New 17,000-square-foot Bobby Jones clubhouse closer to approval

If approved by the Sarasota City Commission, the building will boast an Old Florida-style architecture that evokes the original Gillespie Clubhouse.

By Andrew Warfield
| 5:00 a.m. November 23, 2023

The proposed Bobby Jones Golf Course clubhouse features Old Florida architecture reminiscent of the original Gillespie Clubhouse.

Sarasota
News

With Bobby Jones Golf Course set to open in mid-December, a temporary clubhouse has been placed near the planned location of a permanent facility that could cost upwards of $9 million.

Sarasota's Development Review Committee gave partial sign-off on the site plan presented by contractor Jon F. Swift Construction and development consultant Kimley-Horn for a 17,000-square-foot clubhouse of Old Florida architecture.

If approved by the City Commission, in addition to a golf shop and offices the building will include an approximately 5,250-square-foot restaurant above a 4,500-square-foot cart barn.

The original Gillespie Clubhouse at Bobby Jones Golf Course.

Separated from the pro shop and offices area by a breezeway, the design shows a veranda wrapping around the restaurant for outdoor seating. Beneath will be cart barn for battery-powered cart charging and storage.

The rear of the clubhouse will provide the backdrop for golfers playing into the No. 9 green with the front facing the No. 10 tee boxes and No. 18 green. The restaurant and veranda will overlook practice chipping and putting greens and the No. 1 tees.

Presuming approval of the project on schedule, construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2024.

author

Andrew Warfield

Andrew Warfield is the Sarasota Observer city reporter. He is a four-decade veteran of print media. A Florida native, he has spent most of his career in the Carolinas as a writer and editor, nearly a decade as co-founder and editor of a community newspaper in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.