Given the wealth of golf options in the U.S., which has more places to play than the next 10 best-supplied countries combined, new course openings are exceedingly limited. As a result, it’s only natural there’s added excitement among golfers when it comes to the latest and greatest in new design.
A glance around the golf landscape shows that many recent openings are destination properties off the beaten path. Case in point are 2022 debuts like Landmand, which sprawls across heaving farmland in rural Nebraska, and Black Desert Resort at Entrada, which winds through black lava fields not far from Zion National Park in Utah. The Lido at Sand Valley Golf Resort in central Wisconsin also falls in that category, with the resurrected course set to officially debut its full 18 holes in 2023 after providing a sneak peek of some of its wild template holes during the tail-end of 2022.
Also popular are short course offerings, as evidenced by 2022 additions such as the 10-hole Little Sandy course at Omni Amelia Resort in Florida and the 13-hole Gravel Pit Golf Course in Minnesota. Forrest Richardson’s 18-hole par-3 course, The Hills at Promontory, debuts in Summer 2023 at private Utah community Promontory Club featuring drop shots and views of Bald Mountain spread over a 300-acre hillside (see above).
Here are nine other U.S. projects in the pipeline that are scheduled to open in 2023.
Fields Ranch (Frisco, Texas)
The two 18-hole Fields Ranch courses at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort are officially opening this spring alongside the new PGA of America headquarters about 35 miles north of Dallas. Both the East course (designed by Gil Hanse) and West course (designed by Beau Welling) will be open to the public and resort guests, while the facility also has a membership component. There’s also a lighted 10-hole, par-3 short course (“The Swing”) at Fields Ranch, which is already set to host 26 tournaments within its first 12 years of opening, including the 2027 PGA Championship. It will be the first major championship in Texas in more than 50 years.
Cabot Citrus Farms (Brooksville, Fla.)
Since establishing a strong reputation with its resort destination in Nova Scotia, the Cabot brand has continued to expand and Citrus Farms is its first U.S.-based property. The central Florida facility formerly known as World Woods Golf Club is being completely overhauled, with two 18-hole courses, plus an 11-hole par-3 course and a 10-hole regulation-length course. All are scheduled to open in late 2023, with Kyle Franz having a hand in both 18-hole redesigns (Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks). Mike Nuzzo is co-designing Rolling Oaks with Franz and also overseeing the build of the other two shorter courses.
Read the full article in Links Magazine.