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The Hoffmann Family of Companies plans to build a new high-end, golf-only private club near Estero, Florida.The new club will replace the Old Corkscrew Golf Club and feature a heathland-style course designed by Kyle Phillips.The course is expected to measure approximately 7,100 yards with a par of 71, with a targeted opening in late 2027.
The high-flying Hoffmanns are at it again.
The family is in the early stages of planning a new golf development near Estero, said Rachel Berkowitz, a vice president for marketing and communications at the Hoffmann Family of Cos.
The Naples-based company already owns the land.
The Hoffmanns have chosen renowned golf course architect Kyle Phillips to design a heathland-style course for a new, high-end, golf-only private club that will replace the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Lee County, according to Berkowitz.
Property records show the family acquired the semi-private, stand-alone club — at 17320 Corkscrew Rd. — for $14.5 million, including its 18-hole golf course, in April 2022.
At the same time, the Hoffmanns also bought the Cottages at Old Corkscrew Golf Club for $4.5 million, in a separate transaction, bringing the total price to $19 million, according to county records.
The deal was announced in the fall of 2021.
The residential and golf properties are on the south side of Corkscrew Road, sitting about seven miles east of Interstate 75.
The Old Corkscrew Golf Club and its Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course remain open for now.
The new development will be “entirely separate” from the Hoffmanns’ other golf course and club in Southwest Florida, known as the Old Collier Golf Club, located in Naples, which they acquired in 2021, Berkowitz said.
“With both clubs, the Hoffmann family continues to elevate the standard of golf in Southwest Florida, each offering its own distinct experience and identity,” she said.
In June, Paige Rausch, a real estate broker, observer and analyst with Aslan Realty Advisors in Fort Myers, had an inkling something was up after noticing the recording of a new $40 million mortgage on the property.
“It could be something good,” she said, in sharing the information with the Daily News, a few months ago.
The Hoffmanns weren’t ready to share their plans then. In an email Tuesday, David Hoffmann, the founder and chairman of the Hoffmann Family of Companies, described the development plans in two words — “very exciting.”
His son Geoff Hoffmann, a co-CEO with his brother, is handling the project for the company.
“We are a bit constrained with what we can specifically discuss with the project, but I can tell you that Southwest Florida continues to be a region where we will make considerable investment. We have been able to create a truly special experience at Old Collier and we look forward to bringing that same level of excellence, community and experience to this new golf club,” he said in an email.
The new course would be a change of pace, offering something new and different in Southwest Florida.
Here’s how golf.com describes it: “The quickest way to understand heathland courses is to read the definition of heath: ‘an area of open uncultivated land, especially in Britain, with characteristic vegetation of heather, gorse, and coarse grasses.’ Most of these courses are found in Britain.
In partnership with their architect, the Hoffmanns aim to “create a course that beautifully blends classic design with the natural character of Southwest Florida,” Berkowitz said.
“The course is expected to measure approximately 7,100 yards, with a tentative par of 71,” she said.
She added: “While still in the early stages, the club is targeting a late 2027 opening, and permitting is currently underway” in Lee County.
The Hoffmann Family of Companies consists of more than 120 brands, with 17,000 employees across 400 locations in 30 countries. The family-owned private equity firm is known for its continued growth, mostly through acquisitions, and expansions of its myriad brands.
