The best way to describe The Park West Palm might be like this: It’s an uncommon business model designed to appeal to the common golfing population.
But even that explanation takes some explaining, meaning that creating a high-end daily fee golf course in the middle of Palm Beach County, FL., was a bit, well, contrarian.
“Everything that we tried to do had never been done in South Florida – or typical to South Florida,’’ General Manager Brian Conley told me.
The results?
“We met our goals.’’
Actually, in the two years The Park West Palm has been open – with a Gil Hanse-designed, 7,145-yard, par-71 layout as its centerpiece – it can be argued that the 190-acre property has surpassed even the wildest expectations of its benefactors, who include Tiger Woods.
The numbers Conley cites are proof: of The Park’s success: More than 11,000 caddied rounds were played in 2024 (compared to an expected number of 6,000) and the facility is on pace for more than 12,000 in 2025; in 2024, its first full year of operation, the facility saw approximately 40,000 tee-time starts between its 18-hole and nine-hole, par-3 course; and more than 50 percent of the rounds played are walking golf – even in the hot summer months.
“People are playing The Park the way it’s meant to be played,’’ Conley said.
And perhaps most important, Conley said The Park’s community outreach program, called “The Path,’’ currently has more than 100 participants, from grade school to high school.
“That’s only two school years. We would have been happy the first year if we had positively impacted two or three families. Now the number is more than 40. I think a lot of it is organic growth, which is the way we wanted to do things.’’
Hanse and Wagner pay homage to golf’s “golden age’’of design – with a good amount of Australian Sandbelt tossed in. Many of the green complexes at The Park have a “low mow’’ design that gives players the option of playing the ball on the ground or in the air.
“One of the great things is that a novice, or someone just beginning the game, can come here and enjoy it because of the way the golf course plays,’’ Conley said. “And literally, a Tour professional can play this course and equally enjoy it on that same day. To appeal to that range of players is remarkable.’’
Ironically, the concept of high-end, daily fee was born in 1990 at Emerald Dunes Club, just a few miles west of The Park. The course, designed by Tom Fazio, was supposed to be the template for high-end public golf in the ‘90s and beyond, but despite the golf “boom’’ of those days, the concept never caught on. Emerald Dunes now is a private club, whose ownership history includes late, legendary CBS Sports golf producer Frank Chirkinian.
While The Park While course itself has been praised as one of Hanse’s best designs, it has drawn criticism for what some people see as an inflated pricing structure.
The Park opened in April 2023 as High End Daily Fee Golf 2.0, with greens fees for City residents as little as $70 in the off season, while out of state residents pay upwards of $300 in advance during the season.
Conley staunchly defends The Park’s prices because of all the facility’s amenities, including lights on the par 3 course; junior caddie program; putting course; Top Tracer range technology; lessons and club fitting; and two dining outlets.
“We have redefined high end public golf, so we can produce the standards of anything out there,’’ he said.
For example, Conley said, the dynamic pricing structure allows management to “give the golf course away’’ for six days per year for junior tournaments and other related events.
“We also celebrate once a year by giving free golf to (West Palm Beach) residents. One of the reasons we can do that is because we are able to charge the rates that we do in ‘season’ to keep the business going.’’
Photo Courtesy of The Park West Palm