Olde Florida Golf Club is a private, equity, golf-only club at 9393 Vanderbilt Beach Road Ext. in Naples, Florida, with one 18-hole course designed by Rees Jones with Greg Muirhead that opened in 1993. You do not have to live there to join, and there are no homes at the club. Initiation is $220,000 and annual dues are $16,500 as of August 2026, and in a March 2026 job posting the club described itself as invitation-only with a multi-year waiting list. Joe Belz + Apex Team help buyers work out which club fits and then where to live.
Olde Florida Golf Club at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | 9393 Vanderbilt Beach Road Ext., Naples, FL 34120, east of I-75 and Collier Boulevard |
| Club type | Private, individual-membership, golf-only |
| Ownership | Equity (August 2026). The Florida Green listed the members as owners in 1999 |
| Courses and holes | 1 course, 18 holes |
| Par and length | 7,055 yards at its longest (Golf Digest, October 2026). Par 72 in The Florida Green’s 1999 profile |
| Architect and year | Rees Jones with Greg Muirhead, opened 1993 |
| Most recent renovation | 2021: $4.5 million, April through September, reopened November 1 |
| Must you live there | No |
| Initiation | $220,000 (August 2026) |
| Annual dues | $16,500 (August 2026) |
| Membership cap | 275 (August 2026) |
| Waitlist | Yes. The club described a multi-year waiting list in a March 2026 job posting and does not publish its length |
| Practice facilities | Driving range, updated in 2021, and a practice green |
| Caddies | Available (August 2026) |
| Summer play | Limited. The superintendent’s public newsletter reported five week-long closures in summer 2026, plus every Monday from May through October |
| Homes | None. Olde Florida is a nonresidential golf club |
| Contact | No public website. Mailing address above |
Fees last reviewed August 2026. Clubs change terms, so confirm with the membership office.
The golf at Olde Florida Golf Club
Rees Jones, Inc. lists Olde Florida as a 1993 original design with Greg Muirhead as co-designer, and describes it as “an extremely well-maintained private course routed through a uniquely diverse South Florida landscape.” The club says it sits on 220 acres, and Golf Course Management put the golf course at 112 acres in 2021.
The Florida Green’s fall 1999 profile sets out what the founders wanted: a golf-only club and a course with a more northern look than the typical Naples layout. That meant no limestone rock walls or lake banks, paved cart paths only where absolutely necessary, no flower beds and no non-native landscaping. The same profile credits construction to Wadsworth Golf Construction. It describes holes set in a slash pine forest with cabbage palms and bald cypress, a cracker-style clubhouse with a high-pitched roof and a wraparound porch, and tee markers made from short sections of pine limb, with no color coding.
Darren J. Davis, CGCS, has been superintendent since September 1992 and is the only one the club has had. He served as the 82nd president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) in 2018, and he writes about the course in a public Substack newsletter.
Recognition
- Golf Digest: sixth among Best New Private Courses, 1994.
- Golf Digest Best in State: ranked inside Florida’s top 20 in 1997 and inside the top 30 in 1999 and 2003.
- Audubon International: Certified Cooperative Sanctuary, reported in The Florida Green in 1999 and listed by Rees Jones, Inc.
- GCSAA: National Environmental Steward Award, private course division, presented to Davis in the mid-1990s.
Renovation history
- Summer 2000: the greens changed from TifDwarf to TifEagle bermudagrass, Davis wrote in his newsletter in 2024.
- 2017: Rees Jones, Inc. added several fairway and greenside sand bunkers.
- 2021: a $4.5 million renovation ran from April through September, and the course reopened November 1. Golf Course Management reported it as the club’s most extensive since opening. Davis wrote in October 2026 that all 89 bunkers were rebuilt with the Better Billy Bunker method, with Greg Muirhead working on their shapes and contours. Tees, fairways and roughs were regrassed with TifTuf bermudagrass, and the driving range was updated. The greens were left in place.
- 2026: Davis’s newsletter reports that the crew restored the greenside bunkers to their 2021 dimensions, reset all 89 bunkers to a seven-inch sand depth and installed 1,428 linear feet of shoreline stabilization on holes 10, 14, 16 and 17.
Davis’s newsletter describes TifEagle greens, TifGrand collars and TifTuf on the tees, fairways and roughs.
How membership at Olde Florida Golf Club works
Olde Florida is a private, individual-membership club. In a job posting dated March 2026, the club describes itself as an established, invitation-only club with a multi-year waiting list, and says it exists solely for the enjoyment of its membership.
It is an equity club with a maximum of 275 memberships, as of August 2026. The Florida Green’s 1999 profile listed the members as the owners.
The club has no public website and publishes very little. It does not publish its membership categories, admission steps, sponsorship requirements, refund terms, other charges or the length of its waiting list. Those questions go to the club itself, and membership decisions belong to the club. Joe Belz + Apex Team can go through the published facts and how Olde Florida compares with other clubs, and the comparison of Naples golf clubs sets the numbers side by side.
Is Olde Florida Golf Club the right fit?
| Question | Olde Florida Golf Club |
|---|---|
| Do you prefer to walk or ride? | Golf carts are available. The club does not publish a walking policy, so ask the club. |
| Is a caddie program important to you? | Caddies are available (August 2026). The club does not publish caddie fees or a caddie policy. |
| Do you want to live inside the club community, or just join? | Just join. There are no homes at the club. |
| What’s your budget for initiation/entry? | $220,000 as of August 2026. |
| What annual dues are you comfortable with? | $16,500 a year as of August 2026. |
| How many months a year will you be here? | The superintendent’s newsletter places the start of the busiest golf season around mid-October, and The Florida Green’s 1999 profile gave the primary season as October to April. There is no requirement to live at the club. |
| Do you need a course that stays open in summer? | Not every week. The superintendent’s newsletter reported five week-long closures in summer 2026, plus every Monday from May through October. |
| What’s your handicap, or how challenging do you want the course? | The club calls it a challenging yet enjoyable test of golf. Tees in The Florida Green’s 1999 profile ran from 5,597 to 7,055 yards. No handicap requirement is published. |
| Do you want one course or multiple? | One 18-hole course. |
| How important are practice facilities? | There is a driving range, updated in the 2021 renovation, and a practice green. |
| Does your spouse or partner golf, and do you want a couples or social scene? | The club describes itself as individual-membership and golf-only. No social calendar is published. |
| Do you want amenities beyond golf, like tennis, pickleball, fitness, spa, or a beach club? | No. Olde Florida calls itself a golf-only facility, and the founders’ plan in The Florida Green’s 1999 profile was no swimming pool and no tennis courts. |
| Will kids or grandkids use the club? | The club publishes no family or junior policy, so ask the club about its guest rules. |
| What atmosphere fits you: traditional and formal, or relaxed? | The Florida Green’s 1999 profile described a laid-back style of operation and quoted a Bobby Jones line then printed on the scorecard: “Few written rules are needed amongst a club of ladies and gentlemen.” |
| Where do you want to be: Naples, Bonita/Estero, or Marco, and how far will you drive? | Naples, on Vanderbilt Beach Road east of I-75. The road connections are below. |
See how Olde Florida compares
Answer the 17 questions in the Apex Team Golf Club Quiz.
Take the Golf Club QuizWhere to live if you join Olde Florida Golf Club
There are no homes at Olde Florida, so joining and choosing a house are separate decisions. Most of Joe’s clients are golfers, and the neighborhoods where he has done the most business are not golf communities. Many of his clients live west of US 41 and drive to a private club.
Vanderbilt Beach Road (County Road 862) is the connection. From west to east it meets US 41 (Tamiami Trail), Goodlette-Frank Road, Airport Road, Livingston Road, Logan Boulevard and Collier Boulevard, and the club sits east of I-75 and Collier Boulevard. Collier County opened the Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension on June 12, 2026, which carries the road past the club and about seven miles east of Collier Boulevard to 16th Street NE in Golden Gate Estates.
| Neighborhood | How it connects to the club |
|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Beach | West of US 41, at the western end of Vanderbilt Beach Road. Take the road east. |
| Pelican Bay | West of US 41, just south of Vanderbilt Beach Road. Take US 41 north to Vanderbilt Beach Road, then go east. |
| Pine Ridge | Between US 41 and Goodlette-Frank Road. Take either road north to Vanderbilt Beach Road, then go east. |
| Park Shore, The Moorings and Coquina Sands | West of US 41 in the City of Naples. Take US 41 or Goodlette-Frank Road north to Vanderbilt Beach Road, then go east. |
| Olde Naples | The farthest south of these, in the City of Naples. The route is the same, US 41 or Goodlette-Frank Road north to Vanderbilt Beach Road. |
Closed sales on Joe’s Compass profile as of October 2026 include 46 in Olde Naples, 25 in The Moorings, 18 in Pelican Bay (including Bay Colony), 13 in Coquina Sands, 12 in Park Shore and 8 in Vanderbilt Beach.
What Joe Belz says about Olde Florida Golf Club
“I have been a member at Olde Florida since May of 2021,” Joe says.
On his clients and private clubs, in his words: “We help people navigate which club and then where to live.” And: “Live in the best locations and drive to a private golf club is what they do.”
Frequently asked questions
Initiation at Olde Florida Golf Club is $220,000 and annual dues are $16,500, as of August 2026. Club terms change, so confirm current figures and any other charges with the club.
Yes. In a job posting dated March 2026, Olde Florida Golf Club described itself as an invitation-only club with a multi-year waiting list. The club does not publish the length of the list.
Olde Florida Golf Club described itself in a March 2026 job posting as an invitation-only, individual-membership club. It has no public website and does not publish its admission steps, sponsorship requirements or refund terms, so those questions go to the club itself.
No. Olde Florida Golf Club is a nonresidential golf club, so there are no homes at the club and no requirement to live there.
Yes. Olde Florida Golf Club is an equity club with a maximum of 275 memberships, as of August 2026. The Florida Green’s 1999 profile listed the members as the owners. The club does not publish its equity or refund terms.
No. Olde Florida Golf Club is a private club that says it exists solely for the enjoyment of its membership, and the course is prepared for members and their guests.
Rees Jones designed Olde Florida Golf Club with Greg Muirhead of Rees Jones, Inc., and the course opened in 1993. The firm added several fairway and greenside sand bunkers in 2017, and Muirhead worked with the club on the 2021 bunker renovation.
Golf Digest lists Olde Florida Golf Club at 7,055 yards as of October 2026. The Florida Green’s 1999 profile gave par 72 and tees from 5,597 to 7,055 yards.
Partly. The superintendent’s public newsletter reported in June 2026 that the course at Olde Florida Golf Club has five week-long summer closures and closes each Monday from May through October for maintenance. He places the start of the busiest golf season around mid-October.
Yes, caddies are available at Olde Florida Golf Club, and so are golf carts, as of August 2026. The club does not publish caddie fees or a caddie policy.
Olde Florida Golf Club is at 9393 Vanderbilt Beach Road Ext., Naples, FL 34120, on Vanderbilt Beach Road east of I-75 and Collier Boulevard.
The most recent renovation at Olde Florida Golf Club was in 2021. The $4.5 million project ran from April through September, rebuilt the bunkers, regrassed the tees, fairways and roughs with TifTuf bermudagrass and updated the driving range. The course reopened November 1, 2021.
Talk through clubs and neighborhoods
Tell Joe Belz + Apex Team which clubs you are considering and where you would like to live.
Contact the teamRelated resources
Sources
- Rees Jones, Inc., Olde Florida Golf Club (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Olde Florida Golf Club, Assistant Golf Course Superintendent job posting, March 2026, University of Tennessee copy
- Darren J. Davis, CGCS, public Substack newsletter, Summer Update, June 15, 2025
- Darren J. Davis, CGCS, public Substack newsletter, Summer Work, Winter Results, June 6, 2026
- Darren J. Davis, CGCS, public Substack newsletter, Summer Progress: Strengthening the Golf Course for the Season Ahead, August 5, 2026
- Darren J. Davis, CGCS, public Substack newsletter, 2026 Summer Update: Restoring Our Bunkers, October 17, 2026
- Darren J. Davis, CGCS, public Substack newsletter, From Rainy Season to Dry Season: Managing the Transition, October 29, 2026
- Darren J. Davis, CGCS, public Substack newsletter, Tif3D, September 10, 2024
- Darren J. Davis, CGCS, professional biography (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Lawrence Aylward, Olde is new again: Insights from a renovation, Golf Course Management, December 2021
- Joel Jackson, CGCS, Don’t Worry, Be Happy, The Florida Green, Fall 1999, Michigan State University Turfgrass Information Center archive
- Darren Davis, tree and landscape article, The Florida Green, Winter 1994, Michigan State University Turfgrass Information Center archive
- Golf Digest, Olde Florida Golf Club course page (accessed October 30, 2026) and June 2024 archive capture for Best in State history
- U.S. Postal Service, ZIP Code Lookup (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Collier County, Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension Phase One Project Opening Soon, June 2026
- Collier County, 2024 traffic counts
- Gulfshore Business, Vanderbilt extension expected to open later this summer
- Naples Press, New Vanderbilt Beach Road brings six lanes and bike paths, June 2026
- Joe Belz + Apex Team, published club terms, dated August 2026
- Joe Belz, statements on his membership and clients, September 2026
- Compass, Joe Belz agent profile, closed sales list (accessed October 30, 2026)
This information is general and is not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Club fees, terms and policies change, so confirm them with the club before relying on them.
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