According to a report by Golf.com, the organization is poised to move its national headquarters from West Palm Beach, Fla., where it has been since 1965, to the new Panther Creek development in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas. Two 18-hole semi-public courses and a nine-hole short course are part of the plan.
In a top-secret project nearly five years in the making, the PGA of America is poised to move its national headquarters from West Palm Beach, Fla., where it has been since 1965, to the new Panther Creek development in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas, according to multiple PGA of America officials involved in the project, Golf.com reported.
The move would radically reshape the golf landscape in North Texas and is likely to provide Texas its first major championship in more than 50 years, Golf.com reported.
Two new 18-hole semi-public courses are part of the plan—one designed by Gil Hanse, the other by Beau Welling. PGA officials said Hanse would be responsible for delivering a championship course, slated to open by 2020, with the intent of it playing host to the PGA’s marquee events, including the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup, Golf.com reported.
The project also calls for a nine-hole short course by Welling, plus an extensive PGA Teaching Academy, Golf.com reported.
The PGA Championship’s move to the spring, which begins next year, would enable the PGA to take the PGA Championship to Texas. “One of the reasons we decided to move the PGA Championship to May is to be able have our major at newly built courses or other courses in a new areas,” said PGA of America Chief Operations Officer Darrell Crall. “We are very excited to able to do this.”
Hanse has already contracted to do some renovation work at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and said in an interview that he would be thrilled to be able to work at Panther Creek should the opportunity present itself, Golf.com reported.
“It’s like baseball—you’re only batting .300 on the projects you’re asked about until they work out, but this is very exciting,” he said. “I love working at new places.”
Association officials have spent extensive time touring the Panther Creek development. Last month they met at the current PGA National Headquarters, where they were presented architectural plans for the new headquarters at Panther Creek, Golf.com reported.
A request for proposal the PGA of America distributed last year for a new headquarters building and site attracted more than 100 responses, Crall said. The association eventually gravitated toward Frisco, a booming and upscale suburban community close to DFW airport. Crall has connections with Frisco community from his days there as executive director of the Northern Texas PGA and noted the favorable business climate in the area, Golf.com reported.
Many PGA officials consider the current national headquarters outdated and out of space; the property also sits near a golf course that the PGA of America does not control. Sources said the PGA also felt pressure to act after seeing the enhancements the USGA is making to its New Jersey headquarters, along with the plans the PGA Tour has for a gleaming new space in Ponte Vedra, Fla., Golf.com reported.
Frisco mayor Jeff Cheney said he was prohibited from making any official comments about the project until an official announcement was made, but he did acknowledge he was excited about the potential for golf in Frisco, Golf.com reported.
The schedule for the PGA Championship, which will be the second event on the major calendar after the Masters beginning in 2019, is set through 2024. Crall said the organization could take one of its other marquee events, likely the Senior PGA Championship, to Panther Creek before a PGA lands there, Golf.com reported.
The next opening on the U.S. Ryder Cup hosting schedule is in 2028, Golf.com reported.
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