The four-month, $650,000 project at Mangrove Bay GC in St. Petersburg, Fla., re-grassed all 18 greens and three practice greens with Platinum Paspalum, and re-sodded collars using 419 Bermuda. Bellaire (Fla.) CC, recognized as home to Florida’s first course, will renovate its two Donald Ross-designed 18-hole courses over the next five years.

After receiving a letter, reportedly from a disgruntled employee, that league players at the Florida municipal course were each putting $20 into a pot that would be divided among those shooting low rounds or winning other competitions, local police looked into possible violations of statutes that prohibit the “operation of a gambling house” and the “promotion of games in connection with the sale of a product or service.” After the investigation was forwarded to the Florida State’s Attorney Office, the club’s Course Manager/Director of Golf told league players they would have to stop the practice and retained an attorney to protect himself personally against possible felony charges.

Unni Haskell, a 62-year-old native of Norway who moved to St. Petersburg, Fla. last year from Stamford, Conn., took two months of golf lessons at Mangrove Bay Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-72 public facility, with PGA teaching professional Rick Sopka. After spending most of her time on the driving range, on February 25, Haskell decided…