Beman-Built. World-Approved.

Written by Brittany Wynne, World Golf Hall of Fame

Deane Beman is a man of many talents.

A World Golf Hall of Fame Member
Former PGA TOUR Commissioner
Four-time winner on the PGA TOUR
Five-time Amateur champion (including 2 U.S. Amateurs)
Tour creator: Champions Tour (SENIOR PGA TOUR) & Korn Ferry Tour (Ben Hogan Tour)

Oh, and let’s not forget: The Father of “Stadium Golf”

The TPC Stadium Course at Sawgrass was the first product born of Beman’s dream to build a network of spectator-friendly courses to accommodate the growing popularity of professional golf. As the permanent home of the PGA TOUR’s THE PLAYERS Championship, it was the first of its kind, featuring mounds, high banks and earthen amphitheaters specifically designed to handle larger crowds.

“That first concept was routed literally on the back of a placemat where he (course architect and fellow Hall of Fame Member Pete Dye) first sketched out the layout of the holes,” Beman fondly recalls.

The Stadium Course has become a prototype for other viewer-friendly courses. Today, the Tournament Players Club network has sprouted up across the country as well as internationally.

In May of 1998, another of Beman’s ideas became reality when the World Golf Village, home of the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum, opened. Beman had the idea of constructing a PGA TOUR Hall of Fame somewhere in Northeast Florida, near TOUR headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach and near Interstate 95. However, the concept grew in scope as golf organizations, such as the LPGA and others around the world, learned of the project and asked to participate.

“It was too big for just the PGA TOUR,” said Beman. “We had to ask the rest of the world to join us.”

And now, Deane Beman’s legacy lives in the home that he helped build – the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum. The world thanks you, Deane.