The bill would order the state to prioritize conservation-based recreational activities.
Last summer’s controversy that erupted across the state about the potential construction of lodges, golf courses and pickleball courts at Florida state parks will continue into the state’s 2025 legislative session.
State Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican, has filed the State Parks Preservation Act (SB 80) for next year. The bill would order the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to prioritize conservation-based recreational activities and specifically says those activities do not include golf, tennis, pickleball or sports that require a ball field.
Harrell’s Martin County district includes Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which was scheduled for three golf courses under a “Great Outdoors Initiative” announced last August. The initiative would have removed a boardwalk and the Hobe Mountain observational tower at Dickinson.
The lawmaker also wants DEP to develop 10-year management plans for each of the state’s 175 state parks. Those plans are to prioritize conservation-based recreational activities like fishing, camping, canoeing and hiking.
The bill filing is a turnaround from recent sessions in which Republican lawmakers, who still control both the House and Senate with supermajorities, showed great deference to the executive branch led by Gov. and then-presidential candidate Ron DeSantis; DEP is under the governor.
The Great Outdoors Initiative, which DeSantis has said he wasn’t involved with, survived only a couple of weeks after it was announced. It drew protests from the public and opposition from elected officials from city halls to Congress.
The initiative called for a 350-room lodge at Topsail Preserve in Santa Rosa County, a disc golf course at Maclay Gardens in Tallahassee and a pickleball court at Florida Caverns in Marianna, among others. There were also plans for golf courses and tennis courts throughout the award-winning state park system.
The public was given less than a week’s notice to prepare for a single public hearing on the proposal. U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott called the initiative “absolutely ridiculous.” State Sen. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, whose district includes three state parks, said the initiative created “unnecessary development.”
DeSantis soon backed away from the proposal and said officials were “going back to the drawing board.”
Harrell’s bill would provide guardrails for DEP officials if they intend to resubmit the initiative. The requirement of 10-year management plans for each park would include a detailed description of the park’s land, backed up by an inventory of forest and natural resources, such as water features and significant cultural and historical features.
Harrell also wants the management plan to include measurable objectives for habitat restoration and maintenance, public access, sustainable forest management, and more. Any changes in the plans must include a 30-day notice for at least one public hearing with publication of the proposed change.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.
Which top courses are open, which are still closed after Hurricane Milton?
Hurricane Milton had different impacts on various golf courses along its path across the Florida Peninsula last Wednesday and Thursday, and some courses have reopened fully while others are waiting for water to drain before welcoming players.
Many people are still suffering mightily after the storm, with more than 400,000 Florida residents still without power. Food and water are in short supply in the worst-hit areas, lines are out of hand at some gas stations and federal agencies are trying to help as thousands of electric crews race to turn back on the lights, refrigerators and air conditioners.
It can seem like a weird time to think about a game, but golf is big business in Florida, and many people’s livelihoods depend on golf as the state begins its recovery. The National Golf Foundation reports there are more than 1,200 courses in Florida that serve nearly 1.6 million players, with an economic impact of $8.2 billion in 2022. More than 132,000 people work in Florida’s golf industry.
The biggest problem for most golf courses wasn’t Milton’s winds so much as its water. Some places in Florida received nearly two feet of rainfall overnight, and several courses are still under water in places. It can take weeks for that much water to recede from a low-lying course. It was especially damaging as Milton struck just two weeks in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which inundated Florida’s western coast with storm surge and dumped huge volumes of rain across the peninsula before hammering into Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Flooding waters from Hurricane Milton surround the par-3 16th green at Forest Lake in Ocoee, Florida, near Orlando. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
As an example of water damage, this author received a close-up look at storm water Sunday on a round at the daily-fee Forest Lake Golf Club in Ocoee near Orlando. The course had standing water on many holes, deep enough to resemble ponds more than puddling. Course operators had cobbled together a new layout, playing one par 4 and one par 5 as par 3s to avoid saturated areas in fairways while they clean up after the storm and await water to recede. One par 3 across a pond was closed entirely as water had risen to surround the green like a moat and covered two-thirds of the putting surface. Players should expect to find such conditions at many courses across Florida as grounds crews work to restore normal playing conditions.
Hundreds of courses stretch along the path of Hurricane Milton. For a sampling of how those courses are doing after the storm, we checked on the layouts that appear in Golfweek’s Best rankings of public-access courses. These vary from daily-fee operations to huge resorts. Some have reopened with negligible effects from the storm, while others remain closed. At the bottom of this story is an update on several highly ranked private clubs, too.
Streamsong
Streamsong Red in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong/Evan Schiller)
Home to three highly ranked courses – the Red by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the Blue by Tom Doak, and the Black by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner – Streamsong received no major damage in the storm. The resort will reopen Tuesday after having been closed for several days as power was restored. The three courses on a former mining site feature very few trees to have blown down, and they were built atop huge piles of sand that expedited drainage. The Red is ranked by Golfweek’s Best as the No. 2 public-access course in Florida and ties for No. 37 among all modern courses in the U.S. The Blue is No. 3 in Florida and ties for No. 53 among modern courses, and the Black is No. 4 in Florida and ties for No. 67 among modern courses.
Bay Hill Club and Lodge
No. 17 at Bay Hill Club and Lodge (Gabe Gudgel/Golfweek)
Longtime home to the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Bay Hill in Orlando is still closed as it deals with flooding after Hurricane Milton. The club is waiting for water to recede – notably on the around-the-pond par-5 sixth hole and the downhill over-the-pond 17th – before announcing a reopening plan. The facility also suffered tree damage. Bay Hill ranks No. 6 among public-access courses in Florida. Bay Hill hopes to have its 9-hole course, The Challenger, opened in the next several days.
Innisbrook
The Copperhead (Courtesy of Innisbrook Resort)
The home of the Copperhead Course – longtime site of the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship – is in Palm Harbor, just west of Tampa and closer to the Gulf of Mexico. The resort has posted on its website that limited dining options have reopened. The resort features four golf courses: Copperhead, Island, North and South. Of those four, nine holes reopened Monday. Those nine are a compilation of holes on the North and South courses. The Copperhead – ranked No. 9 among all public-access courses in Florida – has not reopened, and a timeframe is not mentioned on the resort’s website.
Southern Dunes
Southern Dunes (Courtesy of Southern Dunes)
The Steve Smyers layout southwest of Orlando in Haines City lost a few trees, but the course reopened Saturday with minimal damage. Southern Dunes sits on rolling sand dunes, which helps tremendously with drainage. Southern Dunes ranks No. 14 among all public-access courses in Florida.
PGA Golf Club
PGA Golf Club’s Dye Course (Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America)
PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie on Florida’s eastern coast – home to three courses ranked among the top 30 public-access layouts in the state – has reopened two of those courses, Dye (ranked No. 17) and Ryder (No. 30). The resort’s Wannamaker course (ranked No. 18) was closed well before the storm for a renovation, and it is scheduled to reopen in November as planned. A handful of holes on the two open courses are cart-path-only as the facility continues to dry out.
Orange County National
Panther Lake at Orange County National in Florida (Courtesy of Orange County National)
Home to two courses among the top 30 in the state, Panther Lake (No. 23) and Crooked Cat (tied for No. 27), this Winter Garden facility just west of Orlando reopened Friday after the storm. The property’s massive circular driving range was humming with business Saturday, as usual.
Celebration
Celebration Golf Club (Courtesy of Celebration)
Ranked No. 29 among public-access courses in Florida, this course southwest of Orlando is still closed after Milton. The club has posted on social media that it hopes to reopen Wednesday, as water continues to drain. Golfers can check the club’s Facebook page for more information and updates.
Grand Cypress
A longtime Central Florida golf icon, Grand Cypress is home to two courses – the Cypress and the Links – at the new Evermore resort southwest of Orlando next to Disney World. The Cypress is open for play now, while the Links is slated to reopen Tuesday as stormwater recedes. Formerly known as the New Course, the renamed Links ties for No. 30 among all public-access courses in Florida.
Private clubs
Belleair near Tampa shortly after a restoration of the Donald Ross-designed course by Jason Straka (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Calls to several top-rated private courses in especially hard-hit areas, such as Mountain Lake in Lake Wales and The Concession in Bradenton, went unanswered. Belleair, just west of Tampa along the Intracoastal Waterway, lost dozens of trees on its two courses, and its recently restored West Course reopened Monday while its East Course will take a few more days. Nearby, Pelican Golf Club – home to the LPGA’s The Annika Driven by Gainbridge scheduled for Nov. 14-17 – plans to reopen Wednesday.
This enclave has become a plush spot for those looking to enjoy luxury living in South Florida.
The enclave known as Windsor in Vero Beach, Florida — originally developed in 1990 by the former lieutenant governor of Ontario and a wealthy Canadian businessman — has become a plush spot for those looking to enjoy luxury living in South Florida.
An 18-hole links-style course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., includes a 400-yard driving range, and the eight tennis courts on-site, which have been often used by resident Ivan Lendl, were designed by Wimbledon champ Stan Smith.
Set along the southern perimeter of the golf course with magnificent sweeping views over the lakes and links, this 1.7-acre property – the largest Country Estate at Windsor – has been designed as a family-style compound. The main residence and four guest cottages together offer 13 bedrooms, allowing ample space to host extended family and friends.
Airy, contemporary and filled with natural light, the main residence features expansive, gracious living, dining, and entertainment spaces that flow seamlessly to multiple large terraces, balconies and a central garden courtyard that is ideal for large family gatherings or special events.
Stearns said Nicklaus would have done the work free of charge.
NBC News is reporting that Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, two of the biggest names in golf, were included in the Florida plan to put golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. The network cited a representative for the legendary golfers who confirmed their interest in the project.
The Palm Beach Post reported last week that two companies founded by Nicklaus, but with which he is no longer affiliated with, flatly stated they were not involved in the state park proposal. But the statement also made clear they were not speaking for Nicklaus.
Plans by the Department of Environmental Protection to add golf courses, lodges and pickleball courts in nine state parks drew an outburst of anger, especially the part of the plan that included putting golf courses in Dickinson, a state park on the Palm Beach-Martin County border not far from Woods’ Jupiter Island home and Nicklaus’ North Palm Beach home.
On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis distanced himself from the plan, saying it was “half-baked” and “leaked to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative.” He said that there had been some calls for improvements at state parks, but that the DEP needed to go back to the drawing board.
Documents were leaked to environmentalists a week ago showing plans for the installation of three public golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson as part of the state’s 2024-2025 Great Outdoors Initiative.
The fervor of discontent that followed led to the state postponing public meetings that were scheduled.
NBC News said Eugene Stearns, who represents Nicklaus, said Woods and Nicklaus would do course-design work on the project.
“There were actually going to be at least two courses; one would be a Tiger course and one would be a Jack course,” Stearns told NBC News.
Stearns said Nicklaus would have done the work free of charge.
“For Jack, it was a charitable issue,” Stearns told NBC News.
Nicklaus Companies, which is no longer affiliated with founder Jack Nicklaus, told The Palm Beach Post it was not associated with the recent golf course plans. The statement from Nicklaus Companies emphasized that it was from the firms — Nicklaus Companies and Nicklaus Design — alone, not Jack Nicklaus personally.
Nicklaus Companies reiterated that it had nothing to do with the courses at Jonathan Dickinson and called the project an “ill-conceived plan.”
“We cannot comment on what other parties may be doing, but Nicklaus Companies and Nicklaus Design oppose the development of golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson Park or any other Florida state park,” a statement sent to The Palm Beach Post said. “If asked to participate in such a project, we would decline.”
Jack Nicklaus resigned from Nicklaus Companies in May 2022 when he was 82 years old.
“Nicklaus Companies has no inside information regarding projects he may or may not have pursued over the last two years outside of our companies,” the statement added.
In 2011, legislators tried to add golf courses to state parks through bills that would have created the “Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail of Florida.” The only park specifically mentioned in the House’s version of the bill was Jonathan Dickinson, which is nearest Nicklaus’ North Palm Beach home.
The bills were quickly withdrawn after public outcry.
A yellow-crowned Night Heron is perched on a tree branch along the Loxahatchee River in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County, Florida. They are quite common in parts of the southeast, particularly in coastal regions. It often feeds by day as well as by night. Its stout bill seems to be an adaptation for feeding on hard-shelled crustaceans
(Photo: Greg Lovett/palmbeachpost.com)
The Tuskegee Foundation had a proposal for the golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park
The swift anger and outrage spurred a mysterious foundation — called the Tuskegee Foundation — that proposed golf courses for Dickinson to announce it was pulling the plug on the plan days after leaked documents revealed how the plan would change the park.
The Tuskegee Foundation withdrew its application for the golf course proposal two days after the foundation’s name was associated with the development plans.
The Delaware-registered foundation, which is not required to list the names of directors and officers in the articles of incorporation, has Florida lobbyists, including a former secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, according to Florida lobbyist records.
Before dropping its bid, the foundation said in a statement sent to The Palm Beach Post last week that the golf courses and other facilities would have told the “inspirational story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II.”
The anger against the plan prompted the foundation to release a statement through political commentator Daniel Bongino that it was no longer pursuing the proposal.
“Serving God and Country is our daily goal,” said the statement, which Bongino posted on Facebook. “That was the spirit for the idea to bring world-class public golf to southeast Florida … We have received clear feedback that Jonathan Dickinson State Park is not the right location. We did not understand the local community landscape and appreciate the clarity. We will not pursue building in the beloved Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
DEP spokeswoman Alex Kuchta said in a statement late Sunday that the proposal was withdrawn.
“The Florida Department of Environmental Protection appreciates the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation’s good-faith proposal for a public golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park,” Kuchta wrote. “While they are withdrawing their proposal, the foundation worked with the state to pursue a project that would have created a public, world-class golf course for all, while supporting veterans, first responders and their families. Their plan to honor the Tuskegee Airmen was noble.”
“A lot of that stuff was just half-baked and it was leaked to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative.”
On Wednesday, Aug. 28, Gov. Ron DeSantis distanced himself from a controversial plan to build golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which has drawn an outburst of anger and protest from the Palm Beaches to the Treasure Coast.
In his first public comments since outrage exploded over state plans to add golf courses, lodges and pickleball courts to nine state parks, DeSantis deflected the issue, briefly saying it was an attempt to build a “narrative” from the political left.
“A lot of that stuff was just half-baked and it was leaked to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative,” said DeSantis from a press conference in Polk County, later referring to it as “obviously a phony narrative” that the state parks were about to become “a big parking lot.”
The governor added the proposal was nowhere near coming to fruition and nowhere near ready for prime time, and he intimated it was not a project he would pursue. He did say that there had been some calls for improvements at state parks, but that the Department of Environmental Protection needs to go back to the drawing board on this.
The state DEP had scheduled a series of meetings on Tuesday to discuss the plan with the public, but those meetings, which included one in Stuart, were postponed.
“Here’s the thing, I’d rather not spend any money on this, right?” DeSantis said. “If people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it.”
He then added: “I’m totally fine to just do nothing and do no improvements if that’s what the general public wants.”
The firestorm over the proposal did not appear to be dying down since news organizations, including The Palm Beach Post, first reported on the state Department of Environmental Protection’s “Great Outdoors Initiative,” triggering an almost universal backlash.
The plan to add the amenities, thus developing pristine areas at some of the most prized state parks, sparked protests and drew rebukes from some of the governor’s most stalwart allies, such as Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Florida Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Wilton Simpson, both of whom may seek to succeed DeSantis.
Republican congressional representatives, including U.S. Rep. Brian Mast of Stuart, slammed the idea as well as U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.
Mast, in particular, has been sharply critical of the proposal.
He has vowed to get to the bottom of how the plans to put golf courses at Dickinson State Park, which sits on the border of Palm Beach and Martin County, came about with no one from either county alerted. He called it “a proposed plan to bulldoze Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks with reporters Wednesday afternoon at the media center for The Players Championship golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., March 13, 2019. [For The Florida Times-Union, Gary Lloyd McCullough]
Governor Ron DeSantis said criticism of the Florida park proposal overblown, plan misrepresented
DeSantis, however, said the ideas for Dickinson Park have been misrepresented and alluded to a portion of the park’s previous history as a World War II training camp.
“As if they were going to try to take away unspoiled land,” DeSantis said. “No, there was almost 1,000 buildings on that base back in the day. There’s still some remnants of it.”
The swift anger and outrage spurred the mysterious foundation — called the Tuskegee Foundation — that proposed golf courses for Dickinson to announce it was pulling the plug on the plan days after leaked documents revealed how the plan would change the park.
Even after DEP confirmed that Tuskegee was backing away from the proposal, the pile-on against golf courses at Dickinson has continued.
Republican state Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, has filed a bill to specifically define appropriate uses for state parks. Both the Palm Beach County and the Martin County commissions went on record as opposed to the idea.
Golf-related companies, including Nicklaus Companies and Nicklaus Design, took pains to make it known they were not connected in any way with the plan as its founder, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, had ties with one of the nonprofit charities associated with the Tuskegee Foundation.
What was leaked regarding golf courses planned for Jonathan Dickinson State Park?
Documents were leaked to environmentalists a week ago showing plans for the installation of three public golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson as part of the state’s 2024-2025 Great Outdoors Initiative.
The fervor of discontent that followed led to the state postponing public meetings that were scheduled for earlier this week.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County, Florida (Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post)
Is the Tuskegee Foundation golf course proposal dead in Florida?
The Tuskegee Foundation withdrew its application for the golf course proposal two days after the foundation’s name was associated with the development plans.
The Delaware-registered foundation, which is not required to list the names of directors and officers in the articles of incorporation, has Florida lobbyists, including a former secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, according to Florida lobbyist records.
Before dropping its bid, the foundation said in a statement sent to The Palm Beach Post last week that the golf courses and other facilities would have told the “inspirational story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II.”
The anger against the plan prompted the foundation to release a statement through political commentator Daniel Bongino that it was no longer pursuing the proposal.
“Serving God and Country is our daily goal,” said the statement, which Bongino posted on Facebook. “That was the spirit for the idea to bring world class public golf to south east Florida … We have received clear feedback that Jonathan Dickinson State Park is not the right location. We did not understand the local community landscape and appreciate the clarity. We will not pursue building in the beloved Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
DEP spokeswoman Alex Kuchta said in a statement late Sunday that the proposal was withdrawn.
“The Florida Department of Environmental Protection appreciates the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation’s good-faith proposal for a public golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park,” Kuchta wrote. “While they are withdrawing their proposal, the foundation worked with the state to pursue a project that would have created a public, world class golf course for all, while supporting veterans, first responders and their families. Their plan to honor the Tuskegee Airmen was noble.”
What is the Folds of Honor?
In Bongino’s personal note, he mentioned the nonprofit charity Folds of Honor, which had tried previously to push the golf course plan at Jonathan Dickinson but was rebuffed. Oklahoma-based Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships for the families of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders, had not come forward as having been associated with the current plan.
Folds of Honor was founded in 2007 by Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, an F-16 fighter pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard who served in Iraq.
“My good friends at Folds of Honor have also assured me that they do not plan to move forward on this project,” said Bongino, who lives in Palm City. “They are great people, doing great things. They just didn’t understand the local passion for JD Park. They heard us and did the right thing.”
The creation of American Dunes in 2018 was led by Nicklaus, a resident of North Palm Beach in Palm Beach County. Nicklaus Companies at the time donated his $3 million design fee to the course, according to the American Dunes website. The American Dunes motto is “The church that Jack built. God. Country. Golf.”
Even as he distanced himself from the golf course plan, DeSantis praised foundation
DeSantis said he was familiar with Folds of Honor’s work and said he was aware that they were in the stages of developing some ideas and “helping the military families and helping the families of first responders.”
“They have operations throughout the country where they’ve given millions and millions of dollars to the families, spouses and dependents of fallen service members, injured service members and then they’ve recently expanded that into first responders and those are the types of things that we worked awfully hard on in the state of Florida,” he said. “And if we can leverage some of these resources to do it, you know, that could have big benefits for the state.”
DeSantis also noted that golf is an expensive sport and although critics of the plan for the sport at the Dickinson Park noted the state is chock full of golf courses, most of them are private, not public. He cited the development of the Park West Palm as a model.
“You had a group of guys in Palm Beach area,” DeSantis said. “They raised $50 million they sunk it in, created a whole new course. They have, like a nine-hole, lighted thing, a driving range. They have all these programs for youth. They have really low rates for local residents.”
A plan to put golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park failed in 2011
In 2011, legislators tried to add golf courses to state parks through bills that would have created the “Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail of Florida.” The only park specifically mentioned in the House’s version of the bill was Jonathan Dickinson, which is nearest Nicklaus’s North Palm Beach home.
The bills were quickly withdrawn after public outcry.
Nicklaus Companies deny any association with the plan
Last week, Nicklaus Companies, which is no longer affiliated with founder Jack Nicklaus, said it was not associated with the recent golf course plans. The statement from Nicklaus Companies emphasized that it was from the firms — Nicklaus Companies and Nicklaus Design — alone, not Jack Nicklaus personally.
Nicklaus Companies reiterated Monday that it had nothing to do with the courses at Jonathan Dickinson and called the project an “ill-conceived plan.”
“We cannot comment on what other parties may be doing, but Nicklaus Companies and Nicklaus Design oppose the development of golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson Park or any other Florida state park,” a statement sent to The Palm Beach Post said. “If asked to participate in such a project, we would decline.”
Jack Nicklaus resigned from Nicklaus Companies in May 2022 when he was 82 years old.
“Nicklaus Companies has no inside information regarding projects he may or may not have pursued over the last two years outside of our companies,” the statement added.
What is the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation?
Because of Delaware’s strict corporate privacy rules, no information about anyone connected to the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation is available. The foundation, incorporated in August 2021, is listed as having $436 in delinquent taxes, according to the Delaware Division of Corporations.
The Tuskegee Dunes statement also does not give information as to where Tuskegee Dunes is based, whether it is a nonprofit organization, a website address, board members, or its history. The website TuskegeeDunesFoundation.com on Sunday had a simple note saying it is “launching soon.” By Monday, the website included its statement about withdrawing the proposal, with the headline reading: “No golf in Jonathan Dickinson State Park.” It then went on to say:
“Serving God and Country is our daily goal. That was the spirit for the idea to bring world-class public golf to southeast Florida, and donate all proceeds to support military and first responders’ families. Working with the state of Florida, we explored Jonathan Dickinson State Park at the location of a dilapidated military facility. We sought improvements that would invite families to enjoy the great game of golf, while honoring minority veterans and enhancing the natural beauty of Florida’s beloved environment. We have received clear feedback that Jonathan Dickinson State Park is the not [sic] the right location. We did not understand the local community landscape and appreciate the clarity. We will not pursue building in the beloved Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
In the original note from Tuskegee Dunes when it was still promoting the plan, it said it would donate profits from the courses at Jonathan Dickinson to Folds of Honor.
In Florida lobbyist records, Ryan E. Matthews is named as a representative of the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, which in lobbying records lists the same Owasso, Oklahoma, address as that of Folds of Honor. Matthews, who is now with the law firm of GrayRobinson, was interim secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under former Gov. Rick Scott. He served for four months in 2017.
Phone and email messages to Matthews have not been returned.
Golf courses would require 600 acres of Dickinson park
According to the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, the proposed golf courses would have taken up about 600 acres of Jonathan Dickinson State Park’s 10,500 acres and include 36 holes designed by “world-class golf course designers.” The planned design would have included a nine-hole course called Red Tail that would have been fully accessible in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. A practice park would double as an outdoor gathering place for local community events.
Tuskegee Dunes filed for multiple trademarks in June 2023, including for golf course design and development.
Mountain bike and hiking trails would have been incorporated into the plans and “enhancements will be made to the Observation Tower,” according to the statement from the foundation.
“Southeast Florida, including the Jupiter area, has limited public golf,” a statement from Tuskegee Dunes said. “A total of 85% in the Southeast corridor is private golf. This is a dramatic contrast to the national average of 80% public vs. private golf access.”
Eric Draper, who was director of the Florida Park Service for four years through 2021, said he was disappointed that a former DEP secretary may have been involved in trying to “take away our state parks.”
“If it weren’t for everyone expressing their point of view, I think the governor and DEP would have pushed this right through,” Draper said. “So, I am so proud of what everyone has done. This is what the governor doesn’t get: The parks belong to the people.”
Stuart Republican said she was asked last year to sponsor legislation aimed at bringing golf to Dickinson
Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said Folds of Honor approached her last year and asked if she would sponsor legislation aimed at bringing golf specifically to Jonathan Dickinson State Park. They highlighted the benefits to veterans the golfing venture could mean.
“They had a lovely presentation on what they are doing in Michigan,” Harrell said Saturday. “I told them, ‘It’s a marvelous idea, but you don’t do it in a state park.’
“This is not the appropriate use,” she continued, calling the park “a natural treasure of the Treasure Coast.”
“The state parks are to protect the natural habitat and environment of the area as well as preserve it for future generations,” she said. Harrell said she’s all about helping veterans — her daughter is one and married to another one. But there’s a limit.
“Golf courses are wonderful — somewhere else, not in Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
Proposals still stand for amenities at state parks such as pickleball courts, lodges and disc golf
Eight other state parks have also been proposed for added amenities including pickleball courts, disc golf and 350-bed lodges.
They are Anastasia Park in St. Johns County, Camp Helen State Park in Bay County, Grayton Beach State Park in Walton County, Hillsborough River State Park in Hillsborough County, Honeymoon Island Stat Park in Pinellas County, Oleta River State Park in Miami-Dade County, Topsail Preserve State Park in Walton County and Dr. Von Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park (Broward County).
Seeking protection forever for Florida state parks
Tequesta resident Jessica Namath wants the state parks protected forever. Namath, daughter of NFL football legend Joe Namath, organized the Protect Jonathan Dickinson State Park Facebook Group and Saturday’s protest at the park.
“I don’t want my grandchildren to have to fight this one day,” she told TCPalm at the Martin County Commission meeting, which she attended to speak out during the public comment period. “I don’t want my children to go through what we’re going through now for the fourth time, the fifth.”
Jupiter resident Kim Knobbe also attended the meeting to oppose the Great Outdoors Initiative and the Jonathan Dickinson golf courses.
“Our state parks should remain in their natural state,” she told TCPalm. “We go to state parks to enjoy nature.”
Knobbe said she mostly enjoys Jonathan Dickinson by boating on the Loxahatchee River, a federally designated Wild and Scenic River, according to the National Park Service. Anytime she has visitors, she takes them to the park, she said.
Palm Beach Post reporter Kimberly Miller and Treasure Coast Newspapers reporter Keith Burbank contributed to this report.
Anne Geggis is the insurance reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at ageggis@gannett.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
Like many other businesses, sometimes golf courses don’t make it. Be it poor management, a shift in demographics, a lack of play or an owner’s decision to turn the land into homes or a shopping center, some layouts have simply run their course.
Often the land sits fallow for months or even years, the grass turns brown, or vegetation grows over the old fairways and greens.
Sometimes, the old golf courses are turned into parks or other public uses. In some cases, the course is saved and returned to its former glory.
Below is a collection of photos from golf courses that closed for extended periods of time.
(Editor’s note: The West Palm Beach Municipal Golf Course in Florida has reopened as The Park and Ahwatukee Lakes in Arizona has also opened again.)
Arizona-based Store Capital owns the 96-acre property.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The largest unpaid property-tax lien in St. Lucie County history was sold to a specialty firm at an auction last month, putting the future of a shuttered but storied local golf course in doubt.
Arizona-based Store Capital — owners of the 96-acre property that is home to the old Sinners Golf Course — has an unpaid $1,380,722.16 tax bill from 2023.
The golf course, once paired with Saints Golf Course, now owned by the city, changed its name to Club Med Sandpiper Bay Golf Club after splitting from its partner course. The Club Med name was later dropped by the surrounding all-inclusive resort, now branded as Sandpiper Bay Resort. The golf course is not currently in use.
Store Capital did not respond to a request to comment.
When property taxes go unpaid, municipalities often sell those tax liens to outside parties in order to more quickly recoup the lost revenue.
In this case, the lien was sold at auction last month, for the same nearly $1.4 million that was owed, to a subsidiary of Plantation-based Alterna Tax Asset Group, managing member Albert Friedman confirmed. Alterna, according to its website, is a “a national investment firm focused exclusively on the acquisition and management of property tax liens from municipalities.”
“This shortage saddles the taxpayers with the cost to carry the delinquency until such time as it is collected at the county or until such time as a tax lien sale,” Friedman said.
For the county, the sale fills the revenue hole. The buyer, in this case Alterna, now can attempt to recoup the funds with interest.
The interest rate is determined by the certificates given by the tax collector to a buyer. Certificates for this sale are still being finalized, St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s Office Tax Specialist Karen Pashkow said in an email. That said, according to information provided by Pashkow, the minimum interest most buyers will get at the time of redemption will be 5 percent.
If the property owner does not pay off its delinquency by April 2026, Friedman said, a tax deed application can begin, and the owner is at risk of losing the property to a bidder.
The county will kick in $6 million, the same amount it promised to give BigShots.
NAPLES, Florida — Commissioners in Collier County have approved a long-term lease and operating agreement critical to the reopening of the Golden Gate golf course.
On Tuesday, the board voted unanimously in favor of the contract, authorizing the commission chairman to sign it.
The action has been a long time in coming.
Nearly six months after BigShots backed out of its plans to build a golf entertainment center on the county-owned land last year, a newly formed charity made an offer to step into its shoes in mid-December, then won a competitive bid to move forward.
The new nonprofit was formed by the Schmieding family, behind the global medical device manufacturer Arthrex, based in North Naples. Known as The Gate Golf Club Inc., it will design, build and operate the community project through a public-private partnership.
The county will kick in $6 million to help fund the redevelopment, the same amount it promised to give BigShots before the company bowed out, then got absorbed by its competitor TopGolf.
The new golf complex will include a nine-hole community course with a driving range, a practice area and a full-service restaurant, with at least 150 seats. It will also have a pro shop, cart barn and maintenance building.
For a nominal amount, The Gate will sublease a portion of the land to First Tee for the development of a clubhouse with classrooms, offices, conference rooms and storage to support that organization’s youth development program.
Arthrex has long been a big supporter of First Tee in Collier County.
In partnership with First Tee Naples/Collier, Arthrex plans to create a golf learning center for kids to introduce them to the sport, while using the sport to develop their character and core values. The First Tee Academy would offer advanced, interactive technology and learning classes, as well as providing a practice area for young players at the site.
Golf complex will have many benefits
Ed Finn, an assistant county manager, told commissioners the project would be built to the highest standards, and give the public access to a public golf course that meets the community’s highest expectations. He listed the many benefits of the project, from boosting the local economy to enhancing green space and increasing golf access by making it more affordable for the community.
Discounts would be offered to county residents on rounds of golf, in the amount of 40% on seasonal rates and 20% on offseason rates. The annual value of the discounts is estimated at $600,000.
Participants in First Tee would also get a break on rates.
The Gate will pay a base rent of $130,000 a year to the county, which will be phased in over the first three years of operations, then subject to an annual adjustment, based on the Consumer Price Index.
A private company will be hired to manage and maintain the operations.
Before construction can begin, the county commission must approve more detailed plans for the project, which are expected to come back to the board within six months.
Once plans are approved and all site-related permitting is obtained, construction will have to be completed with 24 months, or two years, under the terms of the lease, unless there is justification for delays.
“There could be some twists and turns in this,” Finn said.
If all goes as planned, the golf course could open in the fall of 2025.
The cost of the development has been estimated at about $21 million.
The agreement includes an out clause should environmental issues arise that make it too difficult or costly to build.
The Golden Gate golf course has been closed for more than four years.
Collier County purchased the property, located at the corner of Collier Boulevard and Golden Gate Parkway, in July 2019, from its owners for $29.1 million, with the goal of preventing overdevelopment in the wrong hands, and with the intent of maintaining a public golf course.
Project will bring golf course ‘back to life’
A handful of neighbors spoke in favor of the lease and operating agreement with The Gate, saying they’re eager to see dirt move, after so many unforeseen challenges and delays.
“Arthrex is bringing this golf course back to life,” said CeCe Zenti, who lives nearby, in the Par One subdivision.
The proposal, she said, will allow people of all backgrounds to play golf, including young families, and their children.
“This is a project whose time has come,” Zenti added.
During the board’s discussions, Commissioner Rick LoCastro said it was an “opportunity we don’t want to waste,” with the “50-pound brain” of Arthrex’s founder Reinhold Schmieding behind it. Arthrex, a formidable force in its industry, has overseen and completed many big construction projects, as it’s continued to expand its footprint in Southwest Florida and beyond.
While it’s hard to determine if the proposed golf complex is perfect in every way, without the benefit of more detailed plans at this time, LoCastro said a “9.5 right now” is better than a “10 that never comes.”
“Will it be a 10? I don’t know,” he said.
Collier County Commissioner Rick LoCastro, shown here at a meeting on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, said the golf course project is an “opportunity we don’t want to waste.”
A ‘long time in coming’
Commissioner Burt Saunders, who represents Golden Gate, has championed the project and other uses at the shuttered golf course property, including workforce housing and a veterans nursing home.
“For me, this has been a long time in coming,” he said. “So, I’m delighted.”
He motioned to approve the agreement and thanked the commission for “staying the course.”
Commissioner Bill McDaniel seconded, expressing his support, after getting a few questions answered about the project, and the lease terms.
Although a bit painful, Commissioner Dan Kowal said he’s glad the deal with BigShots fell through because the county ended up with a much better offer that will be more beneficial to the “entire county.”
He said the involvement of First Tee will make the project “fantastic.”
The local chapter has the potential to become a “model for the country,” as part of the redevelopment, Kowal said.
The proposal by BigShots also included a home for First Tee, so when the deal fell apart it came as a big disappointment to its leaders, supporters and participants.
LoCastro gave credit to the hard work of Cindy Darland, executive director at The First Tee of Naples/Collier, who continued to push for its inclusion, as part of a larger community project, with passion and clarity. He pointed her out in the second row of commission chambers.
“You might be sitting in the second row,” he said, “but I think on this project you are front and center.”
With financial troubles dogging the property, the once-pristine golf course was neglected.
The once-troubled Banyan Cay Resort & Golf in West Palm Beach, Florida, is being recast into an exclusive golf club for wealthy Palm Beach and West Palm Beach residents who want to hit the greens near their pricey coastal homes —and are willing to pay big money to do it.
Banyan Cay golf is now known as Dutchman’s Pipe Golf Club. The name is derived from a flowering vine that is favored by swallowtail butterflies.
“If you live in Palm Beach island or West Palm Beach, minutes from your home you have a brand-new golf experience,” said Alex Witkoff, co-chief executive of the Witkoff Group of New York, one of the property’s new owners.
The golf course is just east of Interstate 95, off Congress Avenue and north of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, near the Tanger Outlets shopping mall.
Witkoff touts Dutchman’s Pipe as the only new golf course east of I-95 in West Palm Beach in 25 years, a location just minutes from well-heeled residents in Palm Beach or West Palm Beach.
Convenience and luxury have their price. Initiation fees for Dutchman’s Pipe will range from $300,000 to $350,000, Witkoff said.
To attract these upscale club members, Dutchman’s Pipe’s existing Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, built only seven years ago, is being redone to make it more attractive and better to play.
There are also plans to transform Dutchman’s Pipe into a “holistic retreat” in the heart of the city, with a globally-recognized chef helming three restaurants. Fitness and wellness amenities will be built at the club and resort, which also will be completed by the site’s new owners.
As for former members of the Banyan Cay club, they are out of luck. Their memberships and fees were wiped away in the bankruptcy filing.
Former club member Rick Cerone said some members have joined Eastpointe Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens or play at The Park, West Palm Beach’s new public course.
Palm Beach West, the new playground for the rich
Witkoff’s plans for the former Banyan Cay reflect the continued transformation of West Palm Beach into an extension of Palm Beach, a trend that first earned the city the nickname “Palm Beach West” during the COVID pandemic.
Since the Banyan Cay resort hotel and club first was announced in 2015, the demand for upscale hotels has dramatically increased, especially with the wealth migration to Palm Beach County during the pandemic.
But plans by Witkoff and its partners elevate the hotel and adjoining golf course to a different, rarified level of luxury, akin to the exclusive Breakers Palm Beach resort and club, where club initiation fees reportedly also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Dutchman’s Pipe’s owners are experienced operators of luxury hotels, residences and clubs.
Dutchman’s Pipe is owned by Witkoff Group, Access Industries of New York and London; and PPG Development of Hallandale Beach.
Witkoff and PPG are behind South Florida’s newest luxury golf club, the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, formerly the Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa. Access Industries is a global investment firm led by Len Blavatnik, who has previously invested in major projects in Miami Beach.
Witkoff said West Palm Beach is entering a new level of affluence.
During the past three years, parts of the downtown have become crowded with upscale restaurants, many of them from New York; luxurious new condominiums built or planned; and steel-and-glass office towers stuffed with perks typically seen in boutique hotels.
These developments, in turn, have attracted hospitality operators to West Palm Beach who have opened or plan to open private membership social clubs typically built in major cities such as New York, London and Miami. One new club already is open in West Palm Beach, and two more clubs are planned for downtown.
In addition, old West Palm Beach neighborhoods wedged between Flagler Drive and Dixie Highway are sought after by homebuyers who want an in-town location. The demand has supercharged home sales to seven and even eight-figure sales.
Witkoff also pointed to the surge of super-wealthy residents who have snapped up homes in Palm Beach.
The trend continues. During the first quarter of 2024, the median sales price of a single-family home in Palm Beach was $12.5 million, up 54 percentage points from the same period last year, according to Corcoran, a real estate brokerage.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Banyan Cay Golf Course, part of a larger development in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Courtesy of Banyan Cay Resort & Club)
Plans for Dutchman’s Pipe and the unfinished resort
Witkoff said the new ownership group will complete the 150-room resort hotel, which will open in the fall.
The hotel remains only partly built, even though by now it was supposed to be a lushly landscaped Destination by Hyatt property, featuring a fitness center, pool, cabanas, tennis center, tiki hut and spa, plus meeting space.
The unfinished hotel has been a years-long eyesore for residents in the nearby Lands of the President community, many of whom own condominium units that overlook the hotel or the golf course.
The 250-acre Banyan Cay property used to be the site of the President Country Club, which fell into financial trouble and was sold to an investor group for $11 million in 2011. That investor group then flipped the property to Banyan CayDev LLC, led by Domenic Gatto Jr., for $26 million in 2015.
Gatto opened the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course in 2017, but work on the resort hotel stopped, started and then stopped again.
In 2022, lender Calmwater Capital sued to foreclose on the property and sought repayment of $85 million in loans. The parent company behind the construction of Banyan Cay Resort & Club then filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, where it tried to sell the property to another owner. The deal fell apart at the last minute, however, and the lender took control.
Witkoff and partners acquired the property in January for an undisclosed amount, scoring a $75 million loan from Calmwater Capital.
The former Banyan Cay Resort under construction June 7, 2022 in West Palm Beach. (Meghan McCarthy/Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network)
A better, more lushly landscaped golf course
With financial troubles dogging the property in the past couple of years, the once-pristine golf course was neglected.
Witkoff closed the course on Jan. 15 and started a redo. Now the greens are being refurbished in anticipation of a reopening in the fall.
In addition to fresh grass for the golf course, the new owners also are adding a new practice facility, new berms and a new bunker. Astroturf also is being added to buffer edges to maintain a strong course shape. And some holes are being reshaped to increase “quality of play,” Witkoff said.
Even the driving range is being redone so that golfers will be able to hit a ball more than 300 yards.
Golf memberships are being offered by invitation only at first. Social memberships will be made available in the future, Witkoff said.
There will be plenty of perks for club members.
Not only will the resort feature tennis courts but it also will have courts for pickleball and padel, a mix between tennis and squash.
Three dining venues — including a members-only grill and poolside al fresco dining led by Chef Julian Jouhannaud, formerly of Anabel’s London and Le Bilboquet — will offer “world-class” fare. Meanwhile, health and wellness amenities will include personal training, a day spa, and event space.
The transition to a country club model sparked some concerns among longtime residents.
A Virginia-based company now controls four golf courses in Lakewood Ranch near Sarasota, Florida, including a public course which will shift to operating as a private club starting next week.
Heritage Golf Group announced the acquisition of the three private Lakewood Ranch courses — Cypress Links, Kings Dunes and Royal Lakes — that form Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club in a news release, but only sent emails to the annual passholders at the public course, Legacy Golf Club, offering refunds for members who had annual passes. The course was designed by Arnold Palmer and opened for play in 1997.
“Effective immediately, we have made the decision to reposition Legacy Golf Club to a fully private club,” the email provided to the Herald-Tribune said. “With this in mind, we plan on closing the club on Monday, March 18, to begin a comprehensive renovation to the Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course.”
The transition of Legacy Golf Club to a country club model sparked some concerns among longtime residents of one of the fastest-selling master-planned communities in the country being over Lakewood Ranch without a public golf course.
Lakewood Ranch now has more than 66,000 residents living in the 33,000-acre development.
Heritage said in the email to Legacy passholders the “multi-million project will include rebuilding greens, tee boxes, fairways, bunkers and cart paths.
“We expect this restoration to be completed and the course to reopen in the fourth quarter of this year.”
Heritage also offered refunds to the annual members impacted by the course becoming private.
A representative of Heritage Golf Group was not available to comment by publication time.
“Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club is the crown jewel of the Lakewood Ranch community, and we are proud to become its new steward,” Mark Burnett, Heritage Golf Group CEO, said in a news release. “We are honored that SMR selected Heritage Golf Group to continue building on its noteworthy tradition and impeccable nationwide reputation as the premier country club and lifestyle community. The continued growth of our network of clubs will only further enhance the member and guest experience as well as offer additional career growth for our employees.”
Kenneth Serroka retired to Lakewood Ranch in 2001, purchasing a home on the Legacy golf course overlooking the 15th hole for $260,000, a fraction of what properties now go for in the area.
Serroka said that not everyone in Lakewood Ranch has the means to join the country club as initiation fees are tens of thousands of dollars, in addition to monthly dues.
Now, he won’t be able to golf on the course he’s used for more than two decades and will see out his windows every morning, unless he joins the country club, which currently has a long waitlist.
The 82-year-old has made friends that he would see on the course on a nearly daily basis in spontaneous encounters.
Serroka said he’s worried about Lakewood Ranch becoming a community of haves and have-nots as property values soar in the area. He said many people bought into Lakewood Ranch before home values increased.
Also, the development has been popular for people looking for a second home. He said few people maintaining two residences can afford the exorbitant cost it takes to join a country club.
“I feel like I’m losing the friends I made over the past 20 years,” he said. “I loved it there.”
Steve Ekovich, executive managing director and partner at Leisure Investment Properties Group, would not confirm information on the Legacy Golf Club. However, he did facilitate the transaction involving the private golf courses.
A purchase price for the three courses has not been disclosed and a deed has not yet been recorded for any of the sales as of Thursday afternoon.
However, Ekovich said that interest in the three private courses was high, resulting in a half-dozen offers to purchase the course.
Ekovich said there are plans to build another course somewhere in Lakewood Ranch given the demand for golf in the community.
“The interest we had was absolutely phenomenal,” he said.
The veteran commercial broker remembers when about 10 years ago magazine and newspaper articles proclaimed the decline in popularity of golf across the United States. Several accounts went as far as to say that golf was dead with new residential communities focusing on outdoor trails and healthy living as selling points.
However, Ekovich said, the COVID-19 pandemic helped golf rebound in popularity given the sport lends itself to open-air, socially distanced activity. He said from 2008 to about 2013 golf course values dropped by half.
“It’s just the opposite now,” he said. “Golf is as healthy as it’s ever been.”
