Leisure takes new shape on the Gulf. Championship courses rise from restored landscapes, rooftop clubs mix cocktails with competition and family favorites return better than before. Welcome to the reimagined playground of Southwest Florida.
GET THEM TO THE GREEN, the Gulf Coast charts its next golf era with new courses and more underway.
Across the region, golf is teeing up for every level of player. In North Naples, members-only Kinsale Golf Club remains one of the city’s most sought-after destinations. Launched last fall, the course is a study in strategy, designed by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, whose portfolios include contributions to Winged Foot Golf Club and Pinehurst No. 4.
Former PGA pro Raymond Floyd designed championship-level newcomer Saltleaf Golf Preserve in harmony with the surrounding nature, accenting fairways with native flora like cabbage palms, muhly grass and dune sunflowers. In Babcock Ranch, semi-private Webbs Reserve Golf Club debuted last fall, featuring 20 lakes that come into play on every hole.
Two new short courses offer quick, nine-hole games. Family-friendly walking course The Clutch opened at the newly renovated South Seas Resort on Captiva in May, with Pine Island Sound and Gulf views from every hole. This spring, Naples’ The Gate Golf Club completes its greens, illuminated driving range, putting green and clubhouse restaurant—all open to the public.
More projects are rising around town. Naples Beach Club, A Four Seasons Resort, anticipates finishing The Gardens, a lushly landscaped Tom Fazio-designed course, in 2026. Meanwhile, the Hoffmann Family of Companies hired Kyle Phillips to build a private, British heathland-style layout on the site of the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero, with plans for a 2027 opening. For indoor play, The Sanctuary Golf & Social Club arrives in Bonita Springs late next year with Trackman technology that allows members to simulate more than 400 real courses worldwide. —Justin Paprocki
ON THE TOWN, new places to play and party.
On Land
The Bayshore Arts District adds a scenic, 1,350-foot elevated boardwalk this season, threading through wetlands to Sugden Regional Park, where it connects to the trails surrounding Lake Avalon. Pickleball continues its meteoric rise with options for indoor play, including the new, 12-court Ace Pickleball Club in Fort Myers and The Picklr, which opens a 37,000-square-foot facility in Naples this season with 15 courts and a robust calendar of clinics and events. Elsewhere in Naples, Core Reform opens this winter, bringing the celeb-favorite Lagree Method to the region with workouts that blend the precision of Pilates with cardio and endurance training.
On Water
Two waterfront locales devastated by Hurricane Ian are taking steps forward. Fort Myers’ Legacy Harbour Marina reopens on the Caloosahatchee River in early 2026 with 131 slips and new, storm-resilient infrastructure. In September, FEMA pledged $11.4 million to help rebuild the Naples Pier, though permits and a finalized design are needed before work begins. In the meantime, Seafair’s latest megayacht, the 12,000-square-foot Crystal Grandeur, makes its debut, hosting up to 600 guests.
For the Family
Bonita Springs’ Wonder Gardens finally delivers on long-promised improvements—just in time for its 90th anniversary. A new Otter Grotto and baby alligator exhibit opened earlier this year, while a flamingo night house and sloth and kinkajou habitats are planned. The Edison and Ford Winter Estates also mark a milestone with the 50th Holiday Nights celebration. The estates deck the halls with Christmas trees and lights, and this year, host a toy exhibit with the Museum of Florida History.
Top photo caption: Webbs Reserve Golf Club at Babcock Ranch features 20 lakes that come into play on every hole, part of the local golf boom that’s teeing up new courses for every level.