Walden Lake Re-Imagined Announcement
The Walden Lake Resident Advisory Council, in-conjunction with the WLCA would like to invite residents to view the Walden Lake Re-Imagined website. This website contains information regarding the developers initial plans that were presented on April 13th. We expect the developer’s plans to evolve over the next few months. As they provide more information we will update residents.
Please click on the link below to visit:
To Read More……….Register or Log In
What to build – Where to build – How Many Units – WLRAC – Steve Cook
What to build – Where to build – How Many Units – WLRAC – Steve Cook
During the developer meeting with three members of the WLCA board, the WLRAC and some residents on 4/13, questions regarding what type of product would be built, where and how many units were posed.
To Read More……….Register or Log In
Ride with Developers – by Steve Cook
On Saturday 4/13 following the meeting with the residents of Walden Lake and the developer
WL-LLC, several on our council took a golf cart tour of the developer’s property.
Notice I stated the “developer’s property”, because it is no longer our golf course and is slated
for development.
I have several takeaways from the day long engagement, and I wanted to pass along my
thoughts at this stage.
To Read More Register or Log In
WLRCA Meeting Notes with Developer WL-LLC on 4-13-2019
Walden Lake Resident Advisory Council (WLRAC)
Developer Meeting
On Saturday, April 13 WLRAC met with members of Walden Lake LLC, the developer firm that purchased the Golf Course Property. The following meeting notes have been assembled and presented for review.
Please Register or Log In to read more……
New Ideas from WLRAC about Walden Lake Golf
Dee Allen has put some creative energy into ways to sustain golf in Walden Lake. The following ideas were well received at WLRAC meetings and piqued the interest of the developers (WL-LLC) as well.
Should we give up on golf and just be a residential community or is golf part of our unique history and identity? If golf should stay, how can we work around the planned future development? The information below is intended to Tee-off thoughts and discussion.
Most golfers think a golf course needs 18 holes, even if it’s two tee box options on a nine (9) hole layout. There are others who consider par-3 or executive courses to be substandard with lower levels of play and revenue; besides what fun is it if you can’t hit your driver. Other golfers may elect not to play because a golf round can take 5 hours and they don’t have enough time, but nine (9) holes seems hardly worth the trouble. So the goal is to satisfy all these concerns. This means standard length holes and a par 72 course with a “twist”. Even though new development in the clubhouse area is expected to eliminate at least six holes, we could still achieve 18 holes by retaining the outer six (6) holes of each layout.
The Course Design
The expected six (6) holes on each nine (9) hole layout are shown on the map below. Perhaps the developer can work with the community to pick 3 of the 4 layouts to best fit with their plan.
Course 1 Hills (Front): Holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 Par 24
Course 2 Lakes (Front): Holes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8 Par 23
Course 3 Lakes (Back): Holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 & 8 Par 25
Course 4 Hills (Back): Holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 Par 24
The Advantages
The “twist”, and advantages of this proposal, include having the unique ability among all local courses to offer a 6 hole rate (good for kids or high school practice), a 12 hole rate (good for those short on time or stamina), and a 18 hole rate (for traditionalists).
It’s close – Plant City is growing, but the closest course is at least 20 minutes away.
It’s different – that by itself may attract people to play.
It’s economic – no need to hire a golf course architect to re-design any holes, the holes are there, they only need refurbished.
Finally, it provides synergy with the developer. By co-locating a pro-shop / community center within the developer’s centralized retail hub with golf cart access, residents don’t necessarily need to drive their cars. The outer holes of each nine are generally narrow – not readily conducive or economic for new street installation, yet they maximize options to maintain golf course “viewscapes” behind a large number of homes.
Addressing some concerns
New ideas or concepts are always meet with some degree of resistance, and that is a good thing. Because critical reviews can result in “back to the drawing board efforts” and eventually lead to a better finished product.
For example;
How to find your way from one six (6) hole loop to the next?
Perhaps assign a color to each six (6) hole loop and paint a color stripe on the cart path /sidewalk, e.g., follow the green stripe to the green course, or follow the blue stripe to the blue course. Signage and golf maps are an obvious inclusion. Carts with built-in navigation systems are more common now and provides additional benefits of tracking your players.
In Conclusion
The concept has merit. Research indicates golf courses are testing similar ideas and finding success. The real lesson here is if we think out of the box, solutions may present themselves and golf might be revived in Walden Lake.
