Blue Cypress Golf Course is undergoing an expansion, adding three new holes and a clubhouse. l Steven Ponson, Jacksonville Today
Published on May 29, 2024 at 3:31 pm
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Soon you’ll be able to play more golf at the Blue Cypress Golf Course in Jacksonville’s University Park area. Work will begin soon on expanding the course.
The city of Jacksonville, which owns the nine-hole course near Jacksonville University, announced Wednesday that it will build three new par-3 holes, a new putting green and eventually a new clubhouse.
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The three new holes will total 376 yards and cost the city $800,000. Construction is scheduled to begin next month and be completed by the end of the year.
The additional holes are a welcome site for avid golfers like Brian McGavin. He said he travels from Jacksonville Beach several times a week to play at Blue Cypress since it’s affordable and not as crowded as other courses.
“I think having 12 holes is nice. Make it a little bit longer walk which would be better exercise. That’s what I do, I just walk mainly for exercise,” McGavin said.
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He said he wants to see the city do more to keep the course in good shape, but having new holes and a new clubhouse is a good start, he said.
This isn’t the first major upgrade for the course. In April 2021, the course reopened after upgrades to the tee boxes, greens, fairways and driving range after it closed in 2016.
Daryl Joseph, director of the city’s parks department, said he believes the expansion will help turn the entire park into a destination.
“You may come here for one thing and then find that you get excited about something other than just the golf course — the new playground we actually have in place, the artificial turf field, basketball courts, pickleball courts, the actual new pool that’s being built, so this park truly has something for everyone,” Joseph said.
Details of the new clubhouse are not yet available. The building is in the preliminary design stage so there is no cost associated with the project yet.
The clubhouse will have a space for the community and will be home to the Jacksonville University men’s and women’s golf teams with locker rooms and coaches’ offices. It also will have space for the First Tee to expand its youth golf programs.
