The Deerwood Country Club, with its clubhouse. | Deerwood Country Club
Published on September 19, 2025 at 12:04 pm
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The 65-year-old Deerwood Country Club off Southside Boulevard will begin an extensive renovation of its golf course in just over a year.
The private course will reopen in the fall of 2027 with several new design elements:
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- A new six-hole short course named “The Approach,” presented by the Eiras family. The short course will open in 2026, before the full-course renovation, and become one of only a handful of such facilities in the region, club officials said. It will offer a “fun, fast-paced playing experience” for golfers of all ages and skill levels, they said.
- A 20,000-square-foot double green shared by holes 12 (par 3) and 14 (par 4).
- A Biarritz-style green on the 12th hole with a pronounced swale through its center, a design concept introduced to American golf more than a century ago by architect C.B. Macdonald.
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History of Deerwood Country Club
Deerwood’s golf course was originally designed by architect George Cobb in 1960. In addition to his many designs throughout the Southeast, Cobb served as a consultant for Augusta National Golf Club in the 1950s and 1960s.
Deerwood’s history includes playing host to the PGA Tour’s Greater Jacksonville Open, which later became The Players Championship, between 1967 and 1975.
The country club just kicked off a new partnership with golf instructor Travis Fulton, as part of its instructional program led by Director of Golf Mike Broderick. As part of the new partnership, members now enjoy access to Fulton’s indoor golf studios in Ponte Vedra Beach and Downtown Jacksonville.
MacCurrach Golf Construction is handling the renovation project, overseen by architect Erik Larsen.
Larsen, based in Ponte Vedra Beach, has designed more than 100 golf courses throughout the world over a 40-year career. Larsen’s local contributions include the highly acclaimed redesign of Atlantic Beach Country Club, which received a Best New Course rating from Golf Digest in 2014. Larsen also was Arnold Palmer’s project architect at the Arnold Palmer Design Co. from 1983 to 2011.
“We have incorporated a number of visually appealing design enhancements to create a ‘wow’ factor, including the double-green complex as well as the swale on 12 that will be distinct to Deerwood,” Larsen said in a news release. “The finished product will be both challenging at 7,350 yards and pleasing to the eye: dark green lush turf on smooth fairways and large but minimal bunkering, manicured and filled with white sand.”
Speaking about “The Approach,” the club’s general manager, C. Thayer Kern, said: “We have received overwhelming support from the membership to build the short course, which will provide a fun alternative to traditional golf. It will be a social focal point for the membership and a great place for everyone to learn the game.”
The renovation work will also include extensive infrastructure work including drainage, irrigation, soils and grasses, club officials said.
