Membership fee at SoFla's new Panther National Golf Club is $500,00

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by Zoe Rosenberg

It's ball or nothing at Panther National, Palm Beach County's first new golf and lifestyle community in 20 years.

The Florida development is the brainchild of Dominique Senn, a famous alpine ski racer from Switzerland. After visiting several other communities across the Sunshine State and noticing that they were not up to the level he was looking for, his development company, along with Centaur Group, created a modern We set out to create a luxury golf and lifestyle community.

Panther National arrives in Palm Beach Gardens during a prime time for golf. The sport is more popular than ever in the United States, with the American Golf Industry Federation reporting in 2023 that about one in seven Americans played it the previous year. Add to that the growing demand for luxury housing and the Panther National development was in trouble.

Panther National CEO Frank Weed said the team will build 218 modern single-family homes and 24 small homes designed by Miami-based Strang Design, from the course to the clubhouse. He said he set out to build a different kind of golf community than anything he had seen before.

Weed said this innovative approach will be especially evident in the 55,000-square-foot clubhouse. “This is not your grandpa’s golf club,” he said. “We don't have a banquet hall. This place aims to be a place for youth.”

Club membership currently starts at $500,000 for the first year, with annual dues in the low $30,000s. Weed said homeowners within the gates of Panther National now receive a slight reduction in similar annual fees to an initial $400,000.

The clubhouse will include a gym, pro shop, indoor golf, spa facilities with locker rooms, and indoor and outdoor gathering spots. It will also include four dining concepts, including one inspired by Sen's friend Andreas Caminada of the three-star Michelin restaurant Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, Switzerland. However, members will have to wait until the fall of 2026 for Clubhouse's anticipated debut. A lifestyle club with a spa, community pool and lap pool will also be added, as well as a performance center scheduled to break ground in October 2025.

To play, there's an 18-hole links-style Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. This golf course was designed by a retired golfer in collaboration with his PGA Tour player Justin Thomas. Opening in November 2023. There is also a nine-hole, par-3 course, a one-acre putting course, a driving range, and facilities for training and fitting.

When the team acquired the property, it was “as flat as a pancake,” Weed said. Currently, the elevation of the golf course is 50 feet (plus or minus).

The community's first properties will go on the market in June 2022, with homes on half-acre lots ranging in price from approximately $4 million to $6 million. Weed said about 22 of the 30 homes in the first phase have been sold, and future phases include homes on 3-acre lots and a maximum where buyers can build their own custom home with an approved builder. It would include a $4.5 million residential lot. Weed said it has sold about $300 million in real estate to date, including eight custom home lots.

Some of the buyers include several celebrities, although Weed declined to name them. Mr. Weed said the average age of people who have purchased homes in the development so far is in their mid-50s, and the average age of those who have only purchased club memberships is even younger. Home prices in Panther National currently start at $4.5 million.

And the house isn't just built on greenery, it's green. Designing large roof overhangs creates shade, keeps the house cool, and reduces energy requirements. All of the grounds throughout the property will include native plantings, and a solar power and water filtration program will be implemented.

“I don't want to use the word 'sustainable' because it's not off-grid, but we're using a lot of efficient building systems and materials to ensure this house lasts a lifetime.” Weed said.

Typical home models range in size from 4,500 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet, with three to five bedrooms, a two- to four-car garage with golf cart parking and electric vehicle charging units, and a private pool. Equipped. Custom home lots range in size from half an acre to an acre.

The 382-acre gated property where Panther National is located was once part of the Vavrus Ranch, which spanned 4,753 acres before being sold to Landstar Development Group for $20 million in 2013 .

But while that may sound a little too artificial, Weed wants you to know that there's an abundance of plants that bear his name right next door. Next to this property he had a 2,400-acre nature preserve, and the lake attracted birds and other wildlife.

“Yesterday I saw a wild turkey walking down one of the fairways,” he said. “This golf course will be one of the best in the United States and definitely in the top three in Florida.”