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Swartzes turn around Oak Ford Golf Club
The family that works and plays together usually stays together and is successful. What great thinker said that? Nobody comes to mind, but in the case of the Swartz family, it is true and Oak Ford Golf Club is the result. Mark Cardon The Swartz family purchased Oak Ford and took over last May. The turn-around has been remarkable. The Swartzes like to say that Oak Ford is a “little out of the way, but a lot out of the ordinary.”
Oak Ford is located off Fruitville Road, approximately 9 miles east of the I-75-Fruitville exit. It is about 20 minutes from downtown Sarasota. Critics say Oak Ford's locale prevented it from being more popular than it has been. Opened in 1989, Oak Ford has had its ups and downs. In previoius years, golfers have found the course to be not in the best of shape.
Nestled among 850 acres, the 27-hole golf club is surrounded by live oaks, grove lands and abundance of wild life. Houses can be seen on just a few of the holes. Condos are nowhere in sight. It is so peaceful and quiet that the only sound you hear is the ball dropping in the cup.
Last summer's wet weather slowed the turnaround process. Oak Ford was closed for six weeks. Currently, the course is in country club condition. The ball sits up on lush, green fairways and the rye-grass greens roll true.
Credit Trace Swartz and his maintenance crew for the course improvement. Upon graduating from Purdue University with an agronomy degree, Trace's experience includes stints at his parents-owned course in Brownsburg, Ind., TPC-Sawgrass and the Country Club of Indianapolis.
His brother, Dusty, is the General Manager. He also worked at TPC- Sawgrass and at "The Presidio" in San Francisco. Their parents, David and Sherry, oversee the entire operation as they did in Indiana. David worked overseas as an engineer for an oil company. As an avid golfer, getting in the golf business was his dream. Leaving the business to his sons is his plan.
If you want to get away from it all and you don't mind a ride into the country, Oak Ford will leave you pleasantly surprised.
Mark Cardon, Sarasota Herald Tribune
January 8,2004
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