Bobby Weed
Encyclopedia
Robert C. Weed, Jr., ASGCA
(born April 13, 1955) is a golf course designer, builder, and protégé of Pete Dye
. Weed's work includes Tournament Players Club
courses, the Slammer and Squire at World Golf Village
, and the redesign of the Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida
. His designs are frequently included on lists of best courses in golfing publications.
to parents Robert C. and Margie Johnson Weed. Robert, Sr. worked in construction, but his grandparents were farmers. The Weed family farm was large, and some of the land was sold to a developer who built the Coldstream Country Club. Bobby learned to play golf when he was ten, and while a teenager, convinced his father to allow him to use a family soybean field near the golf course to build a Driving range
because the club didn't have one. Bobby did much of the work himself. Thirty years later, the Weed family still owned it.
He played varsity golf and baseball and graduated with the class of 1973 at Irmo High School
. Weed played on the school's golf team while attending Presbyterian College
, then transferred to Lake City Community College in north Florida, where he enrolled in the Golf Course Operations and Landscape Technology program, recognized as one of the finest in existence.
course, Weed was introduced to golf architect Pete Dye
, the most notable golf architect in the second half of the twentieth century, who was revising the Amelia Links course. After graduating in 1977, Weed returned to Amelia as assistant superintendent. He was invited to join Dye's crew in 1980 at Hilton Head, South Carolina. As project supervisor, Weed hired interns Ron Farris, Scott Pool and David Savic from Lake City Community College
, his alma mater. Pete's youngest son, P.B. (Paul Burke) and Tom Doak
were also in the gang. In a Golf Digest
article, "Real Secrets of Golf Course Architects", Ron Whitten wrote that the construction of Long Cove Club was "Animal House-builds-a-golf-course." They had fun working, with impromptu three-wheeler races, dune jumping and chasing trespassing kids away with a bulldozer. Most evenings included a beer bash. What they lacked in experience they made up for with enthusiasm and energy. The guys worked and played hard, and with Dye's direction, created an entity that nearly thirty years later, is still ranked in GOLF Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the U.S. They also became a new generation of golf course architects.
Weed was named superintendent
at Dye's famous Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass
in 1982. His association with Pete Dye lasted seventeen years and he credits his mentor with shaping his approach to golf course design and construction.
hired Weed to supervise their golf course design and construction. He was promoted to Chief Designer of Design Services in 1987, where he worked with legendary golfers who contributed their expertise into course design. Among them were Arnold Palmer
, Jack Nicklaus
, Ray Floyd, Sam Snead
and Gene Sarazen
. Weed's designs include TPC Las Vegas, TPC at River Highlands, TPC at Summerlin and TPC Tampa Bay.
. The couple resides at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
and have three daughters: Haley, Carley, and Lanier, who is autistic.
The foundation issues grants to support autistic camps and educational programs. They also provide financial aid to families of autistic children.
Each TPC location is required to "adopt" a local charity. Beginning in 2007, TPC Sawgrass selected HEAL. Valley of Dreams events have raised more than $1 million; most of which was used to support the organization's activities that help families. However, part of those funds are placed in an account to construct "the HEAL House," a permanent facility to provide multiple programs under one roof.
The first annual Bobby Weed/Pete Dye Charity Classic golf tournament was held June 30, 2007 at the TPC Valley course.
issued a resolution on April 23, 2003 which applauded the Irmo native for being named the 2003 South Carolina Golf Association 'Golf Week' Honoree "in recognition of his long and distinguished career in golf course design."
Weed was recognized by "Golfdom Magazine" as one of their People of the Year for 2000.
American Society of Golf Course Architects
The American Society of Golf Course Architects is a professional organization of golf course designers in America. Founded in 1946, its members are actively involved in the design of new courses and the renovation of existing courses in the United States and Canada. One of its founders was noted...
(born April 13, 1955) is a golf course designer, builder, and protégé of Pete Dye
Pete Dye
Paul B. "Pete" Dye is a world-renowned golf course designer and a member of a famous family of course designers. He is married to fellow designer and former amateur champion Alice Dye.-Early life:Pete Dye was born in Urbana, Ohio...
. Weed's work includes Tournament Players Club
Tournament Players Club
Tournament Players Club is a chain of public and private golf courses operated by the PGA Tour. Most of the courses either are or have been hosts for PGA Tour events, with the remainder having frequently hosted events on the second-tier Nationwide Tour or the over-50s Champions Tour.The first...
courses, the Slammer and Squire at World Golf Village
World Golf Village
The World Golf Village is a golf resort located midway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida, built to showcase the World Golf Hall of Fame and intended to be the ultimate golf destination for players and fans of the game.-Development:...
, and the redesign of the Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
. His designs are frequently included on lists of best courses in golfing publications.
Early years
Bobby Weed was born in Irmo, South CarolinaIrmo, South Carolina
Irmo is a town in Lexington and Richland counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina and a suburb of Columbia. It is 12 miles outside of the city center of Columbia and is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area...
to parents Robert C. and Margie Johnson Weed. Robert, Sr. worked in construction, but his grandparents were farmers. The Weed family farm was large, and some of the land was sold to a developer who built the Coldstream Country Club. Bobby learned to play golf when he was ten, and while a teenager, convinced his father to allow him to use a family soybean field near the golf course to build a Driving range
Driving range
A driving range is an area where golfers can practice their swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range attached and they are also found as stand-alone facilities, especially...
because the club didn't have one. Bobby did much of the work himself. Thirty years later, the Weed family still owned it.
He played varsity golf and baseball and graduated with the class of 1973 at Irmo High School
Irmo High School
Irmo High School is a four-grade public high school in Irmo, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. Around 2,000 students are enrolled in any single year...
. Weed played on the school's golf team while attending Presbyterian College
Presbyterian College
Presbyterian College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a prominent Presbyterian minister who also founded the nearby Thornwell Home and...
, then transferred to Lake City Community College in north Florida, where he enrolled in the Golf Course Operations and Landscape Technology program, recognized as one of the finest in existence.
Apprenticeship
While working a summer golf internship at an Amelia Island PlantationAmelia Island Plantation
Amelia Island Plantation is a luxury resort located on Amelia Island, Florida, the westernmost barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean in the U.S. The resort's tennis facility hosted the Bausch & Lomb Championships, a major Women's Tennis Association tournament, for 20 years...
course, Weed was introduced to golf architect Pete Dye
Pete Dye
Paul B. "Pete" Dye is a world-renowned golf course designer and a member of a famous family of course designers. He is married to fellow designer and former amateur champion Alice Dye.-Early life:Pete Dye was born in Urbana, Ohio...
, the most notable golf architect in the second half of the twentieth century, who was revising the Amelia Links course. After graduating in 1977, Weed returned to Amelia as assistant superintendent. He was invited to join Dye's crew in 1980 at Hilton Head, South Carolina. As project supervisor, Weed hired interns Ron Farris, Scott Pool and David Savic from Lake City Community College
Lake City Community College
Florida Gateway College , formerly Lake City Community College, is a state college in Lake City, Florida, U.S. It is part of the Florida College System...
, his alma mater. Pete's youngest son, P.B. (Paul Burke) and Tom Doak
Tom Doak
Tom Doak is a golf course architect. He currently has 4 courses ranked among the top 100 in the world according to Golf Magazines "Top 100 Courses in the World" list, including Pacific Dunes in Oregon, Ballyneal in Colorado , Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania and Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand...
were also in the gang. In a Golf Digest
Golf Digest
Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
article, "Real Secrets of Golf Course Architects", Ron Whitten wrote that the construction of Long Cove Club was "Animal House-builds-a-golf-course." They had fun working, with impromptu three-wheeler races, dune jumping and chasing trespassing kids away with a bulldozer. Most evenings included a beer bash. What they lacked in experience they made up for with enthusiasm and energy. The guys worked and played hard, and with Dye's direction, created an entity that nearly thirty years later, is still ranked in GOLF Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the U.S. They also became a new generation of golf course architects.
Weed was named superintendent
Golf course superintendent
A Golf course superintendent is a person who professionally manages the labor, time, materials and financial resources needed to care for the turfgrass and landscaped grounds on a golf course. Golf course superintendents have also been referred to as greenskeepers and turf managers...
at Dye's famous Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass
TPC at Sawgrass
The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, colloquially known as TPC at Sawgrass, is a well-known golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville. Opened in 1980, it was the first of several Tournament Players Clubs to be built...
in 1982. His association with Pete Dye lasted seventeen years and he credits his mentor with shaping his approach to golf course design and construction.
PGA
In 1983, the PGA TourPGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
hired Weed to supervise their golf course design and construction. He was promoted to Chief Designer of Design Services in 1987, where he worked with legendary golfers who contributed their expertise into course design. Among them were Arnold Palmer
Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...
, Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...
, Ray Floyd, Sam Snead
Sam Snead
Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S...
and Gene Sarazen
Gene Sarazen
Gene Sarazen was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s. He is one of five golfers to win all the current major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam:U.S...
. Weed's designs include TPC Las Vegas, TPC at River Highlands, TPC at Summerlin and TPC Tampa Bay.
Independent
Weed started his own company in 1994--Bobby Weed Golf Design--and has designed or redesigned an impressive list of highly regarded courses. A partial list of his work follows:Courses Built
- Bent Creek Golf Course, Jacksonville
- Cannon Ridge Golf Club, Fredericksburg, Virginia - Golf Digest’s 3rd Best New Public Course in 2004;
- Cypress Links, Jupiter, Florida
- Deltona Club, Florida
- Olde Farm Golf Club, Bristol, Virginia - "Golf Digest's" Best new Private Course of 2000; Golfweek’s Top 50 Modern Courses in America
- Fayetteville Golf Club, Georgia
- Glen Mills, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - "Golfweek’s" Best Public Course in Pennsylvania; "Golf Magazine’s" 5th Best New Places to Play in 2001; "Golf Digest’s" 7th Best New Public Course in 2001; "Golf for Women" – Ranked 33rd in Their Top 50
- Golf Club At Fleming Island, Florida - "Golf Digest's" 5th Best New Public Course of 2002; "Golf Magazine's" Top 25 Affordable Courses in America
- Hilton Head National Golf Club, Bluffton, South Carolina
- Mito Kourakuen Country Club, Mito, Japan
- Ocean Links at Amelia Island Plantation, Florida - Golf for Women ranked 11th in Top 50; Golf Digest’s Top 75 Golf Resorts
- Slammer & Squire Golf Course at World Golf Village, St. Augustine - "Golf for Women's" Top 100; "Golf Digest's" Top 75 Golf Resorts
- Spanish Oaks Golf Club, Austin, Texas
- StoneRidge Golf Club, Stillwater, Minnesota - "Golfweek’s" Best Public Course in Minnesota; "Golf Magazine’s" Best New Places to Play in 2000; "Golf for Women's" Top 100
- TPC at River HighlandsTPC at River HighlandsTPC River Highlands, formerly Middletown Golf Club , Edgewood Country Club , then the TPC of Connecticut , is a private golf club located in Cromwell, Connecticut which is a part of the Tournament Players Club network operated by the PGA Tour...
, Cromwell, Connecticut - TPC at SummerlinTPC at SummerlinTPC at Summerlin is a private golf club located within the planned community of Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada.The Bobby Weed designed championship golf course is a member of the Tournament Players Club network operated by the PGA Tour. It is the venue for the tour's Justin Timberlake Shriners...
, Nevada - TPC Las VegasTPC Las VegasTPC Las Vegas, formerly TPC at The Canyons, is an 18-hole golf course located in the planned community of Summerlin in western Las Vegas, Nevada....
, Nevada - TPC Tampa BayTPC Tampa BayTPC Tampa Bay is an 18-hole golf course located in Lutz, Florida.Opened in 1991, TPC Tampa Bay was designed by Bobby Weed in consultation with tour professional Chi Chi Rodriguez and is part of the Tournament Players Club network operated by the PGA Tour...
, Lutz, Florida
Courses Redesigned
- Linville Ridge Golf Club, North Carolina
- Brooksville Country Club at Majestic Oaks, Florida
- White Manor Country Club, Malvern, Pennsylvania - "Golf Inc. Magazine" Renovation of the Year in 2004
- Mark Bostick Golf Course, University of Florida - covered in a 17-part Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
article, This Old Course; "Golfweek’s" 14th Best College Course in America - Timuquana Country ClubTimuquana Country ClubTimuquana Country Club is a private golf and country club in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in Jacksonville's Ortega neighborhood, it was founded in 1923. Its golf course was originally designed by legend Donald Ross, and members have included PGA Tour professionals Steve Melnyk and David Duval...
, Jacksonville - 2002 USGA Senior Amateur Championship - Ponte Vedra Inn and ClubPonte Vedra Inn and ClubThe Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, located at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, is a AAA Five Diamond Award resort and the first country club at Ponte Vedra. The 9th hole on the Ocean course has the distinction of having the first island green ever built.-History:...
, Florida - New Orleans Country Club, Louisiana
- New Smyrna Golf Course, New Smyrna Beach, Florida (2006)
- Oceanside Country Club, Ormond Beach, Florida
- Pine Tree Golf Club, Boynton Beach, Florida
Personal
Weed met his future wife Leslie Hale in 1989 at Amelia IslandAmelia Island
Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...
. The couple resides at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporated seaside community in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located eighteen miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jacksonville Beaches area. It is an upmarket tourist resort area best known for its...
and have three daughters: Haley, Carley, and Lanier, who is autistic.
HEAL
Because of Lanier's condition, Weed and his wife co-founded the non-profit organization, Healing Every Autistic Life (HEAL) in 2004.The foundation issues grants to support autistic camps and educational programs. They also provide financial aid to families of autistic children.
Each TPC location is required to "adopt" a local charity. Beginning in 2007, TPC Sawgrass selected HEAL. Valley of Dreams events have raised more than $1 million; most of which was used to support the organization's activities that help families. However, part of those funds are placed in an account to construct "the HEAL House," a permanent facility to provide multiple programs under one roof.
The first annual Bobby Weed/Pete Dye Charity Classic golf tournament was held June 30, 2007 at the TPC Valley course.
Honors
The South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina General Assembly
The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and the upper South Carolina Senate. Altogether, the General...
issued a resolution on April 23, 2003 which applauded the Irmo native for being named the 2003 South Carolina Golf Association 'Golf Week' Honoree "in recognition of his long and distinguished career in golf course design."
Weed was recognized by "Golfdom Magazine" as one of their People of the Year for 2000.