Hawk’s Nest Scores A Hole In One

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The Cape Cod-style clubhouse had to be rebuilt and refurbished after the 2004 hurricanes, which led to expanding the men’s and women’s locker rooms and pro shop. The original clubhouse was built by Jay and Nancy Rhoads not long after they purchased Hawk’s Nest from the founders in 1989; in 1993 they gifted the golf club to the membership.

Hawk’s Nest. It’s an unusual name for a golf club, considering that the majority are named after a person, place or event. But in this case, it was inspired by a mother hawk protecting her nest. If she hadn’t swooped down to chase away a Caterpillar excavating near the tree where she was tending to her newly hatched offspring, the course might well have been called Whistle Stop, one of several names the original founders, Sam Bell and Bob Briggs and their wives Susie and Nancy, were considering.

The name is not the only unusual thing about the par-72 championship golf course that stretches 7,027 yards along a sand ridge in the northern part of Indian River County. Unlike most courses, there’s not a house, villa or condominium in sight – just 18 challenging holes with elevations ranging from 13 to 50 feet above sea level.

Golf Digest has consistently ranked Hawk’s Nest among the top courses in Florida. In its January 2009 issue the publication recognized it as one of the nation’s Top 10 best remodeled golf courses, the result of a two-year, $4.7 million renovation completed in 2007. It was the third upgrade since the Jim Fazio-designed course opened over 20 years ago.

Read the entire article in the April 2009 issue

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