Orlando Sentinel: Score a Victory for Florida's State Parks (Over Speculators, Developers and Golf Course Hotels With Liquor-bars)!

Arnold Palmer helps sink nutty plan for Jack Nicklaus golf courses in state parks

March 12, 2011|By Scott Maxwell, TAKING NAMES

Every once in a while, the people win one.

Such was the case last week when one of this year's goofiest pieces of legislation went down in flames.

The idea — to turn state parkland into golf courses, bars and hotels — went from being introduced by one of the most powerful senators in Florida on one Friday to dead the next.

Its ill-fated journey involved the media, the residents of this state and two of America's most famous golfers, competing again for the first time in years … only this time in the political arena.

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It started March 5, when I got a text message from a legislator. "Did you see the bill from Thrasher to build golf courses on state park lands?" it asked.

"The state wouldn't even sell off the land to make money (a bad idea also), but literally issue bonds to build golf course resorts (hotel, clubhouse, etc.) on park lands!"

It sounded so silly, it was hard to believe. And yet, when I returned home and looked it up, there it was: Senate Bill 1846.

Veteran politician John Thrasher, former head of the Republican Party of Florida, wanted to develop golf resorts inside at least five state parks.

Never mind that Florida already has such a glut of courses that many have gone bankrupt. Never mind that others are struggling — and would've had to compete with these new ones.

The state senator from St. Augustine wanted more golf courses.

And he wanted his friend Jack Nicklaus to be the only one to design them.

The legislation specifically excluded other designers and PGA pros with a clause that said every course "must be designed by Jack Nicklaus."

So much for free-market enterprise.

But Thrasher didn't stop there. He also wanted to give the courses the right to have hotels and bars — even if local laws otherwise would have prohibited liquor sales.

And he wanted taxpayers to underwrite the whole thing by issuing bonds.

Yes, during a session where lawmakers are talking about cutting funding to veterans, schools, the disabled and the sick, they were also asking taxpayers to help Nicklaus finance fancy new golf courses.

It didn't look as if any media had reported on the bill. So March 6, I typed it up on my blog.

The reaction was swift. Everyone hated it.