Grey Oaks Said Yes to GO Beyond. What's Coming to the Estuary, the Spa and the Pool Deck

The Estuary is the youngest of Grey Oaks' three courses. Bob Cupp designed it in 2002. That came almost a decade after Lloyd Clifton laid out Pine in 1993 and three years after Clifton's firm opened Palm in 1999, according to Golf Course Architecture. Pine got its full renovation in 2023. Now the Estuary side of the club is next, with more change planned than anywhere else on the property.

Members have approved GO Beyond, a $63 million capital plan running from 2027 through 2032. Club + Resort Business reported the vote on November 5. Read project by project, the plan puts its visible money in two places. One is the Estuary course and clubhouse. The other is the parts of the club used every day of the year: the pub, the patio, the spa, the pool deck, the courts and the playground. Golf is one piece of it. Everyday club life is most of the rest.

A bigger plan than the last one

For scale, compare it with the club's last round of spending. In 2017, Club + Resort Business described a $30 million capital program that had been under way since 2015. It covered renovations to Pine and Palm, the Estuary Clubhouse and other amenities, and its second phase produced the 30,000-square-foot Wellness Center, which opened on February 23 of that year. GO Beyond is more than twice that figure, set out over six years in one coordinated plan.

The club says the plan came out of five years of member surveys, focus groups and ongoing feedback, and that it builds on the earlier GO Forward 2026 initiative. General Manager Don Emery explained the thinking to Club + Resort Business:

"Successful private clubs must continually evaluate how their members' needs are evolving and make strategic investments that anticipate those changes."

Board Chair Mary Perry told the same outlet that members' support "reflects a commitment to preserving the club's legacy while ensuring it continues to offer one of Naples' most distinctive private club experiences for generations to come." Gulfshore Business reported the same $63 million figure and 2027 to 2032 phasing.

The Estuary side gets the most attention

The Estuary is the only course named in the plan. It gets a renovation aimed at playability and the overall golf experience. Its clubhouse gets what Business Observer called a major renovation, with a redesigned entryway, more flexible dining spaces and a new year-round pub serving lunch and dinner.

The pub matters most to members who spend summers in Naples. A pub that serves lunch and dinner all year is built for August as much as February. It makes the Estuary Clubhouse a place to eat on an ordinary weekday, before or after a round.

The East Clubhouse gets something smaller that members will notice in high season. Business Observer reports a new patio behind the building to add seating and event space and allow more à la carte dining in the busier months. Between them, the two clubhouse projects cover both ends of the calendar. The patio adds capacity for the crowded months, and the Estuary pub keeps a dining room open through the quiet ones.

What the Pine renovation shows about course work here

GO Beyond is phased across six years, and the club says the phasing is meant to spread out the cost and keep disruption to members low. The club's last course renovation is the closest guide to what that looks like. It ran in stages over several years:

1. 2019: Grey Oaks reviewed architects and chose Andrew Green for Pine.
2. 2022: Green-designed improvements to the short-game area were finished first.
3. February 2023: Construction on Pine started, with completion expected in July.
4. August to November 2023: The new turf grew in before the course reopened.
5. Late November 2023: Pine reopened with strategic bunker placement, larger greens and new green surrounds.

From the first shovel to reopening, Pine took about nine months, with the grow-in finishing in November. From the architect review to reopening, it took four years.

The Estuary has been reworked before. Golf Course Architecture notes that Tim Liddy later redesigned both Palm and the Estuary after the original layouts. GO Beyond will be the course's next round of changes.

The wellness center turns toward recovery

The wellness center shows the same everyday focus. Business Observer reports that the 30,000-square-foot wellness center will be expanded, with the spa and longevity area growing to about 9,500 square feet. Business Observer lists what the larger space will include:

• Sauna and steam rooms
• A cold plunge
• More massage rooms
• Room for expanded physical therapy services

Physical therapy has a longer history at Grey Oaks than the building itself. The club's partnership with NCH for physical therapy began in 2012, five years before the Wellness Center opened. When it opened in 2017, the center had an 11,000-square-foot gym floor, studios, a spa, a relaxation suite and a wellness café. The new plan puts its wellness money into recovery: heat, cold, massage and therapy.

Pool, courts and the playground

The rest of the recreation work is the kind members use without booking a tee time. Business Observer reports a larger pool deck with more seating and cabanas, upgrades to the racquet areas and improvements to the children's amenities. Club + Resort Business describes the children's work as the playground facilities.

Some of the spending won't be visible to members at all. The plan also funds grounds maintenance facilities, employee housing and operational infrastructure, which the club describes as necessary to deliver a good experience for both members and staff. That part of the plan never shows up in a rendering, but members feel it in course conditions and service.

This season, before the work begins

GO Beyond starts in 2027, so the club will look the same this winter as it did last winter. The Estuary plays as it does now, the East Clubhouse has its current seating, and the wellness center keeps its present layout. The renderings released with the announcement show the redesigned Estuary Clubhouse entry and the new patio behind the East Clubhouse. They are the clearest picture so far of how the club's two dining hubs will change over the next six years.

At The Norgart Team, we follow GO Beyond from the inside of the neighborhood, from the Estuary Clubhouse to the pool deck. If you want to talk about how the club's next six years fit your own plans at Grey Oaks, become a VIP and request private access. We're always glad to talk it through.