Golfers at Jacksonville Beach Golf Club are already seeing changes on the course this week, with hole 8's tees moved up into the fairway and hole 2 temporarily playing to a green set in the fairway. The tweaks mark the start of a multi-phase construction push tied to a 2026 water reclamation plant upgrade, one of three infrastructure projects the municipal course has planned for the fall and winter as the city works to bring the facility into compliance with state reclaimed water rules.
The city announced the plans in a video posted to Facebook Thursday, according to the City of Jacksonville Beach, which said the course is being brought into compliance with Senate Bill 64 reclaimed water requirements. The law, passed unanimously by the Florida Legislature and signed in June 2021, requires domestic wastewater utilities statewide to eliminate nonbeneficial surface water discharges by January 1, 2032, according to Wastewater Visibility News. For the golf course specifically, the city has set 2031 as its own compliance deadline, per the city's announcement.
The water reclamation plant upgrade already underway will temporarily affect holes 2, 3, and 8, and is designed to expand the amount of reclaimed water available for irrigation, the city said. Currently, only about one-third of the course receives reclaimed water. That share will eventually reach 100 percent once a second phase, an irrigation and pump station replacement, begins in October and uses rolling hole closures to bring reclaimed water to the entire property.
How the Course Plans to Stay Open
City officials emphasized that Jax Beach Golf Club will remain open through the first two project phases. Rather than shutting holes down outright, those phases call for temporary green and tee relocations, which is why hole 2 is playing to a fairway green and hole 8's tees have been pushed forward this week. Once the irrigation and pump station work begins in October, the approach shifts to rolling closures, with the city saying each hole will reopen before crews move on to the next.
A third project, described only as central basin drainage improvements, is still being finalized with the city and may require closing a couple of holes at a time once details are locked in. The city has not yet released a start date or specific holes affected, saying it will announce central basin plans and closures once finalized. The course has committed to posting updates as hole closures shift throughout the construction period.
Discounted Rates Aim to Soften the Disruption
To offset the inconvenience, Jax Beach Golf Club is cutting greens fees by 15 percent on weekdays starting Monday, a discount that will remain in effect through the construction period. Normal rates will still apply on weekends and holidays, the city said. The course previously adjusted its rate structure under Resolution No. 2199-2025, which the Jacksonville Beach City Council adopted in November 2025 to overhaul golf club rates, charges, and fees effective this past January, according to the City of Jacksonville Beach.
A Statewide Mandate With a Steep Price Tag
The Jax Beach project builds on groundwork the city laid years ago. Back in November 2023, Jacksonville Beach submitted a $500,000 state funding request as part of a larger $2.2 million Beneficial Reuse Retrofit project aimed at expanding reclaimed water irrigation capacity at the course from 1.123 million to 1.61 million gallons per day, according to filings with the Florida Senate. That project is designed to divert treated wastewater effluent away from the Lower St. Johns River.
The financial pressure has only grown since then. Jacksonville Beach's proposed $253 million budget for fiscal year 2027, unveiled in July, cites unfunded state mandates under Senate Bill 64 as one of the city's primary long-term financial liabilities, with officials noting that local tax dollars are increasingly being drawn to cover state-imposed requirements, according to the Beaches News Staff.
Jacksonville Beach isn't alone in feeling the squeeze. Neighboring Neptune Beach estimated its own Senate Bill 64 compliance costs at roughly $50 million in March, with officials there warning of potential tax and utility fee increases to help cover the gap, per Jacksonville Beaches News. Regional utility JEA estimated in February that compliance across the greater Jacksonville area could cost up to $2 billion, a scope that spurred creation of the regional Water First North Florida aquifer recharge initiative, according to Citizen Portal.
A Course With a Long History of Reinvention
This isn't the first time Jax Beach Golf Club has undergone major surgery. In 2018, architect Harrison Minchew led a $1.5 million overhaul that replaced turf with salt-resistant Platinum Paspalum grass and reconfigured holes to cut down on forced carries over water hazards, as reported by First Coast News. At the time, head professional Sandy Suckling said the course was logging roughly 40,000 rounds a year.
The club's roots go back even further. It opened in 1960 as a private nine-hole course designed by golf legend Sam Snead, before the City of Jacksonville Beach acquired the property in 1984 and had architect Robert Walker redesign it into an 18-hole municipal course in 1987, according to Casago.
Despite the construction ahead, the course is still slated to host competitive golf this fall. Jax Beach Golf Club is scheduled to hold a 2026 PGA TOUR Champions Event Qualifier on October 6, organized by the North Florida PGA, according to PGA TOUR Champions, keeping regional professional competition on the calendar even as crews work through the rolling closures.
