The course layout was recreated using the 1915 Map of Golf Course and Jungle Subdivision and aerial photographs from 1926 and 1942.
The Jungle Country Club was a historic golf course and hotel located in the Jungle section of St. Petersburg, Florida. The golf course opened in 1916 and is notable for being Babe Ruth's favorite winter course. Pictures of the greatest celebrity of the era playing golf in St. Petersburg were published in national newspapers, promoting tourism and popularizing the sport of golf. The golf course property and hotel (now Admiral Farragut Academy) are in the Azalea neighborhood.
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| The Club House was built in 1915, torn down in 1926 (replaced by Jungle Country Club Hotel) |
Babe Ruth Was Here
If, like me, you own a home in the Jungle Country Club subdivision and are interested in whether Babe Ruth walked across your yard, consider this ‒ Babe Ruth played the course well over 100 times. He could drive a golf ball over 300 yards. His long drives were unpredictable ‒ he was left-handed and he frequently sliced the ball (sent it off to the left), sometimes he hooked it (to the right) and occasionally he would hit it down the middle. He was known to hit practice balls in any direction on a whim, so even if you own a property that is not directly on the golf course, Babe might have walked across your lawn or sent some of his golf balls there. His soniferous voice could carry across several fairways ‒ you certainly would have heard him.
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| Babe Ruth/Bobby Jones signed golf ball at Coach's Corner Sports Auctions |
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| Babe Ruth with wife Claire in front of the Jungle Country Club Hotel - January 15, 1930 (colorized) |
