Atlantic Beach C.C.

Client

Atlantic Beach C.C.

Year

2013

Duration

2 Years

Project overview.

Historic Atlantic Beach Country Club was established in 1958 and transformed from an environmentally polluted, nearly bankrupt private club into a thriving golf community. LarsenGolf redesigned the course around 178 new single-family homes, compressing the layout from 180 to 125 acres while preserving the full country club experience. The rebuild included a new 18-hole, 6,815-yard championship course, a 16,000-square-foot clubhouse, junior Olympic pool, seven tennis courts, full practice facility, cart barn, and fitness center. A critical irrigation overhaul sourced treated reuse water from the City of Atlantic Beach, replacing the saltwater supply that had been poisoning turf for years.

Originally Selva Marina Country Club, the course had hosted PGA Tour events in the 1960s and LPGA events into the 70s, but decades of neglect took a toll. A brackish irrigation water source slowly destroyed the course's turf quality, memberships declined to the low 300s, and the clubhouse and facilities fell into disrepair. The club sat five blocks from the Atlantic Ocean on the only large green space in the northern Duval County beaches area, yet was on the verge of bankruptcy. The solution required selling a portion of the land to fund a full rebuild, while keeping the club intact and operational throughout the process.

Challenge.

Results.

Membership grew more than 100% to 700+. At opening, the social member cap was already reached, and only 50 of 350 full sports memberships remained available. Golf Digest named Atlantic Beach Country Club one of the Best New Courses in the country in 2014. The Web.com Tour Championship, the PGA Tour's developmental tour finale, was played there from 2016 to 2018, with live television coverage on Golf Channel. Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer's grandson, opened the 2017 tournament with a 59. The project has since been recognized by the Urban Land Institute as a successful model of recreational community revitalization, and Larsen considers it a replicable template for distressed golf facilities nationwide.