2025 Openings

[Tom_Doak]

Link article “14”—


7 in agreement (Miakka/Wohali/The Rose/Contentment/Mapleton/Waterwound/Tepetonka

3 LInks has in ’25 and Fescue has ’24 (Solth/1876/Darmor)
Fescue has Rodeo Dunes I in ’26 (sounds late to me)
Fescue has Kawonu in ’27
Fescue has Cypress Shoals as “proposed” (another GCA post says it is Dead in Water)
Fescue has Apogee South as ’24

I'm told Rodeo Dunes hasn't planted anything yet, so 2026 is not "late" at all.


Generally, developers are very optimistic in the timelines they announce, and lots of courses wind up opening half a year after they are predicted to open.  It really doesn't matter to anyone except those who are jockeying for awards.

[Jeff Schley]

Don’t the developers want to push to start getting a return on the investment as soon as they can?  I would think trying to push the team for an opening date is a goal rooted in the ROI.  If it was my money I would want to open as realistically possible, however it sounds as some maybe unrealistic.

[Steve Lapper]

Don’t the developers want to push to start getting a return on the investment as soon as they can?  I would think trying to push the team for an opening date is a goal rooted in the ROI.  If it was my money I would want to open as realistically possible, however it sounds as some maybe unrealistic.

Jeff,

  There are two school of thoughts about this. Developers who are building a course in a highly competitive multi-development area (i.e. the current Martin County FL, or the Aiken County SC, GA areas) can find a distinct advantage by being first movers. The benefit of such has been evident with the early success of attracting large #'s of initial members at an Apogee Club or a Tree Farm).

   I don't believe the developers behind these clubs set out to necessarily race to the finish line of opening, yet the likes of Stephen Ross/Mike Pascucci or Zac Blair quickly recognized their respective locations became very crowded very quickly and the universe of early interest is likely finite. Other developers in these areas have made conscious decisions to perfect their grow-ins, (likely avoiding various course construction issues), and slow down the sequencing of facility build-outs. Those choosing the slower time lines reflect a different philosophy and are okay with lengthening the denominator of time in any ROI equation.

   The golf world is littered with developers whose deep pockets allow them different economic goals. Some of these projects turn out very well over time, some not so much....and then trade hands multiple times before finding economic stability and sustainability.

   The real question is usually predicated on how ownership is structured? More often than not, developmental success--as measured by ROI--heavily depends on how many, and who are, the investment partners and how much club development experience do they have? Without going down the path of naming names, we've all seen both how well certain people have added great clubs and courses to today's golf world and how others haven't. ROI's do matter, but most of the truly successful, and sustainable modern golf projects aren't much focused on them.

[Ben Malach]

Jay Blasi's Poppy Ridge will open in the spring.It should be the best public course in the bay area built post WW2.