![]() So what’s up with the colony designation? The term colony was used frequently in the early part of the 20th century, particularly to designate winter retreats for Northerners looking to escape snow and ice. The same level of meticulous research and production quality were put into the Mountain Lake book. The opening of Bok Tower from the club historyĬonnoisseurs of golf books will recognize the author of this 156 page, 2017 club history: Andrew Mutch, a former director of the USGA Museum and a professional designer and artist, who authored Pine Valley’s most recent history, Crump’s Dream, which also focused on that club’s formative years. An entire chapter of the book is dedicated to the Tower and its construction. To highlight how well connected the affluent membership of Mountain Lake was at the time, President Calvin Coolidge was the keynote speaker at the dedication of Bok Tower, an event that called for top hats and tails for men and cloche hats for women, who looked their finest in their flapper garb. ![]() Bok didn’t skimp on the budget and had 61 bells imported from England to make sure he got the best craftsmanship. It was crafted of the finest materials including stone, wrought iron, tile, brass and stained glass. Bok Tower is famous for its extensive gardens and world renowned carillon, whose soothing chimes ring softly and rhythmically throughout the day. Bok took advantage of the height when he had the idea to put a tower at the top of a hill, at the highest elevation in the state. ![]() Unusual for Florida, the topography of Lake Wales, where the colony is located, contains hilly terrain (and to state the obvious, a lake). Bok, the wealthy publisher of the Ladies’ Home Journal, created the Bok Tower Gardens. The two other golf enclaves the duo collaborated on are both world class: Yeamans Hall in South Carolina and Fishers Island in Long Island Sound.Īs the needs of the members evolved, changes were made to the golf course in 1929 by Raynor protégé Charles Banks, who modified fourteen holes. The Olmsted-Raynor pedigree is like the elusive ghost orchid, something that rarely exists, but when it does, it is an object of desire. ![]() The golf course is a classic Raynor design with template architectural holes. In 1916, Seth Raynor designed and built the golf course and Olmsted leant a hand providing the rough design routing and laying out the irrigation system. The sprawling and well-kept clubhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Olmsted laid out the master plan for the entire 3,400-acre property and designed the Mediterranean Revival clubhouse, situating it strategically on a hill above the lake and between what would become the 1st and 18th holes of the golf course, giving it sweeping views of the landscape. “The colony” was planned by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Mountain Lake is one of America’s grandest old-line golf communities, located in Central Florida. The cover of the centennial history of the Mountain Lake Club The title’s ending sounds intriguing: “The Colony.” This is not just a golf course or a country club, but its own genre, which sounds more like something a colonial power might exercise dominion over.
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