When Dominik Senn first arrived in South Florida from Switzerland, something about the region’s golf communities left him cold. The former World Cup ski racer and successful sports agent found the traditional country club model dated – dark ballrooms, old-fashioned architecture, and courses that all looked alike. He envisioned something different: a modern golf community that would blend European sophistication with championship golf that had more landforms and movement, not unlike some of the World Cup racecourses.
“Coming from Switzerland, we always thought everything was very dated,” Senn says. “I thought there must be a market for a modern version of a golf and country club where I could combine the best from Europe with America.”
That vision became Panther National, which opened in November 2023 in Palm Beach Gardens as the area’s first new private golf community in nearly two decades. To create his dream course, Senn recruited an unlikely design duo – 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus and PGA Tour star Justin Thomas, who provided a younger player's perspective on modern course architecture.
The result is a dramatic 7,900-yard layout featuring elevation changes up to 50 feet – a rarity in typically flat Florida. The course required moving nearly 3 million cubic yards of earth, with extensive engineering to ensure the manufactured dunes would be sustainable in Florida’s climate.
“As a former skier, I think very much in landforms," Senn says. “With Panther National, I wanted to create something very special with Jack and Justin. We blended dramatic holes with lakes and the look of the neighboring nature preserve.”
A new hybrid Bermuda grass called Bimini not only makes the course more sustainable since it requires fewer inputs but also allows for firm-and-fast conditions. The result is a combination of fun and challenge, the likes of which the director of golf, Tom Dyer, has rarely seen in his 30+ years in the business.
“Jack Nicklaus, with some considerable help from Justin Thomas, did something incredibly unique here,” he says. “With the wide playing corridors, you can hit a loose shot, hunt it down, and battle back, but the area where you want you to hit it to shoot a low score is very narrow and strategic. I am a little biased, but I’ve never seen it anywhere else, where the lesser-skilled golfer who bails on the safe side has a way to finish a hole without losing his golf ball, while the expert is still challenged with every single shot he plays.”
The course offers remarkable variety, too, with holes running in eight different directions to create constantly changing wind conditions. The par-3 15th hole epitomizes the flexibility, featuring 10 tee boxes and an 80-yard-deep green that can play anywhere from a wedge to a 285-yard shot.
But the practice facility might be even more impressive than the course, designed with input from Thomas to replicate PGA Tour conditions. When balls hit the Trinity zoysia atop the 27 target greens, they react just like they would on a real green. The practice fairway is U.S. Open width. No surprise, the facility has attracted many tour pros, including ambassadors Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, and Cameron Young.
The modern aesthetic extends beyond golf. The clubhouse features lounges instead of traditional restaurants, including a wine tower shaped like Switzerland’s Matterhorn. The 218-home community emphasizes contemporary architecture, with residences set back from the course to maintain pristine playing conditions.
For Senn, Panther National represents a new vision for private golf communities – one that embraces modern design, exceptional practice facilities, and a more sophisticated atmosphere.
“Panther National is destined to be one of the top private courses in Florida,” Thomas says.
A bold prediction, perhaps, given the quality of courses in the area but one that seems fitting for a community that has already redefined what’s possible in South Florida golf.