By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
The Golf Club at Fiddler’s Creek has been a Golfweek Top 100 Best Residential Golf Course for 20 consecutive years and was a 2024 Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Top 50 Private Facility.
Fiddler’s Creek offers a challenging 18-hole Arthur Hills-designed golf course that has a 19th hole where members can settle their matches or get some extra practice when there’s little time for a full round of golf.
Fresh off a $10 million renovation, the golf course at Fiddler’s Creek reopened last December after being closed for eight months. The project included moving several greens to bring an adjacent creek more into play and the relocation of a tee box to lessen the dogleg on one hole. They also installed capillary concrete in the bunkers to improve drainage, control hydration and ensure a high-quality bunker experience for members and guests.
“We also used 421 feet of bulkhead to fortify one of our putting greens,” says Sean Gradomski, the PGA of America General Manager at Fiddler’s Creek, “and re-grassed tee boxes, fairways and rough with BIMINI bermudagrass and greens with TifEagle bermudagrass.”
They also installed a new pump station, redid four bridges across the 22-year-old golf course and built a new clubhouse.
The Golf Club at Fiddler’s Creek practice facility includes a 25-station grass driving range equipped with Toptracer Range Mobile and a 104-foot CoverShots mobile canopy system. An artificial mat hitting surface covers the back of the grass area for use at certain times of the year. Fiddler’s Creek also has the unique FlagD Golf technology that provides specific yardages to each range target regardless of the station from which you’re hitting.
There’s a 25,000 square foot putting course and two short game areas, one of which enables golfers to practice shots from 30 yards out and closer, and a 4,500 square foot practice putting green near the first tee.
In addition to five other PGA of America Golf Professionals (including Gradomski) on staff, Heather Angell, a multi-year PGA Chapter and Section Special Awards winner in the South Florida PGA Section, is the PGA of America Director of Instruction. She facilitates programs to engage members in their player development goals and uses Trackman within her instruction, as well as the Toptracer Range that went live last winter. With Toptracer Range, Angell can monitor her students’ practice performance between lessons, putting some accountability on the students for they own improvement. Not only is this technology a selling point in Angell’s golf instruction, but in attaining and retaining members for the club as a whole.
Gradomski says many of his 325 members head north for the summer, returning in the fall to get their homes in order. He says their busiest season is from January to April each year.
During the closing in 2024, he ensured his members who were there for the summer had ample playing opportunities at neighboring clubs through an extensive reciprocal program. They also set up a temporary range at Fiddler’s Creek so members could practice and stay connected with their fellow members and the team at their home facility.
With the infrastructure in place and a stellar PGA of America staff at the helm, the Golf Club at Fiddler’s Creek, a Troon facility, is sure to garner additional awards and continue to be a home away from home for its members.
For more information about Fiddler’s Creek, including additional amenities, dining and real estate opportunities, log on to their website today!
