TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A proposal to put golf courses in a Florida state park — which has landed Gov. Ron DeSantis in hot water politically — involved two of the biggest names in professional golf history: Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
The proposal to build courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Southeast Florida is now put on hold after bipartisan pushback and protests across the state. But had the idea received state approval, and both Woods and Nicklaus would have been involved in course-design work.
“There were actually going to be at least two courses; one would be a Tiger course and one would be a Jack course,” Eugene Stearns, an attorney who represents Nicklaus, told NBC News.
He said Nicklaus, who has designed more than 300 courses across the world, would have done the work free of charge had the proposal become a reality.
“For Jack, it was a charitable issue,” Stearns said.
The proposal — which was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times — was part of changes to nine state parks that also included the addition of amenities like pickle ball courts and new lodges. Golf courses, however, were the biggest point of controversy from the proposal.
A DeSantis administration official said the plans were not finalized and they expected pushback. But things spiraled too quickly before they were ready when they were made public.
“We kind of lost the narrative on this one,” said a DeSantis administration official. “Leaks did not help.”
DeSantis never said he backed the plan, and he has stated he never "approved" it. It came out of an agency whose head the governor appoints.
The backlash ran the political spectrum, from Democrats to environmental groups to most state Republicans, including Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, along with Rep. Matt Gaetz.
“I know you love our Florida environment. We campaigned together on saving the environment in 2018. I saw your sincerity firsthand, up close,” Gaetz posted on X, directing his comments to DeSantis. “Please use your excellent leadership skills to kill this anti-Florida Man initiative. Keep our parks natural.”
There has also been pushback to past attempts to put golf corses in Florida state parks, with the general idea that people in the state are opposed to any additional development in those areas.
TGR Design, Wood’s Florida-based golf course design company, did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment, but four sources, including the DeSantis administration official, confirmed that it was involved in the early stages of the proposal.
The proposal was spearheaded by Folds of Honor, an Oklahoma-based non-profit organization that helps veterans. It uses golf, among other things, to raise scholarship money for families of members and first responders who were killed or disabled.
The group, which has floated the idea of golf courses in Florida state parks in the past, issued a statement last week confirming its involvement. It said the plan was to bring “world class” golf to Southeast Florida and donate proceeds to military and first-responder families.
The statement from the group was shared and amplified by nationally-known conservative firebrand Dan Bongino, who said the group personally assured him the proposal was not returning.
“My good friends at 'Folds of Honor' have also assured me that they do not plan to move forward on this project,” Bongino, who lives in the area, wrote on social media. “They are great people, doing great things. They just didn’t understand the local passion for JD Park.”
A second lesser-known group, Delaware-based Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, earlier posted on a newly-created website that it was also behind the proposal, but it has since backed away.
“We have received clear feedback that Jonathan Dickinson State Park is not the right location,” the group posted. “We did not understand the local community landscape and appreciate the clarity. We will not pursue building in the beloved Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
Little is known about that group, which shared an Oklahoma address with Folds of Honor, but the group in January did hire two Florida lobbyists, including Ryan Matthews, the former head of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, which is the agency that would have had broad authority to move forward with the plan and whose leader DeSantis appoints.
DeSantis’ communications team initially supported the idea, even as public pushback grew.
In a statement last week, DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern said that it was something former President Teddy Roosevelt, a well-known conservationist, would have supported.
“Teddy Roosevelt believed that public parks were for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and we agree with him,” Redfern said. “No administration has done more than we have to conserve Florida’s natural resources, grow conservation lands, and keep our environment pristine. But it’s high time we made public lands more accessible to the public.”
On Wednesday, though, DeSantis distanced himself from the proposal.
“It was not approved by me. I never saw that,” he told reporters. “A lot of that stuff was just half-baked, and it was not ready for prime time.”
