LATEST NEWS

Lennar proceeds with second course at Lakewood National

  • Lovely Golf Course

    The new course is expected to open in Winter 2019

  • Lovely Golf Course

    Johnson is aiming to create a different, but complementary experience

Elizabeth Robinson
By Elizabeth Robinson

Homebuilder Lennar is proceeding with a second 18-hole course at its Lakewood National development near Sarasota, Florida.

Vice president and senior golf course architect Brandon A. Johnson of Arnold Palmer Design Company will oversee the project, having also designed the first course, which opened in January 2017.

“Full tee sheets since opening day and a surging housing market have bolstered the need to move forward with the second course,” said Johnson.

Johnson is aiming to create a different, but complementary, experience. “While the first course is very playable with tremendous, meaningful width and strategic options, bold contours create the challenge,” he said. “The request from our client on the second course is to contrast that boldness with subtlety. While the second course will stretch beyond 7,000 yards our aim will be creating a fun, playable, beautiful golf course with strategic interest in contrasting ways to the first course.”

In addition to the more understated use of contour as a hazard, another key visual and aesthetic contrast will be a completely different, but native, landscape palette.

Johnson said that five strong finishing holes, in a beautiful natural setting alongside the Braden River, will be a highlight of the new layout. “The short drop shot par three fourteenth with the nature preserve as a backdrop will require sound judgment and control of the short irons,” he explained. “The mid-length par five seventeenth should provide risk/reward options and the short, at times reachable, par four eighteenth will be a fun hole to build and ultimately play, providing one last chance for heroics.”

The new course, the first hole of which was built during the construction phase of the first course, is expected to open in Winter 2019.

The July 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Thu 10 Jul, 2025

The July 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

We visit Trump Aberdeen, Comporta and Baltusrol, speak with Rees Jones, and ask if anyone likes a long par three

Summer 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Mon 09 Jun, 2025

Summer 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

New release asks: ‘what inspired you to become a golf course architect?’

FEATURE ARTICLES

Camiral: Designed for the Ryder Cup
Steve Carr
Opinion | David Williams

Camiral: Designed for the Ryder Cup

Golf course architect David Williams talks about the Spanish resort’s origins and how the Stadium course was created to host golf’s biggest event

From golf hole to helipad: a dual-use design for a private client
Legacy Golf Architecture
Report | Laura Hyde

From golf hole to helipad: a dual-use design for a private client

George Philpott has designed a par-three hole for a vacation property in Costa Rica

Baltusrol Golf Club: Upper class
Evan Schiller
On site | Toby Ingleton

Baltusrol Golf Club: Upper class

Gil Hanse has completed the restoration of AW Tillinghast’s groundbreaking dual courses, as Toby Ingleton reports

New course at Trump International Golf Links: Prepare to be dazzled
Jacob Sjöman
On site | Toby Ingleton

New course at Trump International Golf Links: Prepare to be dazzled

The construction of the second golf course at the Trump club in Aberdeen may have attracted far less attention than the first, but the final result is just as dramatic. Toby Ingleton reports

Royal Portrush: An interview with Martin Ebert
Mackenzie & Ebert
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Royal Portrush: An interview with Martin Ebert

The club’s consulting architect spoke with Richard Humphreys about changes to the Dunluce course since its return to the Open rota

Good Read: Great Golf Courses of the World
Gary Lisbon
Good Read | Gary Lisbon

Good Read: Great Golf Courses of the World

Gary Lisbon tells us about his new book, featuring over 100 courses he has photographed during his travels

Destination design
RTJ II
Opinion | Mike Gorman and Trent Jones

Destination design

Mike Gorman and Trent Jones explain how the Robert Trent Jones II approach to resort golf has evolved, driven by a resurgence in remote golf development

Dave Axland: From the ground up
WAC Golf
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Dave Axland: From the ground up

The shaper-turned-architect has worked alongside some of the most talented designers in the business, but what is his story? Richard Humphreys finds out

Golf de Cannes Mougins: Playing firm and fast in France
Tahoma 31
Report | Stacie Zinn Roberts

Golf de Cannes Mougins: Playing firm and fast in France

French club has regrassed its fairways with Tahoma 31 bermuda. Stacie Zinn Roberts spoke with agronomist Alejandro Reyes and superintendent Thibaut Perez about its performance

Waldorf Astoria: You shall go to the ball
Russell Kirk
Report | Toby Ingleton

Waldorf Astoria: You shall go to the ball

A Cinderella story has unfolded at a golf club within Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Toby Ingleton reports

Oakmont: An interview with Gil Hanse
USGA/Fred Vuich
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Oakmont: An interview with Gil Hanse

With the 2025 US Open arriving at Oakmont, Richard Humphreys spoke with the architect, who renovated the course in 2023, about what to expect

Gopher Watch Competition – July 2025
Gopher Watch, News | Thu 10 Jul, 2025

Gopher Watch Competition – July 2025

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST POPULAR

FEATURED BUSINESSES