Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced today that the Arcadia Municipal Golf Course, located in the city of Arcadia in DeSoto County, has been chosen as the featured course on the Florida Historic Golf Trail for the month of March.
In 1917, the Arcadia Golf and Auto Club was organized and received support from Albert W. Gilchrist, Florida’s 20th Governor, and golf enthusiast. Gilchrist offered a free of charge, long term lease on land that he owned, for the construction of a 9-hole golf course. However, the golf course was never built, due in part to World War I.
In 1919, Arcadians again took up the matter of the golf course. The Golf Club enlisted the services of Harry Cowie to design the 9-hole layout. They began construction in the fall of 1922, and on Christmas Day that year, several matches were played on the course to celebrate its official opening, though only a few holes were open. All nine holes were completed in 1923. In 2001, the City added another nine holes and renovated the existing golf course.
Today, the Arcadia Municipal Golf Course includes an 18-hole, par-72 golf course featuring four sets of tees playing from 4,500 to 5,900 yards. The course has open fairways and sloping greens with Bermuda grass.
For more information about the Arcadia Municipal Golf Course, click here. To learn more about the Florida Historic Golf Trail, visit floridahistoricgolftrail.com or find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FloridaHistoricGolfTrail.