The Park’s lighted, two-sided driving range is enjoyed by golfers of all ages.
COURTESY JAY LESSING
By John Steinbreder
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA | Few places in America are booming quite like this city in the Sunshine State.
Consider the $10 billion that developer Steve Ross has been investing in local projects ranging from real estate to the entertainment and education realms. He says his goal is to make West Palm Beach “a model city” and the “next Silicon Valley.”
The community is also prospering from the exposure that comes with being just across the Intracoastal Waterway from President Donald Trump’s winter retreat, Mar-a-Lago, as well as being a tax-friendly locale that attracts droves of retirees and people who find it more feasible to work remotely in the post-pandemic world.
Another sign of how this city of 127,000 residents is sizzling is the presence of one of the most exciting new golf facilities in America. Dubbed The Park and opened in 2023, it features as its centerpiece a links-style layout by Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner and Dirk Ziff. Notable for its sandy soil, rolling hills and stands of mature hardwoods, it is regarded by discerning architecture aficionados as among the best municipal courses in the country.
In addition, Ran Morrissett, who is the founder of Golf Club Atlas, the highly respected course architecture forum, describes The Park as “one of the top hundred courses in the country.”
Good as it may be, the par-71 course at The Park is but one of several things that commend this complex, which lies just five miles away from Palm Beach International Airport. Other highlights include a lighted, two-sided driving range; a nine-hole par-3 course that can also be illuminated; a Himalayas putting course; a two-acre, kids-only golf area; a restaurant and halfway house; and a pro shop full of merchandise adorned with The Park logo, which is a green parrot wearing a white bucket hat.
… The Park stands out for its mission, which co-founder and former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh describes as making it “the happiest, most welcoming, most complete and most inclusive place in all of golf.”
There is a robust caddie program, too, with loopers both young and seasoned; a variety of after-school tutoring and mentoring programs; and a state-of-the-art instruction element.
What also distinguishes The Park is how it came to be. The $55 million price tag was entirely covered by donations from private individuals. Thirty of those kicked in $1 million each, an equal number provided $500,000 per person and the rest contributed anywhere from $100,000 to $400,000.
As for Hanse and Wagner, they waived their design fees.
In addition, The Park stands out for its mission, which co-founder and former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh describes as making it “the happiest, most welcoming, most complete and most inclusive place in all of golf.”
“That’s why we wanted to call it The Park,” Waugh told me after we finished a round here last year.
“Given that this land is owned by city residents, we thought it should be enjoyed by them in as many ways as possible. We wanted it to be a place not only for golf but also to walk their dogs, hold receptions for their weddings, have dinner with friends or spend time with their kids.”
It’s all part of a concept he and some of his fellow donors created called “Open Golf,” which they define in words on the back of the scorecard as ensuring that “… people of all backgrounds, abilities and circumstances have equal opportunities to experience and enjoy the game.”
The SNAG program introduces kids to golf at The Park.
courtesy tracey benson
Looking across the property and listening to Waugh’s words, I watch golfers of all ages and abilities playing and practicing, taking note of the laughter that rises from the groups as well as the music that plays from the speakers hanging from their golf bags.
“We had 300 people here for Mother’s Day last spring,” Waugh said. “And on Friday movie nights, which we call ‘Friday Night Lights,’ we get as many as 600 just hanging out and having fun.”
The scene is impressive, and it clearly impressed Morrissett as well.
“If there is a better story in American golf this century than the creation of The Park, I don’t know it,” he wrote on his site.
The first course routed on this nearly 200-acre property was designed by Dick Wilson, a Philadelphia native and protégé of William Flynn. It came on line in 1947. And though the facility was called the West Palm Beach Country Club, it was always open to the public.
The place quickly became popular among community golfers. It was also good enough to host a PGA Tour event from 1958-62. Arnold Palmer won the 1959 edition.
Alas, the complex fell on hard times, with losses mounting after the turn of the 21st century to some $60,000 a month and course conditions deteriorating. Those and other issues prompted the city to shut down the course in early 2018.
A year later, a group of altruistic-minded golfers that included Waugh and Ziff, an investor and scion of the Ziff Davis publishing empire as well as a course architecture enthusiast who had previously consulted with Hanse on design projects, created a plan to reimagine the facility. It involved a private-public partnership with the city and its mayor, Keith James, who ended up leasing the property to the philanthropists.
The golf course at The Park has a linksy look and feel.
courtesy dave sansom
Waugh then approached Hanse and Wagner about handling the design. The architects were as impressed with the potential of the very un-Florida-like property, which boasted some 30 feet in elevation changes, as they were with the mission.
“We jumped in with both feet,” Hanse said.
As for the course design, he and Wagner gave Ziff first crack, and he spent hours poring over topographical maps and walking the grounds before submitting a final draft. Hanse and Wagner liked what Ziff had produced and essentially kept his routing while making modifications of their own. The result is a layout that is wide, strategic and full of ways to recover from errant shots. The turf is generally firm and fast and the greens quite receptive to run-up shots, which is helpful considering the winds that often blow off the Atlantic Ocean only a couple of miles to the east. The Park is also an easy walk, and it is almost impossible to lose a golf ball, as there is minimal rough and nary a water hazard. And with four sets of tees, ranging from 6,670 yards to 4,767 yards, the layout can be as challenging as a person wants to make it.
Green fees for West Palm Beach residents start at $50 for 18 holes, and those for Florida residents outside the city are generally in line with high-end public golf course fees (from $120 upwards). Out-of-state golfers pay about what a round costs at a destination public golf facility (beginning at $180). The cost for juniors between 13 and 17 years old is $10, while anyone under the age of 12 plays for free.
Three years after opening, it is fair to describe The Park as a raging success. The main course records about 45,000 rounds a year, and the pro shop produces annual sales of $1.5 million. Our foursome finished in less than four hours the day Waugh and I played, with caddies capably guiding us around. As for the après-golf, the hang there is as good as any in the game.
“When ideas for this site were being considered, I never imagined an outcome like this was possible,” said James, who is in the midst of a second four-year term as mayor. “This is a tremendous gift to the city of West Palm Beach.”
Waugh is just as pleased, adding: “To bring this incredible project from idea to reality … has truly been a dream come true.”
