Updated Sept. 16, 2026, 2:51 p.m. ET
One golf course east of Naples has converted from semi-private fully private. At least two other conversions are in the works in Southwest Florida.The conversions are driven by a surge in golf’s popularity and high demand for exclusive club memberships.While notable in Florida, the conversion of public golf courses to private is not considered a national trend.New owners are investing millions in renovations to attract members, with initiation fees reaching $250,000 or more.
Three is a trend.
So, the saying goes.
In Southwest Florida, there are three high-profile examples of public and semi-private golf courses going private. One of the conversions has already happened, with two more in the works.
Early this year, Naples Grande Golf Club, east of Naples, transitioned from a semi-private to a fully private club.
The other conversions involve the former semi-private Old Corkscrew Golf Club, near Estero, and the current Hibiscus Golf Club in East Naples, which has operated as a daily-fee public course for decades.
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By going completely private, clubs can increase their revenue and profits by collecting higher one-time initiation fees and annual dues, providing a steady source of income.
With a surge in golf’s popularity following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, family offices, private equity firms, and institutional investors are increasingly buying into the golf business, including golf clubs.
Locally, private clubs continue to see strong demand, with many carrying long waitlists. Some have reported 10- to 15-year waitlists.
So, will there be more public-to-private conversions to capitalize on the unprecedented demand for memberships in Southwest Florida? Maybe, but opportunities could be limited — and it’s not part of a national trend, said Erik Matuszewski, editorial director for the National Golf Foundation.
A golf market “all its own”
Based on its records, the National Golf Foundation estimates that over the past six years, the transition from public to private has involved only about 1% of the roughly 14,000 golf venues it tracks in the United States.
“So, it’s a relatively small number overall. That said, golf tends to be local, so we understandably notice more of what happens in our market,” Matuszewski said.
He continued: “Florida, given that it has the largest golf supply in the nation, has also had the most total conversions over the past six years. But a handful of states have a higher proportion over that period.”
However, he emphasized that “it’s important to call out that the Naples golf market is in a category all its own.”
“There’s really nothing like it in the nation,” Matuszewski said.
In fact, he said, the Naples metro area — representing all of Collier County — has more private golf holes per person than any other metro in the country.
When it comes to golf demand, there’s plenty of it — and not just locally.
“Traditional, on-course participation is up 20% compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic), to more than 29 million Americans in total, and the number of rounds played continues to hit record levels,” Matuszewski said.
Nationally, Americans played a record 549 million rounds of golf in 2025 — a record the National Golf Foundation reports is on track to be beaten this year.
The record participation is in part attributed to a rise in female and junior players (ages 6 to 17), including girls.
Industry groups, such as the National Golf Foundation, describe golf as an increasingly younger, cooler and more diverse sport.
As golf continues to evolve, so does the golf landscape in Southwest Florida, including the loss of public golf holes and the rise of private ones.
A new look and a new name
In February, the Naples Grande Golf Club announced a rebrand and transition to a members-only club after a major renovation to the clubhouse and golf course.
The new name: CAVU Golf Club.
Previously, the club operated under a semi-private model, affiliated with the Naples Grande Beach Resort. The golf course is no longer open to resort guests.
Although the club and resort — about six miles apart — have the same owners, they now have distinct identities of their own.
The name CAVU comes from an aerospace term meaning “clear ahead visibility unlimited,” suggesting smooth flying and a steady forward momentum ahead.
With the transformation, golf club members still have access to the Naples Grande’s amenities, including its three pools and beach.
The changes to the golf club’s operating model mark “a notable shift in how premium Florida clubs are balancing exclusivity with hospitality partnerships,” said Bo Wood, with Windsor Woods Consulting, a communications consultant for the owners.
In 2022, affiliates of Henderson Park — an international private equity real estate firm — purchased the beachfront resort, along with its golf club and tennis center, for $248 million. The London-based company has been looking for ways to capitalize on its investment.
Separately, the Naples Grande Beach resort’s biggest renovation ever is underway.
The upgrades and changes in the golf club’s operating model come amid surging membership demand in Southwest Florida, but there’s more to it.
“We believe this move reflects a broader industry trend, with more destination and resort-affiliated courses nationwide reconsidering semi-private access in favor of private-club models to preserve course conditions, member experience, and long-term value,” Wood said.
The recent upgrades include a reimagining of the clubhouse by Wegman Design Group and a renovation of the 18-hole, par 72, Rees Jones-designed championship golf course by Beau Welling.
The investments have been characterized as a “strategic commitment to the club’s future,” ensuring its long-term sustainability and generational appeal.
“Our goal was to create a more focused, consistent, and member-first environment in every aspect of the club,” said Jon Chapman, CAVU’s director of golf operations, in a statement. “From course conditioning and pace of play to the overall rhythm of a round and the way members experience the clubhouse and daily services, every detail has been thoughtfully refined to deliver the high standard our members expect and deserve.”
The club opened in 2000. It’s located at 7335 Premier Drive, off Golden Gate Parkway, minutes from downtown Naples, making it easily accessible — one of its big selling points.
The initiation fee for golf membership has been reported at $250,000, with annual dues of $26,000.
Public course sold for a private club
Farther east from Naples, the Hibiscus Golf Club sold for $28 million in March to a group that plans to convert it from public to private.
The purchaser, The Lantern Club LLC, a limited liability company, shares the name for the new private club. State records show the LLC has ties to the Winfield Building and Development Co., a general contractor in Naples.
The seller was Nassif Golf Ventures LLC, which acquired the club for less than $4 million in 2004, according to Collier County property records.
The club’s property, located at 5375 Hibiscus Drive, spans 160 acres, sitting west of Collier Boulevard on the south side of Rattlesnake Hammock Road.
The 18-hole golf course was built and opened as a public course in 1969. For now, it remains that way, as it has for more than 50 years.
In a newsletter to its followers, the club announced that the current course, driving range, short-game area and putting green are all expected to remain open through at least March 2027, along with the Brooks Bar & Grill.
The private club will feature an upgraded 18-hole championship golf course created by award-winning golf course architects Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design. It’s anticipated to open by late 2028.
Plans show the new club will include upgraded practice facilities and a more upscale clubhouse — and six newly built luxury cottages, where there are none. The cottages will be for the use of members and their guests only.
Like other private clubs with golf courses designed by the Fry/Straka Group, including Calusa Pines and Naples National, The Lantern Club will offer a caddie program and encourage walking.
MHK Architecture, a well-known architectural firm in Naples, is designing the new clubhouse and cottages.
The developers behind the club could not be reached for comment about how their plans are coming along. They have filed companion applications with Collier County for the project, at least one of which will require county commission approval.
The initiation fee has been advertised at $250,000, with annual dues ranging from $20,000 to $25,000.
Michele Klinowski, part of the Naples Golf Guy Team at Downing-Frye Realty in Naples, said the initiation fee certainly won’t be the most expensive in Southwest Florida, with some as high as $400,000 to $500,000, and one even at $1 million.
“It seems to be an unlimited demand for memberships, regardless of the price,” she said.
In speaking to one of the developers of The Lantern Club a few months ago, she said she learned that 75 memberships had already been claimed and that the initiation fee and dues could rise incrementally as more are sold — once again indicating strong demand for exclusive, private clubs.
A perspective on the loss of public golf
Matt Brown, a broker-associate for William Raveis Luxury Properties, offered a perspective on the sale of the long-public Hibiscus Golf Club.
“Naples has long been one of the most golf-dense markets in the country, over 100 courses within 30 miles of the city center, but the ratio of private to public has always been dramatically skewed. Of those 100-plus courses, the vast majority have historically been private. Hibiscus was one of a small handful of true public options, and its transition to The Lantern Club further narrows that already limited availability,” he said.
He noted the scale of the club’s transformation and its purchase price, which topped all of the previous sales combined. He concluded it’s a clear signal of “where the market appetite is,” reflecting the wealth migration into Naples.
“The buyer profile coming into this market, executives, founders, retirees from Chicago, New York, Boston and California, increasingly views private club access not as a luxury but as a baseline expectation,” Brown said. “That demand creates both the economic justification for privatization and the real estate opportunity that follows.”
He acknowledged that privatization comes at a price for the “public golfer,” leaving them with shrinking options. However, he emphasized that it is good from a real estate and market perspective.
“The elevation of Naples’ golf landscape, in terms of design quality, course conditioning, and club experience, is reinforcing the area’s position as one of the premier luxury destinations in the country,” Brown said. “That has a meaningful ripple effect on property values and long-term demand.”
Another golf course conversion
The changing golf landscape extends north into Lee County.
Near Estero, the once semi-private Old Corkscrew Golf Club is no more. It’s transitioning to become the Pandion Club, a private, members-only golf club, which the ever-entrepreneurial Hoffmann family is developing.
In April 2022, the Hoffmanns acquired the stand-alone club – at 17320 Corkscrew Road – for $14.5 million, including its 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course. At the same time, the family bought the Cottages at Old Corkscrew Golf Club for $4.5 million, in a separate transaction, bringing their total investment to $19 million.
Now, the family is investing another $75 million in the new club, said David Hoffmann, the patriarch behind the Hoffmann Family of Cos., a Naples-based company with diversified holdings across many sectors.
The reconstruction of the golf course began recently, and it’s now well underway.
“They’re cranking. There is a lot of big earth moving,” Hoffmann said.
Asked about the decision to build a new private club, he said it made sense for a few reasons. The No. 1 reason: Unmet membership demand, which is expected to increase along with population growth.
“We see the growth out in Estero. There are 15,000 approved housing permits within five miles of Pandion Golf Club. So, we saw a need,” Hoffmann said.
The old course, he said, needed major, costly upgrades, including new greens, which factored into the decision to go in a different direction.
Changing the operating model not only makes sense financially, but also functionally, he said.
“The other problem with the course was that it was too difficult. It was designed for a really, really great golfer,” Hoffmann said.
When golfers unfamiliar with the course came to play, he said, they were regularly warned to account for a higher handicap.
“You know, when somebody would check in, we would say, ‘What’s your handicap?’ and they’d say it’s 10, and we’d say it will be a 20 here, because it’s so hard to play,” Hoffmann said.
More about the Pandion Club
The Hoffmanns assembled an experienced team of architects, engineers, general contractors and consultants for the massive undertaking of a new club.
The club’s reconfigured golf course will include a heathland-style design by Kyle Phillips.
Founded in 1997 and based in Granite Bay, California, Kyle Phillips Golf Course Design has earned international acclaim for both its original designs and restorations. His global portfolio includes world-100 courses such as Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, California Golf Club of San Francisco, and South Cape Owners Club in Namae, South Korea.
The design for the Pandion course draws inspiration from the works of English Golden Age designers such as Harry Colt and Tom Simpson. The course will have a par 71, 7,220-yard layout, featuring firm and fast playing conditions with an emphasis on strategic shot-making, particularly on and around the greens.
“As we make great progress on Pandion Club and watch the new course take shape, I’m reminded of just how incredibly special this property is,” Phillips said. “We’re building an entirely new golf course and clubhouse from the ground up, designed to take full advantage of the property’s private, mature setting and natural character. Pandion will be a truly unique golf club.”
The club’s name is based on the scientific classification for the osprey (Pandionidae). The large, brown-and-white raptor is commonly spotted in Florida. It’s often used as a symbol for wealth.
“We believe there’s strong demand in Southwest Florida for a truly distinctive private golf club experience — and creating unique, best-in-class experiences is core to everything we do at Hoffmann Family of Cos.,” said Geoff Hoffmann, the company’s co-CEO. “Pandion Club is built around that idea.
He continued: “From the moment you drive through the gates, you’ll know you’ve arrived somewhere special: a private golf oasis surrounded by nature, designed to feel like an escape. We recognized early on the opportunity to preserve and enhance the property’s mature, natural character, and that landscape will be central to the Pandion experience.”
The project includes building a low‑country style clubhouse and adding expansive practice areas.
The Hoffmanns envision a membership cap of 280, with nearly 60 memberships sold already. The initiation fee started at $250,000, then quickly increased to $300,000.
Many who have purchased memberships don’t even live in the area.
“This architect has a world-class reputation, and probably half of those who have just joined, they are from out of state. But they’ve heard of his design style and philosophy for golf courses, and they want to be a part of it,” the elder Hoffmann said.
The hope is to open the club by the end of next year, or at least by early 2028.
Elsewhere in Southwest Florida, the Hoffmanns also own the Old Collier Golf Club, a private, by-invitation-only golf club east of Naples, with an initiation fee of $1 million. They are making big upgrades there, too, with a full membership of 240.
Meanwhile, the family continues to explore options for growing their presence in the golf business, with a focus on the long game.
The long game looks good, with more Americans engaging in golf than ever.
Laura Layden is a senior business and government reporter. Reach her by email at laura.layden@naplesnews.com.
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