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MYAKKA CITY, Fla. - Just like his playing career, Nick Price's architecture career is probably a bit underappreciated.
Price has designed courses around the world, including Spain, Mexico, Africa and a handful around the United States. His best work has come in Florida, where McArthur Golf Club (a collaboration with Tom Fazio stands out, even among a crowded private club scene in Hobe Sound and Jupiter where many Tour pros live, play and practice.
Competing in an era of unique personalities - while Trevino, Nicklaus, Norman and Faldo dominated the headlines - Price just went about his business winning. The three-time major champion won 18 total times on the PGA Tour and spent 43 weeks as the top-ranked player in the world.
Price added to his legacy with the Dec. 10 grand opening of Soleta Golf Club near the sprawling Lakewood Ranch community and Sarasota, Fla. The 7,400-yard course came together in just 11 months.
Price and his team of shapers moved more than one million cubic tons of earth to transform a flat pasture into a dynamic playing experience where bright-white native sand frames every hole and affects virtually every shot.
"It was the sand that I really liked," Price said about the site in a one-on-one interview with GolfPass. "We have a lot of sand, and that's what we tried to use to enhance the views here. We have a nice mix. It's not overpowered by too much sand, too much grass or too much water. It's just a nice balance."
Price said he visited Soleta at least 25 times to get everything right. He used free-flowing tees, at least one stretches to 125 yards, to add considerable day-to-day setup flexibility to the course. Members and course staff can set the routing up as long or as short as needed for pace of play and to be as fun or as challenging as required.
"It gives us such a variety, not only for the good players, but the ladies and the mid-handicapper. We have the ability to move the tees 40 yards (total including) 20 yards either way," Price noted. "The hole you played the day before is not necessarily the hole you are going to play tomorrow or today."
Soleta has already attracted 170 members with nearly a dozen lots already sold. The community will be compact with only 93 homes costing $3 million and up. Most of that development will be off the golf course, ensuring its natural appeal. A David Leadbetter golf academy and Toptracer range are a part of its impressive 30-acre practice facilities. A walking-only, nine-hole short course called The Colt, a large clubhouse with family-friendly facilities (pickleball and tennis courts, pool, etc.) and 14 cottages for out-of-town members and their guests are part of the club's long-range plans.
More golf course news and notes
NEW PUBLIC FLORIDA OPENING - Webbs Reserve, a Nicklaus Design effort in Florida's Babcock Ranch community, opened to the public in mid-November. Early reviews are positive. [LINK: The Golf Wire]
AUGUSTA MUNI RENOVATION - The much-anticipated revitalization of "The Patch," the city course of Augusta, Ga., is about to get underway. [LINK: WRDW]
OAKMOORE NO MORE? - In order to provide safe camping space for its unhoused people, a California County has purchased a 9-hole golf course for more than $9 million. [LINK: KCRA Sacramento]
WESTPORT MOVES FORWARD - A potential brand-new oceanside municipal golf project is primed to take another step forward. [LINK: The Daily World]
GOLF-ADJACENT - Pinehurst Resort just debuted a new type of accommodations: upscale four-bedroom cottages that overlook the Tom Fazio-designed No. 8 course. Bookings for the first five of these cottages are now available for stays beginning May 1, 2025. [LINK: Pinehurst Resort]
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