Fresh off a $3.5 million renovation of its Arnold Palmer-designed golf course – the most significant revamp since it was built in 1990 – the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club will host a U.S. Open local qualifying tournament on May 13.

The qualifiers who advance from the 84-player field here will go on to compete in final qualifying events on May 20 and June 3, when they’ll vie for berths in the 124th U.S. Open, scheduled for Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in North Carolina June 10-16.

“We are thrilled to again host U.S. Open hopefuls on our Palmer course, and we’re confident the players will find the newly refreshed course to be challenging but fair,” Orchid Island General Manager Rob Tench said last week. “The course not only offers ideal conditions, but it’s also a tranquil and beautiful setting.”

The most-recent refurbishing of the Orchid Island course – a Certified Audubon Sanctuary nestled between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean – began last summer and was unveiled to the club’s members in November.

The work was conducted by the Arnold Palmer Design Company and encompassed all of the course’s greens and tees, bunkers, short-game practice area and driving range.

The most noticeable design changes were to the ninth hole, which included lowering the fairway and removing bunkers to provide a spectacular view of the lake.

Other distinct changes included:

The No. 5 green was moved to slightly shorten the hole.
The contour of the No. 7 and No. 13 greens was modified.
The No. 18 green was dramatically reshaped, as was the bunkering around it.

Orchid Island Golf Director Dave Champagne said the club’s members have responded favorably to the update and they’re excited to see how the U.S. Open qualifying competitors handle the course, which has water on 17 of 18 holes.

“It’s a very challenging course, and it will be a good test for the players,” Champagne said, adding that United States Golf Association officials will arrive on the club’s grounds about a month prior to the tournament to determine how they want the layout set up.

He said the most likely tweaks would be to the speeds of some greens.

In addition to the two previous U.S. Open qualifiers, Orchid Island has in recent years hosted the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in 2018; Florida State Golf Association Four-Ball Championship in 2016; South Florida Professional Golfers Association Championship (with Hawk’s Nest) in 2014; Florida Open (with Quail Valley) in 2013; and FSGA Senior Match Play Championship in 2010.

The USGA has scheduled 109 local qualifying tournaments, including 13 in Florida, for this summer’s U.S. Open. The only other qualifiers in South Florida will be played at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie and Wellington National Golf Club in Palm Beach County.

Of the 10 final qualifying tournaments played in the U.S., only one will be played in Florida – at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter.

Photos by Joshua Kodis