SouthWood Golf Club Named One Of "America's
Top 50 Courses for Women"
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) - SouthWood Golf Club - the
award-
winning Fred Couples and Gene Bates designed course
owned by The St. Joe Company and managed by Billy
Casper Golf - announces Golf Digest has named it one of
"America's Top 50 Courses for Women."
The ranking explores public-access and resort courses
that
offer the most women-friendly designs, amenities, staff,
programs and atmosphere. A panel of more than 100 female
raters provided the feedback used to create the final list,
which ranked SouthWood Golf Club at No.15.
One of the few facilities in the country with a
female general manager, Beth Murphy, and director of instruction, Becky
Sauers, SouthWood was praised by the publication for creating a stand-out
experience for women. Sauers, named among Golf Digest's "Top 50 Woman
Teachers," runs the popular Lady Links Golf Association, which blends
weekly playing time with instruction for beginning golfers.
"Receiving this praise from Golf Digest is very
rewarding, and goes to show the tremendous work that Beth Murphy and her
staff are doing to please golfers of all demographics," says Stephen
Hilliard, Vice President of Resort and Club Operations for The St. Joe
Company. "SouthWood is a special place and it is great to see it receive
recognition amongst this very important sector of the golfing public."
The 50 courses that made the final cut each met the
women-friendly criteria established by editors. They offered at least one
set of tees playing 5,300 yards or fewer, two tees playing to fewer than
6,000 yards, and two tees with USGA Slope and Course Ratings for women.
Other attributes factored included a minimal number of forced carries,
run-up areas to most or all greens, a more demanding challenge from the
longer tees for better female players and beautiful scenery.
"We have put in a great deal of work at SouthWood
over the past few years to make sure players of all skill levels are happy
and comfortable at the club," says Murphy. "Adding more tee box options
that shortened the course proved to be very valuable in attracting and
retaining more female customers."
SouthWood Golf Club is widely acknowledged as one of
the premier golf experiences in north Florida, earning "best-of" honors and
accolades from the ZAGAT Survey, Golf Digest, GOLF, T+L Golf, Golfing
Magazine and Tallahassee Magazine.
Designed by PGA Tour star Fred Couples and renowned
architect Gene Bates and managed by Billy Casper Golf, SouthWood Golf Club
is among the region's most-acclaimed courses. Highlighted by stands of
stunning, Spanish moss-draped oak trees, the 7,172-yard layout meanders
over rolling hills, through wooded areas and open land. A course that tests
Tour-quality players and provides an enjoyable experience for golfers of
all abilities, SouthWood features five sets of tees on every hole. The
2,986-yard "Wee Tees" provide the ideal course set-up for juniors,
beginners or players seeking to improve their short game. SouthWood Golf
Club has garnered numerous honors since opening in November 2002. The
course was named to Golf Digest's list of "America's Best New Courses,"
selected by GOLF Magazine as one of the top 35 public courses - out of 325
nationwide - to open in 2002, and named Tallahassee's best golf course by
Tallahassee Magazine.
