Municipal officials in New Smyrna Beach formed a citizens’ committee in 1945 to re-establish a public course after the city’s earlier venue was lost to wartime airport expansion. By 1947 the city had identified a site owned by the Indian River Plantation group and engaged James B. McGovern—longtime field associate of Donald J. Ross—to survey the ground and advise on design services. Soon after, the commission executed a $3,500 contract with Donald J. Ross’s firm for the architectural plans. In mid-1948 the city approved a financing resolution and let a construction contract for a 13-hole build, with ground-breaking early in 1949. The facility opened formally on March 18, 1950 with a parade, exhibition and public play; construction on the remaining five holes waited for additional funding, beginning in early 1956 and concluding in 1957 to yield the complete 18.
There is no public evidence that Ross himself made site visits after the plans were authorized; he died in April 1948. McGovern’s role is documented as the on-site liaison who “visited the site on behalf of Ross and secured the hiring of Donald Ross & Associates,” implying that McGovern likely handled field adjustments during early grading. Primary records (plan sheets, annotated as-builts, or superintendent reports from 1949–57) have not been posted publicly, so definitive statements about Ross’s personal fieldwork here remain unverified.
Modern interventions are clear. In 2006 the city commissioned an extensive renovation by Bobby Weed. A decade later, in 2016, the club replanted the greens to Platinum Paspalum, a species choice that has helped deliver consistent putting surfaces in humid, salt-influenced conditions. Local and tourism accounts also note that selective bunker downsizing occurred with the greens work, aligning the hazards with contemporary maintenance capacity.
Unique Design Characteristics
The most tangible Ross-era fabric is the sequence of holes the Florida Historic Golf Trail identifies as original to the 1948 Ross & Associates plan and still in play: 1, 2, 3, 9 and the entire present back nine, 10–18. Among these, the short par-3 3rd shows a classic “push-up” presentation: a compact green perched slightly above its surrounds with short-grass fall-offs that repel indifferent tee shots. On the home hole (18th), surrounding ground contours gather and shed shots in a way that amplifies the importance of precise distance control into a relatively modest target—an effect consistent with Ross’s reliance on green-site demands to shape scoring.
The back nine at New Smyrna preserves the course’s clearest “old” cadence. Holes 10–13 flow across open ground with water or drainage features held to the margins, asking players to work approaches into smaller, subtly crowned greens. Holes 14–16 compress slightly, with the short par-4 16th providing a welcome scoring chance if one navigates positional tee-shot angles into a shallow target. Holes 17–18 then stretch back toward the clubhouse across some of the property’s firmer, better-drained ground, where wind and short-grass run-offs keep recovery options front-of-mind.
Because the front-nine interior (4–8) was the portion most affected by later work, some of its hazards present a different lineage. For example, the 4th features a creek that traverses directly in front of the green—a modern strategic note—and the 11th (on the original side) exemplifies the course’s contrasting character: a longer par-4 with a prominent left fairway bunker that complicates the approach to a small, two-tiered surface. In sum, the surviving Ross sequence (1–3, 9–18) expresses the course’s defining traits: modest length, tight targets, and short-grass defenses that turn ordinary misses into delicate recoveries.
Historical Significance
New Smyrna occupies a distinctive place in the Ross chronology. The city approved its design services from Donald J. Ross & Associates in 1947, and the build advanced in 1949–50 with McGovern acting in the field shortly before and after Ross’s death. For that reason, the course is often cited in popular accounts as Ross’s “last design.” That claim is not universally accepted; Raleigh Country Club in North Carolina, a private course that also opened in 1948, likewise promotes itself as Ross’s final design. The documentary record at New Smyrna—municipal contracting with Ross’s firm and McGovern’s role—firmly places the design commission in Ross’s final year, but without publicly accessible plan dates for both projects, the “last” designation should be treated as interpretive rather than definitive.
Within Florida, New Smyrna’s importance also lies in its municipal status and continuity. It has remained an accessible, daily-fee venue where a Ross-era routing (in substantial part) still frames play for the public. The course is an acknowledged participant in the Florida Historic Golf Trail and continues to anchor the Indian River Open, a long-running professional-mini-tour event that has produced winners with national résumés. The course also hosts Florida State Golf Association junior competitions, maintaining a competitive calendar that keeps the design tested by better players while serving everyday golfers.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing & hole inventory. According to the State of Florida’s Historic Golf Trail research, 13 holes of the 1948 Ross & Associates plan remain in the present course: 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10–18. Those holes—especially the back nine—retain the compact green-to-tee rhythm and small, simply defended targets that define today’s playing character.
Renovation impacts. The 2006 Bobby Weed work is described as an “extensive renovation,” and local summaries alongside city communications portray a modernization that respected the existing corridors while addressing infrastructure and playability. The 2016 greens project—regrassing to Platinum Paspalum—had the most visible effect on day-to-day play. Tourism copy produced near the time of that work mentions that some bunkers were reduced or simplified, a common post-renovation adjustment in Florida municipalities to align maintenance budgets with presentation goals. These interventions have not undone the routing; rather, they have blended updated surfaces and hazard presentations into the existing corridors.
Greens & surrounds. Push-up characteristics remain evident on the 3rd and around the home green, and the back-nine targets in general play small for modern speeds. With paspalum, the club maintains tight collars; balls that miss pin-high often tumble into short-grass basins, preserving the “short-game-centric” pressure that the old plan relied upon.
Facilities & operations. As a public course, New Smyrna maintains a full practice complex (range, putting and chipping greens, and a practice bunker) and a straightforward clubhouse; these amenities, plus five tee sets (roughly 4,700–6,500 yards), make the historic routing usable by a wide range of handicaps without diluting the challenge on the surviving Ross sequence.
Uncertain or disputed points.
• “Last design” claim. Popular features often call New Smyrna Ross’s final design, while Raleigh Country Club asserts the same distinction. Without synchronized plan-date documentation from both clubs (and any late-1947/early-1948 correspondence in the Ross office), the “last” label should be treated as a contested marketing shorthand rather than settled fact.
• Exact authorship on the ground. McGovern’s 1948 site visit on Ross’s behalf is documented; however, publicly available records do not specify how much of the early clearing, grading and green shaping he personally oversaw in 1949–50 versus municipal crews or contractors following plan sheets. Club archives (plan tracings, progress reports), city commission minutes, and 1949–57 aerial photography would allow a finer partition between plan intent and construction realities.
• Front-nine alterations. The Florida Historic Golf Trail fixes the present survivors of the 1948 plan (1–3, 9, 10–18). Hole-specific scope from the 2006 Weed renovation—particularly on 4–8—is summarized publicly as “extensive” but not published in plan form. City bid documents, Weed’s drawings, or an as-built survey would clarify precisely what was rebuilt versus preserved.
Sources & Notes
Florida Historic Golf Trail — “New Smyrna Golf Club.” Detailed municipal history; 1945 committee; 1947 site selection and $3,500 contract with the firm of Donald J. Ross; 1948 financing resolution and 13-hole construction contract; 1949 ground-breaking; March 18, 1950 formal opening; 1956–57 completion of 18; 2006 Bobby Weed renovation; present-day par 72, five tee sets (~4,700–6,500 yards); identification of original holes still in use (1,2,3,9,10–18); image evidences (historic scorecards, aerial).
Florida Department of State news release (Sept. 10, 2018) — “New Smyrna Golf Club featured as Florida Historic Golf Trail Course of the Month.” Notes McGovern’s 1948 site visit “on behalf of Ross” and the hiring of Donald Ross & Associates; confirms 2006 renovation and 2016 Platinum Paspalum greens.
City of New Smyrna Beach notice — “Take an 18-hole video tour of historic New Smyrna Golf Club.” Affirms designed 1948 / first opened for play 1953 claim used in municipal communications and highlights the 2016 greens resurfacing.
New Smyrna Golf Club — Course Details page. Current yardage (6,543), par 72, public status, and the 2016 paspalum note; “Scorecard & Stats” section with hole-by-hole images.
Florida Historic Golf Trail — downloadable guide (state PDF). Confirms 2006 Bobby Weed complete renovation and general present-day yardage/tees.
files.floridados.gov
GOLF.com (Michael Bamberger), “Donald Ross’s last design can be played for as little as $18” (Mar. 16, 2020). Representative of the “last design” claim attached to New Smyrna; useful as a secondary source illustrating the narrative’s prevalence (and skepticism).
Raleigh Country Club — “Our Story.” Example of the competing ‘final design’ claim; provides necessary counterpoint for the disputed designation.
GolfPass, “Push-up greens” explainer (May 13, 2022). Uses New Smyrna’s 3rd and the home green to illustrate push-up characteristics; supports hole-specific observations of green-site style.
Daytona Beach Area tourism features (2021–2022). Identify No. 4 (creek fronting the green) as the course’s most demanding hole and No. 11 as the longest par-4 with a left fairway bunker to a small, two-tiered green; also remark on 2016 greens work and bunker downsizing. These are descriptive secondary sources best used to corroborate present-day playing features, not authorship.
Florida State Golf Association — Florida Junior Tour, New Smyrna Open (Aug. 19–20, 2023). Documents ongoing competitive use of the course for state-level junior events.
Florida Professional Golf Tour / local news (2023–2024). Confirms Indian River Open as an annual professional-mini-tour event hosted at New Smyrna Golf Club, including the 60th annual (2024).