Welcome to Candler Hills Golf Club
From the Head Golf Professional…
The golf course staffs would like to welcome you to Candler Hills Golf Club. The goal of the golf operations team is to create an enjoyable golf atmosphere for you.
We strive to accommodate golf club members, On Top of the World Communities residents and non-resident guests with their golf requests. This facility offers league competition in the Men’s Golf Associations and the Ladies 9 Hole or Ladies 18 Hole Golf Associations. A yearly tournament schedule features events throughout the year designed to enhance the camaraderie among the golfers while at the same time providing different tournament formats.
Before teeing off, the golf staff would appreciate your registering for play in the golf shop. The golf course policies and procedures outlined here are designed to maximize your golf experience – please review them and let us know if you have any questions.
Thank you for choosing Candler Hills Golf Club!
Sincerely,
Matt Hibbs, Head Golf Professional
From the Golf Course Superintendent…
On behalf of the golf course maintenance team, I want to thank you for joining us at Candler Hills Golf Club. We are very proud of our facilities and strive to keep the courses in the best condition possible.
It is very important that we enlist the membership to help us keep the courses in top shape. The proper and timely repair of ball marks on the greens is vital in keeping putting surfaces smooth and healthy. Filling divots on tees and fairways will speed recovery and provide a smooth surface. Obeying all cart rules by following directional signs and maintaining all four wheels on the cart path around tees and greens will limit the amount of wear and tear to our rough and surrounding areas.
In addition, throughout the year we will perform some necessary maintenance practices that will aid in the long term conditioning of the golf course. Beginning in May and throughout the summer months, the golf course will be aerified several times. Aerification reduces compaction from foot and cart traffic, removes thatch and organic matter and allows for water, air and nutrients to penetrate into the root zone. During this process all tees and fairways will be verticut to remove thatch and stimulate new leaf tissue and growth. In order to perform these practices safely and quickly, the golf course will be closed during these processes.
We appreciate your comments and look forward to seeing you on the course.
Sincerely,
Andrew J. Jorgensen, Golf Course Superintendent
History
Before the population boom of the early 20th century, Florida was comprised of pastures, forests, farmland and lakes. By 1844, settlers started moving into the newly established area called Marion County. The railroad followed settlers to Central Florida and spurred on the timber, mining and cattle industries. At the end of the 19th century, cattle and horse ranching had become a large-scale industry in Florida. The rich grazing pastures and rolling hills of Marion County were extremely desirable. One of the grandest ranches to put down roots in this splendid area was Circle Square Ranch, established in the early 1940s by James Norris, a former grain operator and steamship line owner. The city that would build itself up around this ranch was Ocala, one of the fastest growing cities in one of the fastest growing states. The green pastures of the area became a showplace for visitors, and breeders came from all over the world to buy the ranch’s prize cattle stock. Circle Square Ranch continued under Norris’ operation until December 1975, when Sidney Colen, one of Florida’s premier developers, purchased the 12,900-acre property.
Since that time, the Colen family’s vision has been to develop this land in a way that combines innovative, superior lifestyle and environmental stewardship with small-town charm. The three eighteen hole golf courses at On Top of the World Communities provide the cornerstone of the extensive recreational opportunities available. Labor Day, September, 1982, witnessed the opening of The Links golf course, later followed by the Tortoise & The Hare golf course. Candler Hills Golf Club, a Gordon Lewis design, opened January 21, 2005. The name “Candler” is derived from the area’s sandy soil known as “candler sand.” The antique water pump on the twelfth hole of Candler Hills Golf Club is reminiscent of Circle Square Ranch’s by-gone cattle driving days.
Great care has been taken to protect the heritage and environmental integrity of this property for the benefit of all who will partake of its pleasures now and in the years to come.
