The Kyle Phillips design is being built on the site of the former Old Corkscrew club
By Toby Ingleton |
Construction work has started on the new Pandion Club layout in Estero, Florida. The Kyle Phillips design is being built by Glase Golf on the site of the former Old Corkscrew Golf Club.
Old Corkscrew was bought in 2022 by Florida-based Hoffman Family of Companies, which owns over 200 brands including Old Collier Golf Club in Naples and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Everblades hockey franchises.
Pandion will be a private, golf-only club, with a traditional, walkable course that lies on natural, sand-based terrain with a heathland style inspired by the work of Harry Colt and Tom Simpson.
Kyle Phillips’ design for Pandion Club is inspired by the work of Harry Colt and Tom Simpson (Image: Kyle Phillips Golf Course Design)
“From the moment that you drive through our gates, you will know that you have arrived somewhere special. You are going to feel like you are in nature, and this is an escape. We knew that [Phillips’] experience presented an opportunity to preserve the natural landscape that was embedded on the site and that’s something we are going to build around,” said Geoff Hoffmann, CEO of the private equity arm at HF Companies.
The par-71 layout with teeing options that range from a total of 5,400 to 7,220 yards is being designed for firm and fast playing conditions which, according to HF Companies, “place a premium on strategic shot-making, particularly around the greens and green complexes”.
Phillips highlights the short par-four twelfth hole as a prime example of the strategic architecture and thoughtful risk-reward decisions that will define the course. The short par-four provides multiple options of approach. The conservative play to the right of the fairway will leave much of the putting surface obscured by a dune short-right of the green.
The stretch from holes twelve to fourteen – par fours of 340 and 500 yards followed by 160-yard par three (Images: Kyle Phillips Golf Course Design)
Pandion has appointed Bob Wren as Director of Agronomy. Wren was previously superintendent at Old Collier and will oversee the course’s grow-in.
Once Glase Golf has finished construction work, Phillips and his shaping team will complete final refinements to the layout. Pandion Club is aiming to have 280 members and planning to open in 2027.