Upswing in American Golf Course Construction Gains Momentum: Making the Rounds – Installment 27

This column features recollections of the author’s 36 years as a golf writer. These installments stem from his many travels and experiences, which led to a gradual understanding that the game has many intriguing components, especially its people.

Based on the sampling of projects below, U.S. developers and golf leaders believe that the pandemic-fueled interest in golf is worthy of investment. Unlike many industries that have struggled to recover post-COVID, the golf business is now thriving. After all, during an 18-month period marked by lockdowns and social distancing folks were encouraged to go outside and play. That “directive” clearly benefited golf.

Many folks rediscovered or learned for the first time that the game is a fun way to exercise while getting out of the house and safely commingling with other people. In 2022, once the coronavirus had subsided, the National Golf Foundation estimates that the world’s golfing population surged from 61 million to 66 million. Increases were also seen in the number of women (now 25 percent of all players) and people of color flocking to the links.

Everyone is forking out cash on green fees, golf equipment and related paraphernalia.

Many private clubs that had operated on a first-come-first-served basis for decades switched to computerized tee times, allowing pro shops to minimize the number of golfers congregating and potentially spreading the virus. Most clubs say they’re not returning to previous no-reservation arrangements, even though 81 percent of Americans are now vaccinated.

With the new demand comes opportunities for eager developers to tap into a refreshed and suddenly hot market. Though not quite on the scale of the “Golden Era” of golf in the early 1900s or the 20-year boom period before 2006 when the supply of courses exploded by 44 percent (followed soon after by a 12 percent “contraction”), prospects for new golf holes coming into play nationwide are looking downright rosy.

Here’s proof – a partial list of golf projects that are either planned, underway or recently completed. It’ll be interesting to see if this era of newfound popularity is sustainable in an industry marked by many peaks and valleys over the years.

Rodeo Dunes, Roggen, Colo. Mike Keiser, the golf soul behind the large-scale resorts Bandon Dunes, Cabot Links and Sand Valley, began construction on the first of what could eventually be six golf courses at a 2,000-acre site located an hour northeast of Denver. Jim Craig, a longtime associate of Coore & Crenshaw, designed the first layout. As is typical of Keiser’s pickiness of where to expand his ever-growing golf-centric empire, the Colorado site involves rolling, sandy dunes.

Trout National, Vineland, N.J. If all goes well, work on an 18-hole course by Tiger Woods’ architectural firm, TGR Design, will commence on a 280-acre property in 2024. The project is backed by Los Angeles Angels’ centerfielder Mike Trout, who was born in Vineland. The oft-injured superstar will have a place to relax and swing away once his Hall of Fame-worthy – but oft-injured – baseball career ends.

McLemore Golf Club, Rising Fawn, Ga. Architects Rees Jones and Bill Bergin have been hired by the owners of this facility to add another 18 holes. Called “The Keep,” the new layout will stretch across a cliff to offer dramatic vistas of McLemore Cove and Pigeon Mountain. If all goes well, the course will open in 2024 along with a new conference center called “Cloudland.”

Apogee Golf Club, Hobe Sound, Fla. Plans are underway for the first of a three-course private club occupying 1,200 acres. Those involved include former USGA executive director Mike Davis along with architects Gill Hanse, Tommy Fazio and Kyle Phillips. Apogee is among several nearby golf projects with 162 new holes on the drawing board.

Loraloma Project, Austin, Texas. David McLay Kidd has been tapped to design an 18-hole course at a new master-planned community on the former Thomas Ranch. The developer is Areté Collective, led by Tom Hogan, a former CFO of Augusta National Golf Club. Along with a 7,060-yard golf course, the project involves cottages, a clubhouse, wellness center and other amenities.

Notable Remodels:

Bobby Jones Golf Club, Sarasota, Fla. In November 2023, this renovated municipal facility reopened for play. The original 54-hole complex was pared down to 27 holes, retaining the 18-hole layout designed by Donald Ross in the 1920s and a new nine-hole “adjustable” par-3 venue. Chicago-based architect Richard Mandel oversaw the Ross-course update. In addition to the revamped layouts, the project involves converting the closed golf holes into the Bobby Jones Nature Park – which has covenants preventing it from ever becoming homes or commercial development – and a new clubhouse. Indigo Sports is the operator.

Hunters Run Country Club, Boynton, Beach, Fla. A member-approved $10-million remodel is underway to modernize the East Course at this 54-hole facility in Palm Beach County. According to club president Michael Rappaport, the course was worn out by the dramatic jump in golf rounds spawned by the pandemic, suggesting that the virus’s insidiousness has an upside. Kipp Schulties Golf Designs is overseeing the renovations.

Recent Openings:

Battlefield Golf Course, Monkey Island, Okla. 18-hole par-3 course debuted in June 2023 at Shangri-La Resort. Architects Tom Clark and Tom Atkinson oversaw the creation of the picturesque 3,000-yard track.

Pinehurst No. 10, Pinehurst, North Carolina. The long-anticipated Tom Doak-designed No. 10 held its grand opening in April 2023. The architect arrayed the 18-hole course – the first original course to open at the famed resort in 30 years – over rugged dunes shaped by mining operations around the turn of the 20^th century.

The Lido, Nekoosa, Wisc.  Opened in late June 2023, this is Tom Doak’s ode to the fabled links built by C.B. Macdonald links in 1917 on Long Island, N.Y. Many golf historians considered the original Lido – shuttered during World War II to make way for a naval base – as one of the greatest courses ever built. The modern re-creation is located at Mike Keiser’s Sand Valley Resort, which already boasts such impressive tracks as Sand Valley, Mammoth Dunes, and Sedge Valley. Upcoming plans at this blossoming Midwest golf mecca include a smokehouse, putting course, arcade, tennis center, bistro restaurant, pool house and homesites.

Odds & Ends:

Shadow Creek in Las Vegas recently announced it would be bumping the world’s most expensive green fees to an astounding $1,250 a round during peak season. (By comparison, Pebble Beach Golf Links now charges $625 a round, plus a cart or caddie fee that brings the total to $800.) The very “semi-public” Steve-Wynn-owned Shadow Creek also has a high barrier for entry as only select guests of the MGM Grand are invited to play it. Typically, these golfers spend a certain amount of money at the resort-casino (i.e., high rollers only please).

Jeff Shelley has written and published nine books as well as numerous articles for print and online media over his lengthy career. Among his titles are three editions of the book, “Golf Courses of the Pacific Northwest.” The Seattle resident was the editorial director of Cybergolf.com from 2000-15. He also co-founded the Northwest Golf Media Association in 1995. For seven years he served as the board president of First Green, an educational outreach program that is now part of the Golf Course Superintendents of America and Environmental Institute for Golf.