The reboot of Florida’s Glen Kernan Club couldn’t have come at a better time.
Thanks to the COVID golf boom, there is limited supply for private golf in Jacksonville, with nearly every course running a waiting list. Initiation fees have soared. It’s economics 101 of supply and demand. Jacksonville is growing and while it has never been more progressive or more desirable, what’s happening in the golf market isn’t unique.
Golf is hot again, with 47.2 million Americans participating in the game in 2024 (on-course and off-course combined) according to the National Golf Foundation. That’s up 57 percent in the past decade. No other sport has experienced that kind of volume growth. Not surprisingly, equipment sales are up more than 50 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, with golf ball sales (the ultimate consumable) continuing to drive the category.
Golf facilities have invested more than $3 billion in capital improvements in 2024, in what has become a version of keeping up with the Joneses. Deerwood Country Club, Sawgrass Country Club and Jacksonville Golf and Country Club are among the local clubs that have approved renovations and are on the verge of beginning them. There’s also a wave of spending not just on course capital projects but also clubhouse upgrades, wellness centers, swimming pools and food and beverage improvements.
Glen Kernan, which dates to 1999, reopened in September after a $25 million renovation of its own with designs on filling a niche as a super-premium private club with facilities to attract select corporate memberships and potentially national membership too. Andy Allen, CEO of Corner Lot Development, said membership will be capped at 250 full-golf members and that the club intends to be “the only show in town,” adopting his mantra that Jacksonville as a city “is good but it needs to be great.”
“We want to compete with South Florida as a place where players and their teams want to call home,” he said. “We have a huge competitive advantage in that Jacksonville allows for a quality of lifestyle in a much more affordable capacity than most places. “
“Glen Kernan is a microcosm of where our city is headed,” added Travis Norman, COO of Hampton Golf, a golf course management company whose company partnered with Allen and was chosen to buy the property from the estate of its previous owner. “As Andy says, Jacksonville ‘good’ isn’t good enough anymore but rather we are on our way to being a world-class city. Having this message heard in the golf world translates to our city as a whole. We are ready for the next level and Glen Kernan is an example of striving for best practice facilities, best cuisine, best amenities, and best course in the area to create a world-class destination.”
After purchasing the club last year, the new ownership led a comprehensive, yearlong revitalization of the clubhouse, pro shop and fitness center, along with a full golf-course redesign by Jim Furyk and partner Mike Beebe. It transformed an outdated facility into a golf and community hub, revitalizing the neighborhood and creating a landmark destination that celebrates the sport. It will also become the only private club in the area to offer cottages. The previous owner was firmly opposed to having a national membership but Norman said they are open to the idea and will evaluate the number of rounds played — expected at around 18,000 per year — and usage of the two cottages and whether it makes sense to double that number if the demand merits it. Regardless, the cottages will provide a different element for private golf club entertainment.That luxury experience starts with geo-fencing at the point of entry that lets the iPad of the hostess know who is coming through the door and begins the connection so the staff knows the favorite cocktail of a member or how many sugars to bring with their sweet tea.
“This game is about human connectivity,” Norman said. “Once you’re here, there should be no stress.”
Norman and Allen and their team visited several prominent super-high-end clubs in the southeast geared to an affluent membership, ranging from Ohoopee Club to Apogee and Congaree.
“We’d see something like the charging stations in the room and I’d say, ‘Take a note of that, boys. That is definitely coming back,’ ” Norman recalled. “We’re going to find our version of the fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich like they have at Kinloch Golf Club (in Virginia).”
