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The Park West Palm: Where Classic Golf Meets Modern Business Practices

Discover one of South Florida’s top public course practice venues.

The Park West Palm combines classic golf course design – the punchbowl green on the 12th hole being a solid example – with modern business practices to create what might be the best daily fee golf course in Florida. Now in its second year (The Park opened in April 2023), the 190-acre facility, just minutes from downtown West Palm Beach, is what golf’s “grow-the-game’’ advocates have touted for years – family-friendly, daily fee golf with upscale amenities and service.

“I think we check all of the boxes that we’ve been trying to check,’’ said Brian Conley, general manager of The Park West Palm Beach. 

Let’s take a look:

  • An outstanding Gil Hanse/Jim Wagner/Dirk Ziff designed course? Check.
  • One of South Florida’s top public course practice facilities? Check
  • A dynamic youth golf program? Check
  • Lighted par-3 course? Check
  • Caddy program? Check
  • 12-minute tee times? Check
  • Food and beverage options? Check
  • Easy access to all areas of Palm Beach County? Check
Park West Palm Golf

Hanse and his team pay homage to golf’s “golden age’’ of design – with a good amount of Australian Sandbelt tossed in, particularly on the par-3, 11th hole, where sand protects the green on all sides except in the front, thus allowing players who miss short the opportunity to play the ball on the ground to get on the green.

Many of the green complexes at The Park have a “low mow” design that allows players to play the ball on the ground or in the air.

“We do not have a water hazard features anywhere,’’ Conley said. “A lot of the inspiration did come from the Sandbelt. The game is more enjoyable when the ball can be advanced and played on the ground. And it’s faster.’’

Those “low mow’’ areas and 12-minute tee times help explain the 41,000 rounds played in The Park’s first year.

Located on the footprint of the original West Palm Beach Golf Course, The Park West Palm Beach is a $55 million project funded by individual donations, including Tiger Woods. Former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh was a vocal project proponent. The PGA is not involved in The Park, although its South Florida Section headquarters is on the property. 

It can be argued that The Park’s business roots go back to 1990 and the original concept for Emerald Dunes. Located only a few miles to the west, Emerald Dunes, designed by Tom Fazio, was born with great fanfare. One, it was marketed as the 1,000th golf course in Florida; two, it was supposed to be at the vanguard of a state and national boom in high-end, daily-fee golf.

That boom was a bust. But is The Park West Palm a reincarnation of that five-decade-old idea? Maybe. But it’s better armed, better planned, and better at owning its identity.

“We’re still very much a new business and new golf course,’’ Conley said. “There is a learning curve we all have encountered. We came out of the ground from a high-end, daily fee perspective, but there’s a learning curve in educating people as to what that is and what it looks like.

“But even the things that haven’t progressed as fast as we’d like are trending in the right direction. So, in some instances, we’ve surpassed expectations and in other ways, we’re still learning.’’

In a way, learning is what The Park is all about. Whether that’s learning to play the game for the first time, learning the importance of being custom-fit for clubs, or even learning how to take a lesson, The Park is proving to be a template for one way (or many ways) to grow the game.

“We’re really one of one,’’ Conley said.  “Is it important for others to follow? Not necessarily. Is there an opportunity for others to follow? Sure, but it’s not a necessity.

“Golf can be consumed in all kinds of different manners. Here at The Park – whether it’s an outing on the par-3 course or playing the Hanse course, we want people to have fun.’’

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.