In his first few months as the brand new Membership Supervisor at PGA Nationwide Resort, Cody Sherrill realized — and continues to be taught — the identical issues that golfers, enterprise vacationers, and households have realized. That’s, the storied resort in Palm Seaside Gardens, over the previous six years, has undergone one of many extra spectacular reinventions of any “identify’’ golf resort within the nation.
Certain, the two,000-acre property has been the centerpiece of classy Palm Seaside Gardens because it opened in 1980. However because it was acquired by Brookfield Asset Administration (for a reported $233 million) in 2028, the 339-room resort has undergone a renovation that has lifted it from a sterile golf resort manufacturing unit to a vibrant, guest-friendly resort that exudes the high-end life-style of the “Gardens,” north Palm Seaside County and all of South Florida.
“I had by no means been right here till this previous February,’’ mentioned Sherrill, who got here to PGA Nationwide after almost six years at Silverado Resort, one other Troon-managed property, within the Napa Valley.
“I knew Palm Seaside County was a mecca for golf. And I knew concerning the Honda Traditional (now the Cognizant Traditional on the PGA Tour) and the Bear Lure on the Champion Course as having among the hardest holes on the PGA Tour. However I didn’t know a lot concerning the resort, so it’s been fascinating to listen to tales from members about what issues have been like 10 years to now with all of the renovations.’’
It’s generally tough to determine the place all the cash goes when a resort undergoes a $100 million renovation. At PGA Nationwide Resort, nevertheless, Brookfield can put these {dollars} within the class of “{dollars} nicely spent’’ with a brilliant foyer design, new entrance entrance, renovated visitor rooms, two celebrity-chef-driven eating places, and probably game-changing golf course designs.
The resort has six golf programs — the Champion, Fazio, Palmer, Match, Staple and Estates. The Jack Nicklaus-designed Champion course (7,045 yards, par 72) will get many of the consideration, however essentially the most important adjustments to the resort’s golf operations has been the creation of the Staple and Match programs. Designed by Andy Staples, every course is a testomony to possession’s dedication to a family-friendly setting.
The Staple, a nine-hole format, could be the world’s most casual golf course. No gap is greater than 160 yards lengthy; gamers are guided to the subsequent gap by the instructions of Adirondack chairs, and there are not any formal tee markers. If a participant desires to solely chip and putt across the greens, that’s tremendous. If she or he desires to play way back to attainable, that’s tremendous, too. Staples designed the course (strolling solely) with simply sufficient nuances for golfers of each ability stage.
The Match, in the meantime, gives gamers the alternatives to mainly tee it up wherever they select on the course and play any manner, any format they want, whereas experiencing among the traditional design works of Donald Ross, Seth Raynor and Charles Blair MacDonald.
“We’ve got one of many tougher programs on the PGA Tour within the Champion. It’s on everybody’s bucket listing,’’ Sherrill mentioned. “However what’s actually intrigued me concerning the re-invention of the Squire course into the Match and Staples programs.
“The Match may be very ahead pondering. It’s not rated, so no matter you shoot is what you shoot. It nonetheless hasn’t caught on huge but, however some golfers say it was their favourite course on their journey. The Staples course is an effective way to get the household — or learners — on the market.’’
Luxurious resorts typically are graded on their meals and beverage gives, so give PGA Nationwide an “A.” With superstar cooks, Jeremy Ford (The Butcher’s Membership) and Lindsay Autry (Honeybelle), the resort, over the previous three years, has elevated its F&B choices to be among the many greatest in South Florida.
This previous December, Sushi by Bo?, a well-liked, fast-growing Omakase restaurant, joined the portfolio that additionally consists of Birdie’s Diner close to the resort’s professional store. Sushi by Bo? is an intimate venue with cooks getting ready dishes proper in entrance of you, so be sure to make a reservation.
“It’s actually necessary for a resort similar to PGA Nationwide to have a high-end steakhouse,’’ mentioned Resort Director of Meals and Beverage Ruwan Silva. “Different resorts I’ve labored at – Sea Island and Greenbrier – every have a high-end steakhouse. It’s a part of a resort’s ambiance and expertise.’’
At Honeybelle, Autry, a North Carolina farm woman and three-time James Beard Award nominee, serves up her excellent fried hen, together with different Southern favorites, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
PGA Nationwide Resort not too long ago added six new pickleball courts to carry its whole to 12.
“After I bought right here three years in the past, we had solely two pickleball courts and two others painted on the tennis courts,’’ mentioned Alexandru Pop-Moldovan, the resort’s racquet sports activities director. “Now this system has grown so quick that we have now 200 lively members enjoying weekly. We’ve got classes and leagues and round-robin tournaments. Our greatest round-robin day is Sunday, once we get 70 individuals.
Pickleball classes, Pop-Moldovan mentioned, can be found to the general public, together with PGA Nationwide members and resort friends, however solely members and resort friends could entry the courts at different occasions.
“Once we had fewer (pickleball) courts, our members have been on them on a regular basis,’’ Pop-Moldovan mentioned. “Now with the 12 courts, we’re full with members and resort friends, so everyone seems to be pleased.
“We have created corporate events packages for pickleball and tennis,” Pop-Moldovan says. “We’ve had some massive events and ladies’ weekends. Persons are driving from as far-off as Miami to remain and play.’’
PGA Nationwide’s 40,000-square-foot spa is without doubt one of the high vacation spot spas within the Southeast. It options such facilities as a pair’s remedy room and two Himalayan salt rooms. Don’t miss the Spa’s “Waters of the World’’ mineral swimming pools.
The spa gives a complete menu of restorative therapies designed to nurture an openness to therapeutic, steadiness and development.
“The very first thing I did once I got here right here (in 2022) was actually work with the therapists,’’ mentioned Spa Director Brian David Douglass. “I feel we have now a robust crew now. I’ve put a number of emphasis on schooling. So, I began with that core basis to verify they’re extremely expert and extremely skilled. Then, we began elevating all of the experiences.
“I don’t want a massage just to be a massage,” explains Douglass. “So, whether or not it’s scrubs or massages, I actually wish to elevate every of the providers to a better stage.’’
Put all of this collectively and you’ve got one of many nation’s high golf resorts proper in South Florida’s yard.
