By Fred Altvater
Every golfer is familiar with Bandon Dunes, Cabot Cliffs and Sand Valley, but did you know that the Keiser family has broken ground on their newest project in the Florida Panhandle.
Old Shores is their latest destination golf project that will encompass 4,000 acres and a total of five golf courses.
Old Shores is being developed by Michael Keiser, the son of Bandon Dunes founder Mike Keiser and will follow the same template of other popular Keiser properties.
Golf architect Angela Moser, who teamed with Tom Doak in creating Pinehurst No. 10, is overseeing buildout of the initial Doak design at Old Shores and has relocated to the area to spearhead the new project.
The overall vision for new Florida property includes five very different courses. Michael promises,
“It will be like nothing he’s ever seen, with dramatic and varied topography that includes rolling dunes, spring-fed rivers and streams, longleaf pines and moss-draped live oaks, sugar-white sand, deep sinkholes, and surprising elevation changes.”
The name of the resort comes from old-world maps that document the Gulf’s one-time reach to the sand-based property, which now sits 30 miles inland.
The first two 18 courses are currently under construction. The first will be designed by Doak and Moser with the second designed by Brian Schneider.
The Schneider course will traverse rolling topography with a routing inspired by Augusta National that Keiser said,
“It will be as dramatic as anything we’ve ever built.”
Also in the planning stages are a 12-hole layout in the mold of The Commons at Sand Valley, with par 3 holes, as well as short driveable par 4’s. Imagine The Sandbox at Sand Valley, plus a standalone 9-hole regulation-length course that would very much be a novelty in the world of resort golf.
If the Keiser Family is involved in this new project all golfers understand that it will be a first-class facility and a must-play destination.
