International golf shrine moves closer to reality

Monday, Oct. 20, 1997 | 4:22 a.m.

The unified effort to establish an international shrine for golf moves closer to reality with ongoing construction of the World Golf Village and World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Johns Country, Fla.

Located on 240 acres along Interstate 95, 22 miles south of Jacksonville and eight miles northwest of St. Augustine, this ambitious project promises to have a major impact on several fronts when it opens in the spring of 1988.

The WOrld Golf Village and Hall of Fame will become a premier tourism, business and golf destination but its significance extends far beyond state lines. The World Golf Hall of Fame represents the first time in the game's history that all major golf organizations from around the world have joined together to honor the game's great players and contributors.

"The World Golf Village and Hall of Fame will bond the entire golf community through a shrine that appropriately reflects their common love and respect for the game and its traditions," said World Golf Village executive director Ruffin Beckwith.

At the heart of the complex will be the 75,000-square-foot World Golf Hall of Fame building, which will be the ultimate in sports museums and halls of fame. Designed by E. Verner Johnson and Associates of Boston, it will house more than 70 separate exhibits, utilizing the latest in technology for an exciting interactive experience. The exhibit design partner is Ralph Applebaum Associates of New York, the world's premier exhibit design firm.

The Hall of Fame building also will include a 300-seat IMAX theater and, of course, a tribute to all inductees. Individuals previously enshrined at the World Golf Hall in Pinehurst, N.C., will be grandfathered into the new facility.

Three other avenues have been established by which professionals can be enshrined in the Hall of Fame: the LPGA Hall of Fame and the newly created PGA Tour Hall of Fame and International Ballot, which will conduct annual elections. Johnny Miller became the first player elected through the PGA Tour ballot last fall.

In addition, a Special Distinction category has been established for amateurs and others making significant contributions to the game.

Annual induction ceremonies will commence once the facility opens.

Additional amenities at World Golf Village will include a major hotel and conference center, 54 holes of golf and PGA Tour-licensed Golf Academy, corporate and vacation villas, an upscale shopping area, spa, the new headquarters for PGA Tour Productions and a Mayo Clinic facility.

The World Golf Village is intended to be as much an educational experience as it is an attraction. This theme will be conveyed further once the World Golf Library and Resource Center opens in 199. It also will be evident through the work of the World Golf Foundation, the charitable branch of World Golf Village, Inc., which will receive all proceeds, after operational expenses and reserves.

The World Golf Foundation's charitable mission, on behalf of the supporting golf organizations, is to introduce youth and minorities to the game and through the golf experience promote scholastic achievement, community service and the values of honesty, integrity and sportsmanship.

The vision is to establish model programs that can be established in locales throughout the world that have not had exposure to the game.