The World Golf Foundation recently announced that the next World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the World Golf Village on Monday, May 9, 2011.  The ceremony’s date is very fortunate and strategic, as it is targeted to kick off the week of festivities and competition of The Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.  The direct tie-in between the world-famous, globally-broadcast Players Championship and the sport’s Hall of Fame and Shrine induction should be of great benefit for all aspects of the game, the region and our community.
 
The announcement was made on July 22 by Jack Peter, World Golf Foundation COO and Tim Finchem, PGA TOUR Commissioner. Jack Peter said, “Staging the annual Induction Ceremony in the heart of the golf season, just before one of golf’s most thrilling events, is a great opportunity for the Hall of Fame.” The World Golf Foundation is also keen about developing and scheduling other related events and activities, wrapped around that timeframe, that can extend the appeal and relevance of the induction
 
A few years ago, the PGA TOUR was successful in moving the famed Players Championship from March to May. Doing so, created a stand-alone platform for the event and eliminated any interpretation that it was a warm-up to the Masters. Now, the golf season features a 5 month series of showcase, major tournaments, from April to August, comprised of; The Masters in April, The Players Championship in May, The US Open Championship in June, The Open Championship in July and The PGA Championship in August.

When you look at a map of the greater World Golf Village area, ever wonder what all those curvaceous creeks are like?  Well, it is simple to channel that wonder into an easy exploration, for most of the larger creeks in our area are beautifully serene and old-Florida wild.
 
Two of the best creeks for a paddle excursion are right at the doorstep to the World Golf Village.  One of them, Six Mile Creek, forms the western boundary of the King & Bear and Heritage Landing neighborhoods.  Six Mile Creek, along with its sister, Trout Creek, flow into the St. Johns River at their confluence with Palmo Cove.  In the 1800’s both creeks enabled loggers to gain access to harvest prime timber and raft it out to the broad St. Johns River, eventually delivering it to the mills in Jacksonville.  Today, the creeks offer a pristine glimpse into the flora and fauna that so intrigued the Bartram’s during their discoveries in the late 1700’s.
 
For starters, I suggest a half-day of boating that will reveal the unique character and quality of both Six Mile Creek and Trout Creek, while providing a window to the St. Johns River’s majesty.
 
There are two ways to do my suggested trip.  For an out-and-back trip, try putting in at the St. Johns County Trout Creek boat ramp on SR 16 / SR 13 – paddling out from there and returning to the same location.  Optionally, you can set up a shuttle with one car at the Outback Crab Shack on CR 13 – that way you can put in at Trout Creek and take out at the Crab Shack (after your lunch or dinner – just tell Ms. Margaret, Joe or David that you are leaving your car, before you depart).

When you enter the realm of the World Golf Village, you will encounter many beautiful Southern Live Oaks. Before designing the thematic plant palette for the community, I went on a Tree Hunt to witness the majesty of the oldest and most grand and massive Live Oaks in the region. I encourage you to take a Saturday or Sunday break and go on the same hunt, for I know you will be pleasantly rewarded.

I suggest you start in America’s First City, St. Augustine. There you will find the Old Senator, a gigantic Live Oak persisting within the confines of the Howard Johnson’s Motel parking court, off of San Marco Boulevard. This tree is testament to the strength, adaptability and long-life characteristics that distinguish its species. No wonder that its wood was prized by ancient boat-builders.

Here is a recipe for a successful venture on Cumberland Island – whether for your first trip, or many returns: Rise and ready yourselves and have a breakfast at your favorite spot.  Drive to St. Marys, arriving before 11:00 AM.  Check in at the Park Service water-front welcome center and proceed to get on the 11:45 AM ferry service to the island.  Depart the ferry at the Ice House Dock / Dungeness Dock on the island at about 12:20.  Gather up your party and strike out beneath the Live Oaks for the Dungeness Ruins.  Along the way, look for the wild horses, turkey, deer, the ubiquitous armadillo and myriad bird species.  Take the shore trail from Dungeness to the marsh-side boardwalk – then to the open dune system.  Cross the dune trail to the wide, wide beach.  Walk the beach and marsh-wrack line (looking for shells and other flotsam jewels), north to the Sea Camp boardwalk.  Stroll the boardwalk up to the Live Oak tree line – making sure to stop and linger in the open sun before venturing into the Maritime Forest.  Be very observant at this point and take it slow – for the transition from the open, squinty, harsh, wind-swept and sun-drenched beach environment to the sheltered, shady, cool, dark and quiet forest floor beneath the swaying Live Oak canopy is a remarkable and dramatic change.  Let it envelope you, enjoy it and open your senses to it.  Pick out a picnic table and serve yourselves your homemade lunch treats, along with a good (discreet) bottle of wine.  Afterwards, benefit from the Sea Camp facilities, freshen-up and embark on the Parallel Trail through a luxurious habitat of bent and twisting Live Oak canopies and an exuberant, green understory of Saw Palmetto, ultimately arriving at the Greyfield Inn cross island beach path.  Take the path, west, to the grounds of the Greyfield Inn housed in the former Stafford House, erected in 1909 (be discreet, signs say “guests only”).  Check out a few of the largest Live Oak trees on Cumberland Island which punctuate the Great Lawn of the Greyfield, they are truly magnificent.  Take the Main Road back to Sea Camp and the rest facilities at the dock.  Arrive by 4:15 so that you will not miss the afternoon ferry which departs sharply at 4:30PM.  Arrive home in time to change and go to dinner, where you can re-live your day and commit it to memory – you will certainly want to return many more times to discover all of the other benefits that time on Cumberland reveals.  Once you do, you will want to add Jekyll Island State Park, St. Simons Island, Little St. Simons Island, Sapelo Island National Estuarine Sanctuary and Tybee Island to your future explorations.  When you too fall in love with the Georgia Coast, you will want to make extra plans to get yourself onto Little Cumberland Island, Sea Island, St. Catherines Island, Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge, Ossabaw Island State Heritage Preserve and Wassaw Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Early on in the design and construction of World Golf Village, a series of out-of-town entertainment consultants were invited to “critique” our place and offer suggestions.  One of my favorite criticisms was that the place “was too green”.  I laughed at that and took it as validation that we were building an endearing and lasting landscape; one that was naturally inspired and would define our environment.  Through the years, I have nurtured and watched our landscape grow.  Today, our choice to feature our signature tree, the Southern Live Oak, throughout the grounds of World Golf Village is proving to be a great decision.
 
For me, my love affair with the Southern Live Oak began during my first family visit to Jekyll Island, Georgia in 1968.  Walking amongst the giant, moss-draped, old trees was ethereal.  The experience was imprinted in my mind, drawing me back to the Georgia Coast for the next 14 years.  Upon college graduation, I moved to the Coast and worked to preserve its beauty through the administration of Georgia’s Coastal Marshlands Protection Act of 1970 and the Shore Assistance Act of 1979.  For a year, I mapped 4,600 acres of the Georgia Coast for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife’s National Wetland Inventory.  I was privileged to have countless helicopter fly-overs for photography and surveillance.  I gained access to every one of the major barrier islands.  I was able to stomp around everywhere, even deep into the remote hammock islands of the great Altamaha swamp, to find native Indian pottery shards lying uncovered on the ground.  My immersion into the wilds, the marshes, islands and pristine beaches was thorough and complete.

The nationally circulated trade magazine for commercial landscape and development, Landscape Architect and Specifier News, selected the Davidson Companies’ headquarters building at the gateway to World Golf Village as its February, 2010 showcase project.  The magazines choose the Davidson building as the cover feature based on the storyline and pictorial beauty portrayed in the project submittal.  Working from the materials and script produced by the Davidson Companies, the magazine’s editor emphasized the project’s “people-friendly” characteristics and gracious business environment.  The fusion between the building’s indoor spaces and its outdoor rooms fascinated the editor, who displayed, in the article, all of the intriguing design elements that distinguish the building.

You have fallen in love with your Northeast Florida new home? It is beautiful and comfortable, just what you always wanted.  You are happy to host guests and parties, and you are having fun with furnishings.  Your home is beginning to portray your interests, your style and your character.  You learned about what works well in your home during this past holiday season.  Is there anything missing?

Your home needs to “find its place” in the community.  By that I mean an attention to your home’s landscape can provide the finishing touch.  Once you start to consider the “design” of your yard – not just a random or formula approach to planting – you can extend your personality and show your pride in your neighborhood.  A well-designed landscape, together with a quality-care, maintenance program can add immense appeal to your home and signal your commitment to preserving and upholding your neighborhood’s desirability and values.

We are very fortunate to be living in St. Johns County for many different reasons.  One important fact that you may not be aware of is that St. Johns County has participated in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) since 1973.

The NFIP is a federal program enabling property owners in participating communities,  such as St. Johns County, which includes The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village, to purchase insurance protection against losses from flooding.  The NFIP was established by Congress in 1968 and is based on an agreement between local communities and the Federal Government (FEMA), stating that if a community will adopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance, to reduce future flood risks to new construction in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA), the Federal Government will make flood insurance available within the community, as a financial protection against flood losses.  A SFHA is a high risk area (A or AE), defined as any land that would be inundated by a flood having a 1-percent chance of occurring in any given year (also referred to as the base flood).

I am sure that you have read that now is the best time to buy a home due to the federal incentive programs, attractive interest rates and variety of homes on the market. In a complimentary fashion, now is also the best time to purchase a residential lot and commence home construction. Generally, lot pricing has become highly competitive and is now at some of the best rates seen in decades. Most importantly, pricing for new home construction is almost at an all time low. Major building materials and components, as well as all of the various trade labors, are aggressively discounted. Builders and contractors are at their most humble state – meaning they are accommodating, negotiable, cooperative and extremely eager to work.

In that regard, we suggest you consider the lot availability in King & Bear at World Golf Village. The King & Bear, home to the first-time-ever, one-time-only, collaborative golf course design by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, is a gated, secure neighborhood that will have only 968 total residential homes, once completed. Of those, there are only 129 single family lots which overlook the prestigious King & Bear golf course. As of November 18, 2009, there are only 23 of these remarkable lots available for first-time buyers. A few of the lots are lake front, providing a gracious setback from the golf vistas and golf activity. Five of the lots are along the 350′ wide thirteenth fairway, shaded with majestic Southern Live Oaks. The other golf front lots are all situated to create broad, open vistas over 2 and 3 parallel fairway corridors, creating 600′ to 1,600′ views across the golf landscape to the distant conservation forestlands.

A comfortable drive through The Neighborhoods of the World Golf Village reveals that homeowners have embraced the landscape theme of their community and have eagerly spent time, resources and energy towards expanding and beautifying the landscape of their homes. Today, the value of ones home is not simply a result of the latest in kitchen, bath and entertainment amenities. More and more, home values improve and climb when the home is graced with a well-designed, beautiful landscape.

According to “Smart Money”, the Wall Street Journal Magazine of Personal Business, a home’s landscaping (or re-landscaping, as the case may be) can immediately add at least 15% to the value of the residence. To put that in perspective, for a $500,000 home, on which you spend $25,000 to spruce up the landscape, even a modest gain of only 7.5% would put $12,500 of straight profit in your pocket upon sale. A 15% gain would mean a profit of $50,000 – an amazing result based on some weekend sweat equity coupled with some professional landscape contracting.