Dream Golf, the company that owns a growing roster of America's most popular golf resorts, announced the initial stages of development at Old Shores, a property encompassing more than 1,400 acres about 30 miles north of Panama City, Fla. Golf course architect Tom Doak has been announced as the designer of the resort's first 18 holes.
Old Shores joins the Keiser family's portfolio of golf gathering places that started with Bandon Dunes Golf Resort a quarter century ago. In 2015, Mike Keiser and his sons Michael and Chris opened Sand Valley Golf Resort, which in less than a decade has become a must-visit Midwestern golf mecca in north-central Wisconsin.
In 2023, Dream Golf announced Rodeo Dunes, a brand-new resort an hour east of Denver International Airport in Colorado's sand hills. Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw and Jimmy Craig, respectively, will lay out the first two golf courses at that property.
Then, in early 2024, came the announcement of Wild Spring Dunes, another new Dream Golf resort near the town of Nacogdoches, in eastern Texas. Tom Doak will also build the first golf course there, followed by Coore & Crenshaw for the second.
That makes an equally exciting and dizzying three brand-new golf resorts in development for Dream Golf, all set to be up and running in the next two to four years. As if the 2020s weren't already off to an incredible start, it looks like the back half of the decade should be filled with great new golf courses as well.
This aggressive development schedule invites a question: Which of the three yet-to-open Dream Golf resorts are you most eager to see?
Tim Gavrich, GolfPass Senior Writer: Jason, call it East Coast bias if you want, but I am really interested to see how Old Shores comes along. Even though I live 455 miles away (I've already Google Mapped it), knowing Dream Golf has finally confirmed the rumors I've been hearing about their interest in breaking into Florida's golf scene intrigues me to no end. The couple of photos I've seen have Pinehurst-meets-Streamsong vibes, with a nice-looking variety of environments that Doak's initial course will wander.
Fun fact: Old Shores will be right next to the small town of Vernon, which in the 1950s and 1960s acquired the nickname "Nub City" because several residents allegedly cut off their limbs in order to recoup insurance payments. In researching the area I learned that Errol Morris made a Rotten Tomatoes 100%-rated documentary about the place in 1981, which I will have to watch soon. Florida, man...
Beyond Old Shores, I'm excited to see how Rodeo Dunes develops, in large part because I am intrigued to see Jimmy Craig get his debut opportunity as a solo architect of an 18-hole course in the Dream Golf empire. He did a fabulous job as the point man on The Sandbox at Sand Valley, and he's also working on that property's new 12-hole Commons course.
Jason Scott Deegan, GolfPass Managing Editor: Back at ya, Tim, with the regional bias. I'm most fired up about Rodeo Dunes. I love the out-West-themed golf resorts and communities I've visited since moving to California a decade ago. Anything that has ranch or rodeo in the name, I'm game. I loved seeing a tumbleweed blow past while I was recently playing the new Scarecrow course at Gamble Sands, which opens in central Washington in August 2025.
The fact that Rodeo Dunes could have as many six courses has me daydreaming of various shapes and sizes of interesting layouts. How about thinking WAY out of the box and designing a nine-hole loop of all drivable/short par 4s? Obviously the tee sheet would have to be managed properly to keep pace of play from getting out of whack, but I'd love to play a course with holes ranging from 220 to 320 yards. Good players could shoot in the 20s and the rest of us could break par with some miracle combination of drives, wedges and putts. What a concept!
Who will join Coore & Crenshaw and Craig among the architecture lineup? I'd love to see lesser-known names like Beau Welling or Dan Hixson get a shot. There's so much potential here to make something really cool.
The same theories obviously apply in Texas at Wild Spring Dunes, which is 2,400 acres located between Dallas, Houston and Shreveport (La.). Doak and C&C will get the first crack at engaging the land. Whatever happens from there will depend upon the economy and popularity of the game in a few years. If golf can keep its current momentum, then golf developers like the Keisers can keep dreaming bigger, bolder and better.
Which project most excites you? Let us know in the comments below.
