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The Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club has drawn many well-to-do snowbirds, baseball stars and celebrities who have marveled at its impressive architecture and lavish atmosphere.
What you might not know about the beloved St. Petersburg landmark is how it got its start.
In 1923, businessman Aymer Vinoy Laughner was hosting famed golfer Walter Hagen at his home on St. Petersburg’s Beach Drive. Hagen boasted he could hit several golf balls off of Laughner’s watch without breaking the crystal. Laughner said he would build a hotel if Hagen did.
The Vinoy opened two years later, on New Year’s Eve.
– Katie Wilcox, B2 Communications