Hideaway Beach Club Unveils Renovated Golf Course

The heart of Hideaway Beach Club has long been its golf course, and on Tuesday, it was officially given new life.

After eight months of work, the $5.6 million improvement of its nine-hole golf course was completed, with expanded greens and hole layouts, enhanced teeing areas, and an overhauled drainage system in collaboration with the South Florida Water Management District.

Designed by golf course architect Kipp Schulties, the redesign has changed the entire character of Hideaway’s golf course. Eamon Murphy, the General Manager of Hideaway Beach Club, described the old course as being ‘classic, old-school Florida’, with flat, simple fairways and sand traps. Now, though, with around 100,000 cubic yards of new fill, the course has been elevated with a new raised and varied topography, with varied sand traps to stump even experienced golfers, and larger lakes that serve as both course hazards and an important drainage network for the entire complex.

Murphy said the changes have elevated the course, which hadn’t been significantly overhauled since it was built in the 1970s, from an average course to one that could stand toe-to-toe with other professional-grade courses across Southwest Florida.

“Feedback already is just outstanding. We just wanted to change from what it was prior, going from a C course to an A course. The difference is so dramatically different at the later holes,” Murphy said.

“I think we were able to build a world-class golf course to go along with the rest of the world-class amenities we have here. Hideaway is a community, and everybody out there is having fun; everybody knows everybody, and it’s just an additional jewel in our crown here. We’re very fortunate for our members to live here, and for us to be part of the team working here. It’s just as great as a golf course as it is an awesome community.”

Murphy said that over the last 20 years, the course has suffered three major floods from hurricanes like Ian, Irma, and others with their storm surge. That is something that they’ve looked to mitigate with the new design, having vastly expanded and improved their drainage system on the course. While the lakes were previously cut off from one another, allowing water to accumulate and overflow during major storms, the lakes are now connected by a series of large pipes that allow water to drain much more easily during excessive rainfall.

By combining the drainage project with the golf renovation, Hideaway officials said it saved the community an additional $1.5 million.

Dustin Black, the golf course superintendent, said that the course was now one of a handful in Southwest Florida to be outfitted with TIF3D, an ultra-dwarf Bermuda grass used for greens. A newer breed of grass relatively uncommon among courses in the area, it is known for its high durability to environmental stress and the ability to keep its iconic emerald green color, allowing the course to look its best year-round.

With the greens doubled in size, while staying within the original course footprint, Black said it also gave him, as superintendent, more room to move the pins and holes day to day, allowing a greater variety in how visiting golfers approach each hole.

“Personally, I think that’s the biggest change. Honestly, the old greens, with just the way that they were sloped and how flat they were, they just weren’t up to the quality that they are now. Right now, I would say the greens are like a championship-level golf course,” said Black.

The sixth hole seems to be a particular favorite among those who have been able to try the course early, with Murphy stating that he enjoyed the challenge of having water flanking either side of the course with a sand trap in front of the green, with two perfect shots needed to get the hole within par. Those sort of challenges, he said, weren’t part of the original course’s layout, now offering a fresh experience for those who have been to the club many times before.

“Those who are playing it are loving the playability and the challenge of that golf course. I think just seeing where it was, and where it is, is hugely important because I think it just represents where the community is going. You see our stunning Sports and Wellness Center here, our awesome tennis and pickleball facility; every part of the community is just getting better and better and better,” Murphy said.