The Building Committee: Five Ponds, Princeville, and the Week
Five Ponds is my favorite this week, a $25 million clubhouse at a public course in Warminster. Also Princeville, Scotland Run, and more.
Welcome to The Building Committee, Best Clubhouse’s editor’s notes column.
Taking a look at last week’s news:
To me, there was one story this week that was clearly the star of the show.
Favorite of Last Week
Five Ponds Golf Club in Warminster, Pennsylvania, was my favorite story last week. Warminster Township, which owns the public course, was set to break ground on Tuesday, Oct. 27 on a $25 million, 27,000-square-foot clubhouse. The plans call for second-floor event space for up to 250 guests, a new bar and grill, a 1,400-square-foot pro shop, an indoor teaching studio with four golf simulators, covered patios and multiple kitchens. Officials said golf-course revenue, not tax revenue, will repay the $25 million, 20-year loan supervisors approved in August.
It’s exciting to see a new clubhouse being built, especially one at that price level. A township-owned course looking at it as a revenue generator makes sense to me. My one hesitation is a gut reaction: event space for 250 people feels maybe a little light for $25 million, but to be fair, there are other revenue generators in a new clubhouse besides an entertaining space. The budget also buys the bar and grill, pro shop, simulator studio, patios and kitchens.
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Princeville
Kauai is spectacular. Most of the island feels underdeveloped and organic, then you get to Princeville and it is a lot more built up than anything else on the island, an anomaly, so it makes sense someone wants to build homes there. Starwood Capital and homeowners there are at odds over Starwood’s proposal for homes and condominiums on the Woods Course, a nine-hole layout at Princeville Makai Golf Club that has sat idle since Starwood ceased operations in 2021. A judge ruled for two residents in 2025 under a 1972 open-space dedication, and Starwood is appealing. I know from last year's news about Kapalua that managing any golf course in Hawaii is difficult, with limited accessibility to fresh water. I would imagine managing any course in that salty environment and those constraints would be exceptionally difficult, and that course has not operated in years.
Updates and Approvals
Ada Township approved the first phase of Ada Golf Club in Michigan, a private, golf-only 18-hole club by Brian Schneider of Renaissance Golf Design on more than 390 acres east of Grand Rapids. The DeVos family office is building it, with opening anticipated in late 2028 or 2029. Great to see new courses being developed.
Scotland Run, my favorite from last week’s letter, is back in the news. South State Inc., a contractor owned by the club’s Ottinger family, showed Monroe Township a preliminary concept for a three-story, roughly 33,000-square-foot office building, though nothing has been filed. The mayor said the members-only clubhouse is under construction, a step further along than the early preview we described last week.
Scottish ministers refused Coul Links near Dornoch again on Oct. 21, its second refusal since February 2020, over harm to protected dune habitat. Shot down again.
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The Rest of the Week
In Plantation, Florida, the council weighed a $765,520 design contract for the Plantation Preserve clubhouse renovation. Eagles Nest in Goshen Township, Ohio, closed after more than 60 years, and Drees Homes plans 305 homes. Heritage Golf Group keeps growing, buying Fox Hollow in Trinity, Florida, its 51st club. Greenview Golf Club in Centralia, Illinois, is being sold to local owners Roger and Kristy Campbell, who plan a pro shop.
Rondele Ranch is buying Pinewood Golf Club in Wisconsin and plans a 150-person clubhouse for 2027; Avila Beach Golf Resort became The Avila; a federal judge blocked tree removal at East Potomac in Washington; Tróia Golf in Portugal is getting a new clubhouse; Minthis in Cyprus plans a €6 million upgrade; and Bury Golf Club members voted to join Link Golf UK.
The Last Word
Back to Five Ponds. It is a public, township-owned course getting the kind of event and dining clubhouse you usually associate with private clubs, paid back with golf revenue. That is the kind of building that excites me because it strengthens the quality of the game in its community.
If something here sparked a thought, a disagreement, or a story, drop a comment below. And if you know a golf friend who would enjoy this, forward it their way.
See you next week,
Ross
Ross Campoli, Founder and Editor, Best Clubhouse
Best Clubhouse covers all things golf clubhouse architecture, golf luxury real estate, and golf development. If you're interested in having your golf club renovation, luxury listing, or architectural project featured on Best Clubhouse, see our partnerships page or reach out at contact@bestclubhouse.com.
