WEST PALM BEACH — Of all the visitors West Palm Beach's immaculate new municipal golf course The Park has drawn in its first year of existence — local Tiger Woods hitting the inaugural tee shot and professional golfers Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang participating in Capital One's The Match — one name quietly teed it up a few weeks ago with no fanfare, but plenty of curious onlookers.
Former President Barack Obama got in a round at the spectacularly redesigned venue on a beautiful day, Friday, April 19, much to the surprise of other golfers.
"We were just out there playing and all of a sudden on an adjacent hole we hear all these golf carts rolling up," said one golfer, who did not want to be identified. "We're like, 'What is happening here?' Then we realize they are all (U.S.) Secret Service and we're watching Barack Obama tee off right next to us. Unbelievable."
Officials at The Park were mum on how it all came together and why Obama decided to play the West Palm Beach course. The former president could have picked any number of private courses in the area to play, but The Park has been a bucket list item for many out-of-staters.
Obama is a member of The Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, where he has played with Woods, former NBA greats Michael Jordan and Alonzo Mourning and former NFL star and sportscaster Ahmad Rashad, among others. When he was president, Obama played Grande Oaks Golf Club in Fort Lauderdale, a private course that was the site of the 1980s comedy movie "Caddyshack."
It's not clear if Obama played anywhere else on his South Florida visit (although it's probably safe to say he didn't tee it up with former President Donald Trump).
After only a year, numbers show big turnout at The Park golf course in West Palm Beach
The Park has received rave reviews from national publications as a must-play public venue and the statistics after one year of play prove it has been a success. Since opening in April 2023, here are the first-year numbers, according to the course:
- There have been 41,360 rounds of golf played with 5,717 of those nine-hole rounds.
- There are 2,209 city resident golfers registered.
- There have been 8,521 caddied rounds of golf played.
- About 60% of the rounds have been walkers.
"Without a doubt, (the numbers) have far exceeded our expectations," said Brian Conley, The Park's general manager. "And the word we constantly hear from the golfers is 'fun.' That's really been comforting to us."
The course is spectacular to walk and because there aren't any water hazards, golfers won't lose a ton of balls with a bad round.
The facility is the product of a city-described public-private partnership that resulted from a handshake deal between Mayor Keith James and PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, who said he raised more than $55 million to rebuild and endow the facility.
The new course is on the site of the former Dick Wilson-designed West Palm Beach Golf Course, which opened in 1947, and it is now considered among the best public courses in the state.
TNT's The Match drew more than a half-million viewers at West Palm's The Park
Another big jolt of publicity came in February when The Park hosted the ninth staging of Capital One's The Match under the lights.
Professional golfers McIlroy, Homa, Thompson and Zhang played a dozen holes for charity in front of a nationally televised audience with TNT NBA announcers Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and others. McIlroy ended up the big winner, taking the $1.6 million final skin during a "wedge off" on the playoff hole.
Everyone raved about the Gil Hanse- and Jim Wagner-designed course that is known for its immaculate setting as well as its promotion of the game through youth and community programs. It was the first time The Match had been played at a municipal golf course and it averaged 511,000 viewers, including 160,000 female viewers, which is significantly higher than typical LPGA events, according to Sports Business Journal.
Conley said the course was one of three venues that officials from TNT/Time Warner, The PGA Tour and Excel Sports Management were considering and hopes the course can again host a future event.
"The course looked like magic on TV under the lights," Conley said. "And I think everyone was really happy with how it all turned out."
Could The Park ever host a future PGA or LPGA Tour tournament in West Palm?
One thing that isn't likely coming to The Park, however, is a PGA or LPGA Tour event, Conley assures.
"The course is not built for PGA professional golf tournaments," he said. "This course was built for the enjoyment of public golf. It's built to be fun. The architecture of it promotes good pace of play and overall enjoyment. It's not made for that."
And despite its rates — anywhere from $80 to $300 based on city resident discounts to peak season out-of-staters — it's been busy all season.
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Conley says the course has attracted many groups from the south and western part of the state, but that city registrants are still the big draw.
That creates competition for tee times, but Conley said things are slowing down just a bit as the winter and spring season comes to a close. To get the tee time you want, he suggests booking online, where the rates are better, at theparkwestpalm.com about a week out (tee times are available in a 10-day window).
"It's definitely busy and competitive (for tee times), but it's not a concert ticket. Everyone can get one," he said.
Even a former president of the United States.
James Coleman is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post , part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at jcoleman@pbpost.com and follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @JimColeman11 . Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Guess what celeb played golf recently at West Palm's The Park? Hint: He lived in DC for 8 years
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