Crandon Park Golf Course — Site of Proposed Golf Course Overhaul
A group of private backers wants to hire golf legend Jack Nicklaus to redesign the public Crandon Golf Course on Key Biscayne, part of an $80 million proposal that would also overhaul the park’s aging tennis complex with new pickleball and padel courts. The plan calls for elevating the golf course playing area by several feet to guard against surge flooding and cut down on runoff into Biscayne Bay, and it would replace the current clubhouse with a three-story building featuring an observation deck, a bar, a restaurant, locker rooms and verandas.
The proposal, first reported by the Miami Herald, remains in the planning stage, with organizer Andres Gaviria and attorney Eugene Stearns meeting with government officials and others to build support. Gaviria has described the project as a gift to the public, telling the Herald the redesigned course would be built for everyday residents rather than any private club. Stearns, who is leading the promotional push, has said the existing course actually harms the environment and argued the new layout would be among the finest golf courses in the country…