Bobby Weed: Shaping the Game of Golf One Design at a Time

A disciple of famed course architect Pete Dye, Bobby Weed has been designing, renovating, and rebuilding golf courses for over 30 years.

A master at his craft, Bobby Weed is changing the game of golf, one course at a time, one fairway after another.

Early Years

Born Robert C. Weed, Jr., April 13, 1955, Bobby Weed has been passionate about golf from an early age. Growing up in South Carolina, Weed began modifying his family-owned bean fields into Weed Hill Driving Range when he was just in high school. This sparked his love for golf design and led him to attend Presbyterian College and Lake City Community College, in North Florida, studying in the Golf Course Operations and Landscape Technology program. After graduating, Weed took an internship working under the greats Ron Hill and Pete Dye, two mentors that would profoundly shape his career in modern day golf course design.

Hole 17 at TPC Sawgrass golf course green with a flag surrounded by calm waters in front of tall trees in Northeast Florida.
The "Island Green" 17 hole at TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course

Weed joined the PGA tour in 1983 as a Certified Golf Course Superintendent at TPC @ Sawgrass, and progressed to the Tour’s in-house Chief Designer, where he contributed to the design of many of today’s most well-known TPC venues, which host prominent Tour events to date.

When he’s not building courses, Weed is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), the Florida Turfgrass Association, and has founded his own non-profit organization, HEAL (Healing Every Autistic Life) based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, serving individuals and families living with autism spectrum disorders.

Bobby Weed & Joey Graziani | Photo: bobbyweed.com

Course Designs & Renovations

Weed has over 20 original designs to his credit, including renowned TPC courses throughout the country. He has designed courses across the globe and you can find 7 of his courses right here in Northeast Florida, including TPC Sawgrass, Slammer and Squire at World Golf Village, Timuquana Country Club, Ponte Vedra Inn and Club- Lagoon Course and Ocean Course, Bent Creek Golf Course, Fleming Island Golf Club, and the newest addition to the Northeast Florida courses, Stillwater Golf and Country Club.

credit: Bent Creek Golf Course

Bent Creek is known as one of Jacksonville’s premier golf courses. Crafted by Bobby Weed with consulting from Mark McCumber, this course takes golfers on a game through a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary with plush fairways and a state-of-the-art practice facility. The Ocean Course at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, recently renovated by Weed, included the rebuilding of 20 greens, restoring numerous bridges and irrigation systems to transform the property and revamp the practice facility.

Fleming Island Golf Club

Fleming Island Golf Club, a residential course set against the pines and swamps of Clay County, is a must play. Designed by Weed, this course features a diverse landscape mixed with elevated greens and carefully-placed sand bunkers. Players of all skill levels will enjoy the creative yet challenging terrain.

Stillwater, the newest golf course to come to the Florida Coast in over 20 years, has generous fairways but don’t let that fool you. “Making minimal use of space and resources and combining old-school and modern design principles, Stillwater winds through an area of native wetlands and cypress, pine, and oak trees,” according to GolfWeek. The progressive design offers “numerous moguls, mounds, waste areas, and small 'pot' bunkers offer most of the challenges and, more important to Weed, increase the options of how to play a hole.”

Course Awards and Recognition

Fleming Island Golf Club

  • UNBRIDLED TOUR HOST - Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying
  • USGA HOST - U.S. Open Qualifying
  • GOLF DIGEST - Best New Affordable U.S. Courses, No. 5

Lagoon Course at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club

  • HOST VENUE - Gate Petroleum PGA Invitational
  • ANNUAL HOST VENUE - Back-to-School Junior Invitational

Ocean Course at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club

  • GOLF INC. - Renovation of the Year, Runner-Up, Private Course
  • VISIT FLORIDA - Top 5 Golf & Spa Resorts in Florida
  • GOLF MAGAZINE - Best Courses You Can Play in Florida, No. 28

TPC Sawgrass, Stadium Course

  • GOLF DIGEST - Best Golf Courses in Florida, No. 2
  • GOLF DIGEST - America's 100 Greatest Public Courses, No. 11
  • GOLF DIGEST - Best TPC Golf Courses, No. 1

TPC Sawgrass, Valley Course

  • GOLFWEEK - Top 200 Resort Courses, No. 198
  • GOLFWEEK - Best Courses You Can Play in Florida, No. 29
  • GOLF MAGAZINE - Top 100 Golf Resorts in N. America, No. 19

World Golf Village, Slammer and Squire

  • GOLF ADVISOR - Best Public Courses in Florida, No.
  • GOLF DIGEST - Top Public Courses in Florida, No. 52

With a world-renowned designer local to the Florida Coast of Golf, it’s no wonder that our courses are some of the top in the country. Book a tee time at one of Weed’s local designs and sharpen your skills on “golf courses that are exciting to play and operationally sound,” according to the legend himself.

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