Our community, together
Community Advisory Board
Golfers, coaches, neighbors and local business owners lending their perspective and personal support to the future of Ironwood.
A public course belongs in the life of its community. Our honorary advisors bring experience in golf, youth development, hospitality and the places that bring Gainesville together.
Advisors participate personally, offering perspective, introductions and support. The honorary board is distinct from the project team and does not govern or operate the course. Participation does not imply an institutional partnership with an advisor’s employer.
Course design & development
Brad Gehl
Golf designer
Brad worked on The Park with Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, with golf-design experience that also includes Sedge Valley, Pinehurst No. 10 and Skokie Country Club. He brings a designer’s perspective to the possibilities for public golf at Ironwood.
Marcus Motes
Vice President, Land Development · Cabot Citrus Farms
Marcus brings golf-destination and land-development experience through his work at Cabot Citrus Farms. His advisory perspective connects course development with the broader experience of a golf property.
Photo: The Cabot Collection
Mike Dunham
Trackman
Mike brings a Trackman perspective to the advisory group and supports the vision for an improved Gainesville golf facility. His contribution connects the project with golf practice and range technology.
Why I support The Track
This project and vision would be an exceptional and welcomed upgraded addition to the Gainesville golf community. I fully support the efforts of this team and this project both personally and professionally. -Mike Dunham, Trackman
Golf & Gainesville roots
Chandler Blanchet
Professional golfer
Chandler grew up playing with friends under the lights at West End. A professional golfer with Gainesville roots, he supports a local course where children and everyday golfers can call home, enjoy the game and develop their skills.
Why I support The Track
Gainesville needs a place for the locals and the kids to call home. A course they can sharpen their skills on and enjoy the game. It reminds me of (a better version) of west end golf course (RIP) where I grew up playing with my buddies under the lights.
Tyson Alexander
Professional golfer · Former Gator
Tyson is a professional golfer and former University of Florida player with longstanding Gainesville ties. He has known the Rucarean brothers for years and supports their effort to bring a shared love of golf and Gainesville to Ironwood.
Why I support The Track
Gainesville is a special place to me and so is golf. I’ve known the Rucarean brothers for a long time and I trust they will merge the two into something special.
J.C. Deacon
Head Men’s Golf Coach · University of Florida
J.C. led the Florida Gators to the 2023 NCAA team championship. He brings a collegiate-coaching perspective to the advisory group and its shared interest in the future of golf in Gainesville.
Dalton Melnyk
Former Gator golfer · GSGA board member
Dalton played golf at the University of Florida and serves on the Georgia State Golf Association’s board of directors. His support for The Track reflects a belief that more high-quality golf should be available to the public.
Why I support The Track
The entire golf industry has a horrific undersupply of top quality publicly available golf. This acquisition and reimagining will be a rousing success.
Nick Gilliam
2001 NCAA individual golf champion
Nick won the 2001 NCAA individual championship while helping the Florida Gators win the team title. He brings a competitive golf background and a connection to Gainesville’s golf tradition to the advisory board.
Katelyn Huber
University of Florida golfer
A Gainesville native and P.K. Yonge graduate, Katelyn plays golf for the Florida Gators. She brings the perspective of a local player who progressed from junior golf to collegiate competition.
Ian Lentz
Gainesville golf community
Ian first learned to play and fell in love with golf at Ironwood. He supports restoring the course with new opportunities, welcoming playability and distinctive holes while retaining the character that made it meaningful to local golfers.
Why I support The Track
Ironwood was where I first learned how to play and fell in love with the game. I was very excited to hear the passion from the team behind The Track on getting the golf course on its feet. It would be awesome to create a golf course with new opportunities, ultimate playability for everyone, and unique hole designs, while retaining the bones of Ironwood.
Michael Collins
Golf broadcaster
Michael’s connection to golf began at Ironwood. He credits the course and its staff with giving him the opportunity to learn and fall in love with the game, a foundation for his career covering golf at ESPN.
Why I support The Track
I don’t have my job at ESPN without Ironwood. Period, full stop. As a matter of fact, nothing in my life golf related happens without Ironwood and the staff allowing me to fall in love with the game. It’s where I learned everything about the game.
Youth & community
Natalie Hinds
Olympic bronze medalist · Swimming
Natalie is an Olympic bronze medalist who supports the role public spaces can play in bringing Gainesville together. Her vision for The Track extends beyond golf to a place where people connect, build relationships and create memories.
Why I support The Track
Having a course in Gainesville that’s open to the public, I feel, is key to allowing the community to grow. Whether it’s through golf, a place to gather, or simply somewhere people can come and spend time together, I believe a course can provide so many intangibles beyond just the sport itself. It can become a place where people connect, build relationships, create memories, and feel like they’re part of something bigger. That kind of space can have a real impact on the Gainesville community.
Ryan McNickle
Buchholz teacher & golf coach
Ryan is a Buchholz High School teacher and golf coach. He supports high-quality public golf where juniors and school teams can learn, practice and compete, and where Gainesville can welcome visiting teams.
Why I support The Track
Having high-quality golf options in Gainesville is so important for our city for so many reasons. The one that is most important to me is having a place for junior golfers, high school golfers, etc. to learn to play the game. As a high school golfer coach here in the city I’d love to be able to showcase our incredible facilities to visiting teams and host FHSAA postseason tournaments as well as have a course that all young people in our city have access too and are excited to come out and play on.
Frank Anderson
Longtime Gainesville Junior Golf Tour leader
Frank led the Gainesville Junior Golf Tour for approximately 15 years before retiring from tour leadership in 2022. His work helped thousands of juniors experience the game and supported tournament and college scholarships. He remains a supporter of opportunities for young golfers.
Why I support The Track
The community needs a facility such as the Track due to all the golf course closures in Gainesville. Youth programs and high school teams are in dire need of such a venue.
Jason Atkins-Tuffs
Gainesville parent & community member
Jason is a Pleasant Street resident and parent who wants a welcoming public course close to home. He supports affordable, friendly golf where families can spend time together and introduce the next generation to the game.
Why I support The Track
Living downtown in the Pleasant Street neighborhood, I'd love a welcoming public golf course close to home. I picture taking my six-year-old daughter on weekend mornings, showing her how to grip a club and cheering when she gets one airborne. A course that's affordable, friendly, and open to everyone would give Gainesville families like mine a place to grow together.
Alex Huggins
Access Chiropractic · Local business community
Alex brings a local-business connection through Access Chiropractic. As a member of the advisory board, he joins Gainesville residents and business leaders supporting the future of public golf and community gathering at Ironwood.
Food & hospitality
Gabe Chavez
Co-owner · Resident Coffee Roasters & Wyatt’s Coffee
Gabe is a Gainesville business owner, husband and father whose work centers on hospitality and community. A co-owner of Resident Coffee Roasters and Wyatt’s Coffee, he supports a place where people can bring their families, meet friends and feel welcome whether or not they play golf.
Why I support The Track
My name is Gabe Chavez. I’m a Gainesville business owner, a husband and father, and one of the owners of Resident Coffee Roasters and Wyatt’s Coffee. I’ve spent a big part of my professional life here thinking about hospitality, community, and what makes people feel connected to the city they live in. I’ve gotten to know the team behind The Track through Resident, and what has stood out to me about this project is that their vision for Ironwood extends far beyond simply improving a golf course. I’m actually not a golfer. And I think that’s an important part of why I support what they’re trying to create. As a father and as someone who owns businesses built around bringing people together, I believe Gainesville needs more public spaces where different generations and different parts of our community can naturally overlap. Places where you can bring your kids, meet a friend, grab a coffee or something to eat, spend an afternoon, watch a game, or discover something new. What excites me about this vision is the idea that a public golf course can be that kind of place. A place where golf is important, but participation in the community around it doesn’t require you to be a golfer.
Kyle Spor
Co-owner · Afternoon
Kyle brings Gainesville hospitality experience as a co-owner of Afternoon. He joins the food and beverage advisory group supporting The Track’s vision for a welcoming place to eat, gather and spend time together.
Kyle Cohan
Owner · Leonardo’s Pizza
Kyle is a Gainesville restaurant owner who supports a stronger public golf community. He sees the opportunity for Ironwood to become a hub for community service, outdoor activity and neighborhood pride.
Why I support The Track
A viable golf course would be a boon to the Gainesville community. We desperately need a hub for community service, outdoor activities, and pride in the neighborhood.
Ben Guzick
Owner · Uppercrust
Ben brings the perspective of Gainesville’s local food community through Uppercrust. He joins the advisory group helping shape a place where hospitality and time together are part of the public-golf experience.
Ryan Prodesky
Owner · The Swamp Restaurant
Ryan brings Gainesville restaurant experience through The Swamp Restaurant. He is part of the food and beverage advisory group supporting The Track’s vision for a course and gathering place connected to the wider community.
Victor Kubilion
Spirits Director · Embers
Victor is the Spirits Director at Embers and brings a local hospitality perspective to the food and beverage advisory group. His participation supports planning for the welcoming social spaces around the golf experience.
A place for your perspective, too.
Everyone can follow the project, share ideas and support the future of public golf. Community participation is open to all and is separate from honorary advisory board membership.
Get involved