DeSantis is in turmoil over a plan involving Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to build a golf course in a national park

The controversy has led to an intense political backlash against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Tiger Woods, Ron DeSantis and Jack Nicklaus are at the center of a scandal over Florida’s national park golf courses. Getty Images; P.A.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A proposal to put a golf course in a Florida state park has caught the governor’s attention. Ron DeSantis is in a political bind. Two of the most famous names in professional golf history, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, are involved.

A proposal to build a course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in southeast Florida is currently on hold after bipartisan opposition and protests across the state. But if the idea had received state approval, both Woods and Nicklaus would have had a hand in designing the course.

“There really should have been at least two courses: One would have been the Tiger Course and one would have been the Jack Course,” Eugene Stearns, the attorney representing Nicklaus, told NBC News. He said Nicklaus, who has developed more than 300 courses around the world, would do the work pro bono if the proposal went ahead.

“To Jack, it was an act of charity,” Stearns said. The proposal, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, was part of changes to nine state parks that would have included adding amenities like pickleball courts and new pavilions, but the golf courses were a major bone of contention in the proposal. The landing bureau manager said that the plan had not been completed and is expecting a rebound. However, everything was faster before they were ready when they were released. “We seem to have lost the narrative on this,” a DeSantis administration official said. “The leaks were unhelpful.”

DeSantis said he never said he supported the plan and never “supported” it. This was coming from an agency whose head is appointed by the governor.

The backlash spanned the political spectrum, from Democrats and environmental groups to most of the state’s Republicans, including the senator. Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, and Rep. Matt Gaetz. “I know you love our Florida outdoors. We campaigned together to save the environment in 2018. I first saw your honesty -the near future- “” Use excellent leadership skills to kill Florida this initiative. Keep our parks natural.

There has also been resistance to past attempts to put golf courses in Florida state parks, as the general consensus is that state residents are opposed to any further development in those areas.

TGR Design, Wood’s Florida golf course design firm, did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but four sources, including a DeSantis administration official, confirmed it was involved in the early stages of the proposal. The proposal was led by Folds of Honor, a non -profit organization in Oklahoma, which supports the veterans. He uses golf to collect scholarships for members, killing or first respondents with disabilities. The group, which had previously floated the idea of ​​building a golf course in a Florida national park, confirmed its involvement in a statement last week. He said he plans to bring “world-class” golf to southeast Florida and donate proceeds to military and first responder families. The statement from the group was shared and amplified by nationally-known conservative firebrand Dan Bongino, who said the group personally assured him the proposal was not returning.

“My good friends at \’Folds of Honor\’ have also assured me that they do not plan to move forward on this project,” Bongino, who lives in the area, wrote on social media. “They’re great people doing great things. They just don’t understand the local passion for JD Park.”

A second, lesser known group, the Delaware-based Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, also previously posted on its newly launched website that it supported the proposal but then retracted the post. “I have understood a clear criticism that Jonathan Dickinson’s state park is not the right place,” the group wrote. “We did not understand the local public landscape and appreciated the clearness. We will not proceed with construction on our beloved Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

Little is known about the group, which shared its Oklahoma speech with Falls of Honor, but in January it hired two Florida lobbyists, including Ryan Matthews, former director of the state Department of Civil Protection, a broad-based policy agency with the power to push the plan, whose director is appointed by DeSantis.

Initially, DeSantis’ communications team supported the idea, despite growing public discontent. DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement last week that former President Teddy Roosevelt, a noted conservationist, would have supported the move.

“President Teddy Roosevelt believed that public parks are for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and we agree with him,” Redfern said. “No administration has done more than was necessary to protect Florida’s natural resources, cultivate our wild lands and keep our environment intact. But it’s time to make our public lands more accessible to the public.”

But on Wednesday, DeSantis distanced himself from the proposal. “I didn’t approve of it. I’ve never seen anything like that,” he told reporters. “A lot of these were half-baked and not ready for public release.”