaus told resort officials, that he still liked the original design, and didn’t want to change the golf course during the restoration, just restore and improve what had been lost or damaged during Matthew.

There is a fair amount of water on the Ocean course, and not just along the ocean. But it doesn’t make the golfer repeatedly hit forced carries into the green.

The course has six sets of tee’s to play from and the yardage ranges from, 4,202 up front, to the Level VI tees or the tips that play at 7,176 and to a par of 72. At times, the wind off the ocean can be strong so golfers should take that into account before deciding what set of tee’s to play from.

Since the restoration the Ocean Course has received several awards from various national golf publications.

   The view from the bridge on the way to the first tee, and the plaque that tells about the work done by the Nicklaus Team.

Click here to hear an interview with General Manager Brett Hauer, and Head Golf Professional Jeff Hager, on the Ocean Course, the Hammock Beach Resort, and the resorts second golf course, The Conservatory by Tom Watson, located just minutes from the resorts hotel, has served as one of the host golf courses for the B1G Ten Conference Men’s Match Play Golf Championship, along with the Ocean Course.

  The clubhouse at the Conservatory the Hammock Beach resorts second golf course designed by Tom Watson, and par 4, second hole at the Conservatory (R).  The Conservatory at 7,740 yards is the longest course in the State of Florida, and has the highest slope and rating.

  The Hammock Beach Resort Hotel, and a sunrise view of the ocean from one of the spacious rooms located within the hotel (R).

Hammock Beach Resort is located 20 miles south of St. Augustine on Florida’s east coastline, with scenic views of the Atlantic Ocean. It has numerous activities besides golf, and they include a highly rated spa. In the clubhouse is the resorts Atlantic Grill for fine dining. There are multiple pools where you lounge and decide if a dip in the ocean or the pool is best for you. If your game is Tennis or Volleyball, Hammock Beach has those options for you. There is plenty to do for the kids and summer is a busy time for the resort, since with it’s ocean front location, the resort does not get as hot as some other locations in Florida.

The drive to Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom and other Disney Park’s is only 90 minutes. There are more planned improvements for the resort in the months ahead, so click into the resorts website at HammockBeach.com. The resort phone is (386)-246-5500, and pro shop number for tee times or other golf questions is (386)-447-4611. The resort is an easy drive from either the Jacksonville or Daytona Airports.