Spessard Holland Golf Course

Spessard Holland Golf Course occupies a distinctive coastal setting in Melbourne Beach along Florida's Space Coast, roughly midway between Cape Canaveral and Vero Beach. Designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay, the course opened in the early 1980s as a municipal facility serving Brevard County residents and visitors. The design reflects Palmer and Seay's approach to accessible public golf during this period, incorporating strategic elements within a layout that accommodates players of varying abilities. The routing takes advantage of the property's natural Florida terrain, with holes moving through stands of native vegetation including palms, oaks, and coastal scrub. Water features appear throughout the design, typical of the region's high water table and the architects' tendency to use lakes and ponds both for drainage and strategic interest. The course sits close enough to the Atlantic to experience coastal breezes, which can influence club selection and shot-making, particularly on exposed holes. As a municipal facility, Spessard Holland serves a broad cross-section of golfers from the Melbourne Beach area and the wider Space Coast community. The course is named for Spessard Lindsey Holland, who served as Florida's governor from 1941 to 1945 and later represented the state in the United States Senate for nearly two decades. The facility provides a straightforward golf experience in a region known more for its aerospace industry and beach tourism than for concentrated golf development, offering an affordable Palmer-Seay design within the public golf infrastructure of Florida's east coast.