History
The World Golf Village took shape in the late 1990s as an ambitious pairing of golf and history — a resort development built alongside the World Golf Hall of Fame, giving St. Augustine a course that could match the weight of its museum neighbor. Slammer & Squire opened in 1998, its name drawn from the nicknames of Sam Snead (“Slammer”) and Gene Sarazen (“Squire”), two men whose careers helped define the game the Hall of Fame was built to honor.
Bobby Weed, a Florida-based architect who had cut his teeth working under Pete Dye, took on the design. Weed had the land near Jacksonville to work with — flat by nature, but he brought in enough movement and shaping to give the course a sense of terrain it didn’t start with. His signature on the project was restraint mixed with ambition: a layout meant to test better players without alienating the resort guests who would make up much of its daily traffic.
Since opening, Slammer & Squire has remained a fixture of the World Golf Village resort complex, hosting collegiate events and serving as one of two courses on property alongside the King & Bear. It has not undergone the kind of dramatic renovation or ownership overhaul that reshapes some resort courses’ identities — its history has been one of steady operation rather than reinvention, a course that has held its place in Florida’s golf landscape since Weed’s original routing first opened for play.
Playing notes
At 6,939 yards from the tips with a modest 127 slope, Slammer & Squire plays firm and fast on Bermuda from tee to green, so expect the ball to release well on both fairways and putting surfaces once it hits the ground. The Bermuda greens will run true but can get slick in the afternoon heat, and you'll want to account for grain when reading putts, especially on anything breaking toward the setting sun. Coastal wind is a factor most days in St. Augustine, so club selection matters more than usual — take an extra club into the breeze rather than forcing a shot. This is a cart-required layout given its length and spacing between holes, so plan your day around riding rather than walking. Bring plenty of water and sun protection, as the course offers little shade, and pack a few extra sleeves of balls if wind or water hazards have given you trouble on similar Florida coastal designs before. Accurate iron play will serve you better here than raw distance, particularly approaching the greens, where missing in the right spot can save a stroke that a longer but wilder drive won't.
Tee boxes
| Tees | Yardage | Par | Slope | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | 6,939 | 72 | 127 | 72.7 |