Mangrove Bay Golf Course

Guest opinion: Mangrove protection laws under attack

Gov. Scott’s programs have been held close to chest, but they’ve been leaking out bit by bit. There was the recent proposal to build 36-hole golf courses in state parks, but that died when they realized golf courses are failing all over the state (and thus not a good investment). Then, the St Petersburg Times published editorial reports saying the DEP had a program to turn portions of state parks over to private corporations to build camping and RV sites. One of them, they said, was an environmentally sensitive area of Honeymoon Island State Park now used for nature-watching and picnicking. More than 400 people attended a rally last week to protect Honeymoon Island and, on July 9, Gov. Scott announced that in view of fierce public opposition “this is not the right time” to privatize Honeymoon Park. He left it clear that only the timing was being changed—the program would continue. I’ve been suspicious ever since DEP renamed “Charlotte Harbor State Aquatic Buffer Preserves” (our local state-owned mangroves) to “Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park,” so I of course wondered if 4,806-acre Little Pine Island in particular could be slated to become a privately-developed golf course, campground, or such. Earlier today, I got my answer when I found a June 28 article by Virginia Chamlee in the Florida Independent. She revealed a DEP list entitled “State Parks with Potential for Providing New Family Camping Areas” and No. 10 on the list is the renamed “Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park.” The designation includes all state-owned mangroves and other coastal wetlands in Lee and Charlotte County — some 70 miles of shoreline and 45,000 acres. It includes all of Little Pine Island, most of the mangrove fringe around Pine Island, and most mangroves along Lemon Bay, Cape Haze, Matlacha Pass, and Estero Bay. All of our local state-owned mangroves are in serious danger of development, but Little Pine Island probably heads the list because of its size and because it was recently cleared of exotics by the Little Pine Island Mitigation Bank. It’s supposedly protected in perpetuity, but that’s supposedly also true of all of the former “buffer preserves,” so why are they all on the list? The danger to privately-owned mangroves is even worse, and about one-third of the Pine Island mangrove fringe is in private ownership (mainly local land speculators).

Common Courses: Mangrove Bay Golf Course ~ A Golf Sport

WHEN I’M IN ST. PETERSBURG, Florida , visiting our friends Aly, Sheila and Christina and want to play golf, I head out to Mangrove Bay Golf Course, a 15-minute drive from downtown situated near Tampa Bay. My Mangrove Bay excursions have worked out well for Aly because when I show up on family vacation he has a built-in excuse to play. Aly is a highly infrequent golfer. Mangrove Bay is a municipal facility that has modest green and cart fees by Florida standards. Although the course gets a lot of play, it never has seemed beat up to me. (Bermuda grass is tough.) In fact, it has always been in good condition, especially for a public course. Measuring 6,779 yards (that must be from the tips), the par-72 layout is sufficiently challenging without being overly difficult. My kind of track. I’ve played it several times, often with borrowed clubs, and probably shot 80 to 85. And I’ve played it in August (yes, August) on suffocating 90-degree afternoons. Because I have no sense.

Frommer's Florida 2007

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Frommer's Bermuda 2011

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Frommer's Florida 2011

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Golf course design

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Tampa Bay Magazine

I I I St. Petersburg's two municipal golf courses are the top choices among the city's residents and visitors. Although Mangrove Bay and Twin Brooks golf ...