Bal Harbour

The courses may take center stage at these new clubs, but their appeal and distinctions go far beyond the fairways. FROM TOP Dutchman's Pipe in West Palm Beach recently received a comprehensive renovation and slight redesign by Jack Nicklaus and team, who originally built it in 2017. Inside a villa at the sprawling Apogee Golf Club development in Hobe Sound. Similarly, Apogee will be home to two sprawling clubhouses, a fitness center, a wellness spa, a field club devoted to a wide range of outdoor activities, and—at least initially—almost 150 club-owned villa rooms available for member stays. "Our membership growth has exceeded any expectations that we have had, and the demand continues to be high," Wiebe says, pointing to the villas as a factor for that growth. "When you start to add transient lodging to any facility, people from afar will look at it and say, What a nice alternative that is to having to buy a home. That's what we've experienced." While Dutchman's Pipe also features a state-of-the-art racquet center, the golf experience remains the club's primary draw. In particular, Dutchman's is outfitted with a thoughtfully designed training center and driving range, where guests have their choice of every premium brand and model golf ball. Mark L. Carter, the club's director of club fitting and customization, also has access to club- building equipment that could rival the best equipment vans on the PGA Tour. If a member should break or damage a club out on the course, for example, Carter could have a new one built, ready for play, and back in that member's hands in the amount of time it takes to play two holes. Beyond that, it's Dutchman's specific golf-course culture that further distinguishes it from the other private clubs in the immediate area. "We want to be a club of members who govern themselves," explains Carroll. "We have two rules at this point: Be nice and Play fast. If you play fast and you're nice to the people around you, fivesomes and sixsomes are not a problem. We want to be the place where you can come and kind of let your hair down." It's a bold new world for private golf in South Florida. And it's been a long time coming. Run for The Hills Just as Discovery Land Company (DLC) has introduced new private golf opportunities in South Florida with Atlantic Fields, the development firm is executing a similar project in New York's East Quogue, bringing a new tier of exclusive club opportunities to an area famous for its density of championship-caliber private golf. DLC has worked with Tom Fazio to carve out a masterfully routed 18-hole course not far from Sebonack, Shinnecock Hills, and National Golf Links of America. In keeping with the company's ideology, The Hills is as relaxed and carefree as it gets. You won't find strict rules or traditional dress codes here. In fact, barefoot rounds of golf are encouraged. Good luck getting away with that at those aforementioned clubs. Much like in South Florida, where most noteworthy private clubs boast exceptionally long waiting lists for new members, The Hills offers something that's incredibly hard to find: membership to a prestigious, private golf club in The Hamptons. Moreover, with only 110 residences available (and real-estate investment being the only way into the club), The Hills promises to be as exclusive a golfing sanctuary as you'll likely find anywhere on Long Island. The Hills offers exclusive membership to a prestigious, private club in The Hamptons. C O U R T E S Y O F A P O G E E G O L F C LU B ; D U TC H M A N ' S P I P E G O L F C LU B ; T H E H I L L S

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