Donald Ross prepared and laid out the original Gainesville Country Club course in the early 1920s; multiple sources place the establishment in 1921. Contemporary reporting during the University of Florida’s 2001 rebuilding project identified the existing course as Ross’s 1920s work for the country club on the same tract.
The university’s formal relationship with the property began in the early 1960s. UF’s golf teams made the course their home in 1962, and the university acquired the facility in 1963, renaming it the University of Florida Golf Course (now Mark Bostick Golf Course). This sequence—teams first (1962), institutional ownership following (1963)—is attested in university and reference materials and reflects athletic use preceding a transfer of title.
By 2001, the Ross-era course had become a short (6,205-yard), par-70 layout with six par threes, including back-to-back par-3 holes at 14 and 15, and a modest par-4 seventeenth of 325 yards. Sports Illustrated documented the full demolition-and-rebuild that spring and summer under architect Bobby Weed and design associate Scot Sherman, with a $4 million budget and MacCurrach Golf Construction as contractor. The work lengthened the course by roughly 500 yards, maintained par at 70, and rerouted holes to better use the site within campus safety constraints.
In 2014, Sherman returned to oversee another phase that updated infrastructure—most notably irrigation—and refined playability through selective tree work and practice-area upgrades. Trade coverage emphasizes that the comprehensive nature of the 2001 rebuild allowed the 2014 work to be targeted and swift.
Unique Design Characteristics (as related to this site)
Evidence from 2001 shows that the pre-rebuild course still exhibited hallmark Ross characteristics on this compact property: notably small, “push-up” greens that were “as cramped as Victorian drawing rooms,” and a routing whose modest overall yardage relied on precision and angle more than brute length. That footprint also produced the unusual cadence of six par threes, including consecutive one-shotters at 14 and 15—an idiosyncrasy often cited in project reporting as a congestion and flow issue that the rerouting sought to address.
Following the 2001 Weed/Sherman reconstruction, the greens and bunkers are wholly new, and the routing was adjusted; the American Society of Golf Course Architects recorded that the project “re-rout[ed], re-design[ed], and replac[ed] everything on site,” which means individual Ross green pads or bunkers do not survive intact. As a result, present-day features—such as the risk-reward par-4s and par-5s that now punctuate both nines—reflect early-twenty-first-century design layered upon land Ross once used, rather than preserved Ross construction.
asgca.org
Given that result, it is not possible, based on available public documentation, to identify a specific hole today as an “unaltered” Ross example.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s Florida portfolio, Gainesville is significant as an early inland commission that later transitioned into a collegiate venue—a trajectory different from Florida’s resort-coast Ross courses. Its continuing role as UF’s home course ties the property to NCAA and SEC competition history. University materials and independent summaries note that the course has hosted the Gator Invitational and Lady Gator Invitational for decades and served as an NCAA Regional site in modern times. The venue also stands as a widely reported example of a full rebuild of a Ross course to meet contemporary collegiate demands on a constrained urban campus.
Media attention surrounding the 2001 project (a year-long Sports Illustrated series) further elevated the site’s profile among college courses. Subsequent rankings have occasionally listed Mark Bostick among top “college courses,” reflecting this visibility rather than an unaltered Ross pedigree.
Current Condition / Integrity
The integrity of extant Ross features is low. The 2001 Weed/Sherman project was a ground-up rebuild that replaced greens, bunkers, tees, and even ancillary infrastructure; routing changes addressed safety and flow (e.g., eliminating the back-to-back par-3 sequence) and stretched the course to ~6,700 yards while retaining par 70. In 2014, Sherman’s return focused on technological upgrades and refinements, including irrigation modernization, selective tree work for agronomy and playability, and practice-area improvements. Collectively, these phases produced a modern collegiate course bearing Ross provenance by origin and site, but not by surviving original construction.
Present course character is that of a university-operated facility with contemporary playing surfaces and hazards, used daily by varsity teams and open (with published rate categories) to guests. Official materials place the footprint at roughly 110 acres; other references list 118 acres, a minor discrepancy common in campus-edge properties with incremental boundary adjustments and different measurement conventions.
Citations and Uncertainty
Primary uncertainties pertain to (1) the survival of any original Ross ground features beneath or within present corridors, and (2) precise, hole-by-hole continuity between Ross’s 1921 routing and today’s sequence.
Sources & Notes
“Mark Bostick Golf Course – Course / About / Rates,” official site of Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida (accessed Sept. 2025). Provides current par, yardage (6,701), acreage claim (110 acres), tee categories and guest access, scorecard link, and team/practice-facility context.
Florida Gators (University Athletic Association), “Mark Bostick Golf Course” facility page, including par/yardage and team use. Confirms campus setting, events, and varsity role.
Sports Illustrated (John Garrity), “Look Out Below! There’s more to the upcoming renovation at Florida than meets the eye,” Feb. 12, 2001. Describes pre-rebuild course traits (6,205 yards, par 70, six par-3s; consecutive par-3s at 14 and 15; short par-4 17th), scope and rationale for 2001 rebuild.
Sports Illustrated (John Garrity), “Ain’t She A Beaut! After 14 months and $4 million, the newly renovated Florida course opened to rave reviews,” Dec. 10, 2001. Chronicles completion and outcomes of the rebuild.
Wikipedia, “Mark Bostick Golf Course.” Useful as a secondary compilation for establishment year (1921), 1963 university acquisition, 2001 Weed rebuild details, and present yardage/par; cross-checked against primary/official sources above. Use with caution; particulars verified where possible.
Bobby Weed Golf Design, “University of Florida – Mark Bostick Golf Course.” Firm’s summary of 2001 work and historical note on 1962 team occupancy.
Golf Course Architecture, “Sherman returns to renovate Mark Bostick course at University of Florida,” Sept. 18, 2014; and ASGCA news item, “University of Florida’s Bostick Golf Course renovation completed by Sherman, ASGCA” (2014). Document the 2014 renovation scope and emphasize the comprehensive 2001 rebuild.