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Club History

Banyan Golf Club was founded in the early 1970's when a group of golfers considered forming a golf club after learning their favorite course was soon to be converted into a condo complex.

The group soon expanded into a Committee of 15 men who had a strong desire to form a private club.  An excerpt from their prospectus reads "A group of your neighbors, disturbed by the whir of construction around presently available golf courses, alarmed at  projections of even more building as reported in the immediate future there will be no place where we can enjoy golf, have been diligently seeking a site where we can buy or lease suitable land in order to build a modest, private club and thus assure ourselves a continued pleasant, leisurely atmosphere that is commensurate with our way of life.  We can make this happen!"

A meeting was held to present concepts for a $1.5 million golf club.  Member enrollment was quite successful.  In less than 2 months there was a lengthy waiting list.  Undoubtedly, it was time to build the Club.

After scouting for land, the present location was found and purchased in July 1972.  It consisted of 200 acres of uninhabited property, 120 of them comprised of dense natural Florida vegetation, the rest owned and operated by a shell-pit mining company.

 

“This place is majestic!  All you have to do is listen and the land will tell you what to do”

The course was designed by golf architect Joe Lee, noted for his work on the NCR Golf course in Dayton, Ohio, home of the 1969 PGA Championship.  After seeing Banyan for the first time, Lee was quoted as saying "This place is majestic!  All you have to do is listen and the land will tell you what to do".  Lee thought the shell pits presented opportunity to allow for rare elevation.  The 13th tee, with its 36 foot elevation was at one time the highest elevation in South Florida.

Lee laid out the course like a "string of pearls" - with very few holes designed to be parallel or even close to each other.  Many native tropical foliage plants and beautiful cypress trees were salvaged to create a wonderful course.  Over 1,000 trees were transplanted at Banyan during the construction of I-95, saved from the advancing backhoes.

The course opened in December 1973 and the Clubhouse was completed shortly thereafter.  Sadly, in 1982 the original Clubhouse burned to the ground.  The Banyan spirit prevailed again with a new Clubhouse ready in 11 short months.

The course has seen changes over the years, some were courtesy of mother nature and others were planned.  The existing ladies’ tees were not in the original plan but were added at the urging of the Banyan women.  A tornado removed 400 trees shortly after the completion of the new Clubhouse.  In recent years more of those precious trees were taken by the impact of hurricanes.  In 2018, the Golf Course underwent a $3M renovation led by Kipp Schulties.  The renovation included regrassing the entire property, new bunkers and water hazards, and USGA spec greens.  As a result, the Golf Course was extended to over 7,200 yards and features 7 sets of tees allowing for players for all skill levels. Kipp Schulties was quoted as saying "We enhanced and modernized one of Joe Lee's best courses without dramatically changing the strategic integrity of his work."

Today, Banyan continues its rich tradition by offering members a superior Golf Course that those original golfing buddies dreamt about.