FL GOV: I Want More Golf Courses By "Well Named" Architects!

Alex Miceli on Florida Governor Rick Scott, sounding about as disconnected from reality as Tim Finchem weighing in on slow play, telling golf writers at The Players that the Sunshine State needs more golf courses.

“We look at programs to add more golf courses around the state with a variety of well-named golfers,” Scott said.

Well-named? You mean like, Forrest Fezler? Oh...that well-named golfer...

In March 2011, a bill was introduced in the Florida Legislature that would have required taxpayers to contract to build at least five golf courses in state parks. Jack Nicklaus, a longtime North Palm Beach resident, was picked – without competitive bid – as the designer of the proposed Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail.

However, the proposed legislation – Senate Bill 1846 and House Bill 1239 – served as a unifying force for an unusual alliance of opponents: fiscal conservatives and environmentalists. One Florida columnist called it “the worst idea in history.”

The resulting outcry led to a swift legislative defeat.

Is the governor trying to revisit this proposal?

“If we can get a return for the state taxpayers, which in our state is funded primarily by sales and property taxes, then we’ll do it,” said Scott, who made a fortune as the founder of Columbia Hospital Corp., forerunner to Columbia/HCA.

Who knew Jack Nicklaus had such persistent lobbyists?