Pine Tree Golf Club is a private

golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety o ...

Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about north of Miami. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded a population of 80,380. Boynton Beach is located in the Mi ...

Details

In 1960, Louis Sibbett "Dick" Wilson was commissioned by the founder members (including

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

ers) to fashion an outstanding golf course on lush, green, semi-tropical dairy farmland purchased from the Weaver's in

. The 18-hole club, opened for play in January 1962 was built (over a 168-acre stretch of sand and

slash pine ''Pinus elliottii'', commonly known as slash pine,Family, P. P. (1990). Pinus elliottii Engelm. slash pine. ''Silvics of North America: Conifers'', (654), 338. is a Pinophyta, conifer tree native to the Southeastern United States. Slash pine is n ...

) by golf course architect Joseph L. Lee, "Gentleman Joe" (a Wilson protege). Pine Tree was remodeled by Lee, in 1990, Ron Forse in 1997 and Bobby Weed in 2005. The club built two guest houses. One was named after founder member Louis Gumpert. The other was called "The Wilson" where Wilson stayed when he died in 1965.

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

and

Dow Finsterwald Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022) was an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship, 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ry ...

, both professionally connected with clubs near by, applied for conventional, private memberships. Popular quotes include, "The best course I have ever seen."—

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

, "A truly great course."—

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

, "The greatest course I have ever played."—

Ruth Jessen Mary Ruth Jessen (November 12, 1936 – September 21, 2007) was an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1956 and won 11 LPGA Tour victories in all. Amateur career Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Jessen g ...

, "Dick Wilson's greatest work of all."—

Gardner Dickinson Gardner Edward Dickinson, Jr. (September 14, 1927 – April 19, 1998) was an American professional golfer. Born in Dothan, Alabama, Dickinson was a student of Ben Hogan and crafted his swing in the Hogan tradition. He played college golf at Lou ...

. Legends such as

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...

Tommy Armour Thomas Dickson Armour (24 September 1896 – 11 September 1968) was a Scottish-born golfer who played primarily in the United States. He was nicknamed The Silver Scot. He was the winner of three of golf's major championships: 1927 U.S. Open, 1 ...

Louise Suggs Mae Louise Suggs (September 7, 1923 – August 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer, one of the founders of the LPGA Tour and thus modern ladies' golf. Amateur career Born in Atlanta, Suggs had a very successful amateur career, beginnin ...

Mickey Wright Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright (February 14, 1935 – February 17, 2020) was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She became a member of the tour in 1955 and won 82 LPGA Tour career events including 13 major champions ...

and

JoAnne Carner JoAnne Gunderson Carner (born April 4, 1939) is an American former professional golfer. Her 43 victories on the LPGA Tour led to her induction in the World Golf Hall of Fame. She is the only woman to have won the U.S. Girls' Junior, U.S. Women ...

have called Pine Tree their home winter club. Other

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame was, until recently, located at World Golf Village between Jacksonville, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It is unusual amongst sports halls of fame in that a single site honored both men ...

members include

Beth Daniel Beth Daniel (born October 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1979 and won 33 LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fa ...

Karrie Webb Karrie Anne Webb (born 21 December 1974) is an Australian professional golfer. She plays mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and also turns out once or twice a year on the ALPG Tour in her home country. She is a member of the World Golf Hall ...

and

Meg Mallon Meg Mallon (born April 14, 1963) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1987 and won 18 LPGA Tour events, including four major championships, during her career. Mallon was inducted into the World Golf Hall o ...

. Pine Tree has been rated as high as the First 10 of America's 100 Most Testing Courses (1969-1970) by ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...

''.

USGA host

In 1978, Pine Tree hosted the

U.S. Senior Amateur The U.S. Senior Amateur is a national tournament for amateur golf competitors at least 55 years of age. It is operated by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The tournament starts with 36 holes of stroke play, with the top 64 competitors ad ...

. Four of the 144 qualifiers from forty-seven states were members of Pine Tree, which at the time was rated in the top twenty courses in the country. Two members were semi-finalists - Ed Tutwiler and

Dale Morey Dale E. Morey (December 1, 1918 – May 14, 2002) was an American amateur golfer and professional basketball player. In basketball, he played in the National Basketball League for the Anderson Duffey Packers during the 1946–47 season. In golf ...

. The tournament was won by Gen. Keith K. Compton, U.S.A.F. (Ret.) of Marble Falls, Texas.

Scorecard

Source:

References

External links

Joe Lee
*{{Official website, http://www.pinetreegolfclub.net Golf clubs and courses in Florida Tourist attractions in Palm Beach County, Florida Sports in Palm Beach County, Florida Sports venues in Palm Beach County, Florida