A Florida man was injured Wednesday while trying to protect his dogs from what he thought was a larger dog that had entered his porch, but turned out to be a bear.
A Florida man was injured Wednesday while trying to protect his dogs from what he thought was a larger dog, but turned out to be a bear.
The accompanying footage shows the bear breaching the porch entrance in an apparent attempt to catch the closest dog, and the man dropping to his knees and wrestling the animal back outside the porch doorway.
During the scuffle, the bear claws and bites the man, who appears stunned after he had hurriedly placed a bench at the doorway entrance as a barrier.
“Oh my god, I was just attacked by a bear!” he appears to scream in the footage, which is repeated in slow motion.
The video was shared Friday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), which stated on Facebook that the man’s injuries were not life-threatening and that all the noise helped persuade the bear to leave.
The harrowing incident occurred at the man’s Daytona Beach residence at about 7:30 p.m. The dogs were not injured.
The FWC stated in a news release that the agency is searching for the bear and that the animal will be euthanized if it’s captured “since it poses a threat to human safety.”
The FWC added that this was the second time within the past week that a bear had injured a Florida resident.
Two new neighborhoods are coming to Daytona Beach’s LPGA corridor, adding 463 single-family homes nestled within the golf course.
Two new neighborhoods are coming to Daytona Beach’s LPGA corridor, adding 463 single-family homes nestled within the golf course.
Both neighborhoods will be located east of LPGA Boulevard, the final plats approved by the city of Daytona Beach on Oct. 6.
Local developer Parker Mynchenberg’s firm is engineer of the developments for Meritage Homes, a national homebuilder based in Arizona.
“These are two subdivisions that are in the old part of LPGA, so they’re kind of both infill,” Mynchenberg told the Volusia County Council on Tuesday. “So finally LPGA is going to be developed out. That helps the golf course, restaurant there, et cetera.”
LPGA International (Courtesy of LPGA International)
Meritage Homes of Florida is paying more than $2.9 million in proportionate fair share agreements for the new neighborhoods, 99% of which is going to the county for road improvements:
• $1.8 million for Legends Preserve, which will add 264 homes on 141 acres
• $1.1 million for Links Terrace, a 57-acre development adding 199 homes
County Engineer Tadd Kasbeer said this money will help fund the widening of Williamson Boulevard to four lanes from Strickland Range Road north to Hand Avenue.
Kasbeer said there also will be LPGA Boulevard improvements down the line, including to the bridge crossing Interstate 95, which he hopes the Florida Department of Transportation will largely fund.
“We want to try and leverage their budget as much as possible and minimize the impact to ours, but any of our proportionate fair share moving forward, we would start gathering and it would supplement whatever DOT doesn’t (pay for) on LPGA,” he told the county council.
Meritage Homes also owns two New Smyrna Beach developments, Sarinna Lakes and The Palms at Venetian Bay. Homes are priced at about $300,000 and up.
Mynchenberg said development likely won’t slow down in the LPGA area anytime soon.
“Quite a few projects coming your way,” he said. “My office designed quite a few and has a few more. They’re all subject to fair share, so there’ll be more checks coming.”
LPGA International is a popular diversion for drivers and race fans during Speedweeks in the run-up to the Daytona 500.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As if negotiating the 2.5-mile trioval track and its 31-degree banked turns at Daytona International Speedway isn’t enough to keep NASCAR drivers busy, there’s a completely different set of challenges waiting seven miles away by car. Hopefully, that is, in much slower cars than will be driven Feb. 16 during the Daytona 500.
LPGA International with its two tracks, the Rees Jones and Arthur Hills signature courses, is a popular diversion for drivers and race fans looking for a game of their own during Speedweeks, for which the green flag drops Feb. 8 in the run-up to the Daytona 500.
And LPGA International is ready to show off. After being acquired by course operator Fore Golf Partners in the fall of 2019, the two courses and clubhouse have received more than $1.3 million in investment that has improved turf quality, repaired flood-prone bunkers, rehabbed range amenities and bolstered the overall playing experience.
The work, as well as the proximity to the track, has helped restore LPGA International’s position as a standout golf destination along Central Florida’s Atlantic coast. It’s a solid option for the 10 million tourists that the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates visit the area each year for events including the Daytona 500, Daytona Bike Week in March and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August, as well as those who visit just to relax at the beach.
“This will be my first race week, but from what I understand, it gets a little crazy,” said LPGA International general manager Michael Johnson, who stepped into his role in October. “A bunch of the drivers, the crew members, some of the local entertainment, they set up their little outings and we’ll have quite a few groups out here that are involved with the Daytona 500.”
Since Johnson arrived, his staff has been on a race of its own to complete various projects and deferred maintenance. Among the largest of those efforts was repairing the drainage for many of the bunkers on the Jones course.
“When I came and toured the property in September, I would guess nearly 50 percent of those bunkers were completely filled in with water,” Johnson said. “We had some pretty good rain over the past few weeks, and it appears all the work we did with the bunkers and drainage seems to have worked. With a great deal of rain, there’s not any standing water anywhere. Much improved.”
Fore Golf Partners also brought in course superintendent Ken Doerfler, who purchased new equipment to better handle the overgrown rough that swallowed golf balls. On a recent 36-hole day on which this writer played both courses, the firm greens were rolling smoothly and the fairways were playing relatively fast for a Florida course in winter.
“The fairways have responded well,” Johnson said. “They were a little hungry when we got here. We fed them, and they’re looking pretty healthy now.”
The Arthur Hills Signature Course at LPGA International (Courtesy of LPGA International)
The two courses offer different experiences. The Jones is much more wide open, allowing players to swing away off the tee. The Hills is tighter and much more of a target course, playing through thick woodlands with more wetlands in play.
“On the Jones, you can grip it and rip it,” Johnson said. “It will challenge you, but the defense of the golf course is going to be the green complexes. There’s going to be some mounding, some subtle break and some bunkering that will protect the golf course. But if you can cover the distance, you can score.
“The Hills course can be a little more penal at times, with the mounding and the forced carries. It’s going to challenge the best golfers, and selecting the correct tee box on the Hills course is going to be one of the most important things to make sure you’re playing the right yardages to the wide parts of the fairways. If you play too far back, the fairways can feel pretty narrow. If you’re playing too far forward, the course gets even more narrow.”
All the work should help restore the former home of the final stage of LPGA qualifying school. Green fees during Daytona 500 week are $129 with a $40 replay rate for players who want to try all 36 in a day.
But LPGA International is not alone in providing a place to play near the racetrack. Here are several other options for race fans who pencil in a little time for golf around Daytona Beach:
Victoria Hills Golf Club in Deland, Fla. (Courtesy of Victoria Hills)
Victoria Hills Golf Club
About 20 miles southwest of the racetrack in Deland along the Interstate 4 corridor to Orlando, Victoria Hills ranks No. 15 in Florida on Golfweek’s public-access list of Best Courses You Can Play. The Ron Garl design features surprising terrain and frequently elevated tee boxes to give the course the feel of a North Carolina track much more than a typical Florida course.
Hammock Beach’s Ocean Course (Courtesy of Hammock Beach)
Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa
About 35 miles north of the speedway in Palm Coast, Hammock Beach operates two 18s that rank among the best on Golfweek’s list of public-access courses in Florida. The Ocean Course, a Jack Nicklaus design that has been regrassed and refurbished in recent years and that features six holes along the Atlantic, is No. 10 on the list. The inland Conservatory Course, built by Tom Watson, ranks No. 18 in the state. The courses are part of a huge Salamander beach resort with one of the best pool complexes in the state.
Daytona Beach Golf Club with portions of the South and North course showing. (Courtesy of Daytona Beach Golf Club)
Daytona Beach Golf Club’s South Course
This municipal track is scruffy in spots, but after a recent round there, this writer can vouch that it’s a locals’ favorite and does a booming business. The South Course boasts a Donald Ross pedigree, but nobody would confuse it with Pinehurst No. 2. All in all, it’s a breezy little community track that stretches 6,229 yards and provides a decent value golf experience. Located less than five miles from Daytona International Speedway, it’s a reasonable spot for a break from the Speedweeks crush of tourists without requiring too much time on the road. The facility is also home to the 6,338-yard North Course designed by Lloyd Clifton. The North features newly regrassed TifEagle greens that were expanded to offer more hole locations.
New Smyrna Golf Club
Located about 18 miles from Daytona International Speedway, this course also boasts a Ross design tag and, like Daytona Beach Country Club, is part of the Florida Historic Golf Trail. The 6,567-yard course offers wide fairways and is an ideal setting for inexperienced players and social golf after a 2016 renovation focused on reducing bunker size to make the course more playable.
