Bradenton Country Club

Bradenton Country Club began as Palma Sola Country Club in 1924, when A.F. Wyman and E.P. Green organized the Palma Sola Investment Company after acquiring a large tract west of downtown Bradentown. The company’s stated purpose included “plat, layout and construct golf courses,” and Donald Ross was engaged that year to design and build an 18-hole course on the site. The club’s own history places Ross on the property in 1924 and credits him with the original layout. By 1927 the club was operating with a permanent clubhouse and the organization moved to change its name from Palma Sola Country Club to Bradenton Country Club, mirroring the city’s transition from Bradentown to Bradenton. While the 1927 milestone concerns facilities and corporate identity more than the golf ground, it anchors the course’s early operating timeline. The club preserves Ross’s original drawings, now displayed on its website, which were used as a north star for later work. Those drawings (and annotations on them) give the clearest contemporary window into Ross’s intent for this property. As to later phases of Ross’s personal involvement, surviving club and public records accessed for this summary do not document any subsequent on-site visits by Ross after the 1924 build; the next major changes came decades later under different hands (see “Current condition / integrity”). Unique design characteristics (as seen today) Ross routed Bradenton across a compact, ~120-acre in-town parcel where multiple holes are visible from many vantage points; the rhythm of adjacent fairways and short walks produces strong inter-visibility and pace. That feel remains a defining on-course characteristic today. A Florida State Golf Association profile, written for the 2022 Florida Open, describes how “from many locations on the golf course, you can see multiple holes, maybe even entire nines.” The par-3 2nd, playing toward the Bradenton Baptist Church steeple just beyond the green, is a signature one-shotter whose hole corridor and setting illustrate the course’s town-center character and the economical land plan Ross employed here. It is also cited by the FSGA as an emblematic view of Bradenton’s compact routing. Bunker placement and the visual texture around fairways were simplified and re-naturalized in 2018 to echo what Ross had indicated on the original plans—specifically the use of native, sandy “wispy grass” areas and the removal of hard-edged tarmac paths. Architect Tony Jacklin explained that the project focus included eliminating asphalt cart paths and creating native areas “like Ross had written on the original drawings,” while swapping deciduous plantings for local palms and generally reducing ornamental clutter so strategic lines would read clearly. Greens today are TifEagle bermudagrass, maintained firm and quick (club reports ≈11 on the Stimpmeter), with gently undulating surfaces rather than severe tiers. The club’s course page lists a back-tee yardage of 6,708 yards, par 71, with a USGA rating/slope of 72.7/130, a scale that supports Ross’s original decision to stretch challenge more through angles and short-grass surrounds than through extreme length. Which holes read most “Ross” today? Given the 2018 rebuild used the 1924 drawings as guidance, several one-shotters and mid-length two-shot holes are the clearest expressions of the original plan. The par-3 2nd stands out for its preserved corridor and townscape backdrop; the mid-iron par-4s that populate the front (e.g., the opening stretch) showcase the compact walks and adjacent fairway relationships called out in 1924. The overall assessment—that these holes most clearly present Ross’s hand—rests on the routing continuity and the club/architect’s stated reliance on the original drawings rather than on the pre-2018 features. (See “Citations & uncertainty.”) Historical significance Within Ross’s Florida body of work, Bradenton is an early- to mid-1920s Gulf Coast commission that, unlike many resort courses of the era, occupies a town-center site. Its significance today is enhanced by the survival of Ross’s original drawings and the club’s explicit decision to use them as reference for modern renovations—an increasingly common, scholarship-driven approach to restoring Golden Age intent. Competitive pedigree has grown markedly in recent seasons. The club hosted the LPGA Drive On Championship on January 25–28, 2024 (course set at 6,375 yards for the final round) and then the LPGA Founders Cup on February 6–9, 2025. Those placements elevated Bradenton’s visibility among Ross courses in the Southeast. At the state level, Bradenton served as the principal venue for the 76th Florida Open (July 15–17, 2022) and has frequently staged FSGA championships (Senior Amateur 2017; Four-Ball 2021; Girls’ Junior 2020 & 2021; Boys’ Junior 2013), reinforcing its reputation as a classic, walkable championship test. Current condition / integrity The broad routing skeleton remains Ross; however, major earthwork and surface features were re-built multiple times. The club notes a 1965–67 period in which the front and back nines were “completely renovated,” an era typical of modernization that altered original bunkering and greens. In 1996–1999 the course underwent further renovation and a new irrigation design by Ron Garl. A comprehensive renovation in 2018, led by Tony Jacklin, re-built all 18 holes—greens, tees, bunkers, fairways, roughs, and the range—and converted the cart paths back to a crushed-shell treatment. Jacklin’s published note emphasizes simplifying maintenance and re-introducing native sandy areas with wispy grasses in line with Ross’s original drawings, along with replacing non-native trees with local palms. In practical terms, that work re-set the course’s visual character and strategic cues to better match 1924 documents while delivering modern turf systems and surfaces (TifEagle greens). Tournament fact sheets corroborate the modern setup choices: LPGA materials list Ross (1924) as original architect, with Garl (1999) and Jacklin (2018) as renovation architects, and describe the 2018 work as a restoration to the original design ethos. For professional play in 2024–2025, the course has been set in the 6,3xx–6,4xx yard range (par 71), while the club’s card remains 6,794 yards from the back tees for members. In summary: the routing and land plan are Ross; most surfaces and hazards are modern reconstructions consciously referencing Ross’s drawings. That combination—original corridors with historically informed 21st-century features—explains why the course reads “classic” while presenting as crisp and contemporary in conditioning. Sources & Notes Bradenton Country Club — Club History (timeline; 1924 formation; name change; 1965–67 renovations; 1996–99 Garl work; 2018 comprehensive work; 2024–25 LPGA). Bradenton Country Club — Donald Ross’s Original Drawings (evidence that original plans are preserved and referenced). Donald Ross Society — Featured Club: Bradenton CC; architect’s note by Tony Jacklin (intent of 2018 work: remove tarmac paths; create native/wispy grass areas per Ross drawings; simplify maintenance; palms). Bradenton Herald (Oct. 25, 2018): report on the $2.5M renovation bringing the course “back to its original Ross design.” (Headline & summary accessible; used here to corroborate scope/intent alongside club/DRS sources.) Florida State Golf Association — “Florida Open Heads to Historic Bradenton CC” (course acreage/feel; inter-visibility among holes; par-3 2nd with church steeple backdrop; 2018 elimination of tarmac paths and creation of native crushed-shell areas). GCSAA/LPGA — 2025 Founders Cup Fact Sheet (attribution of renovations: Ross 1924; Garl 1999; Jacklin 2018; description of 2018 as restoration to original intent). Top100GolfCourses — Bradenton Country Club (background; 1999/2018 renovation notes; acknowledgment that original drawings are on club site). 1965–67 scope/attribution: The club timeline calls the front and back nines “completely renovated” but doesn’t name an architect; without a named designer, the precise extent of feature changes in that era is uncertain. “Clearest surviving Ross holes”: Identification here is based on routing continuity and the 2018 team’s reliance on Ross drawings—not on untouched original greens/bunkers (which were rebuilt). The par-3 2nd is singled out because its setting and corridor are documented; other examples are inferential.