The Nicklaus family is lining up a luxury overhaul of the Lake Worth Golf Club site that would turn the shuttered municipal track into a private, members-only playground built around golf, wellness and high-end hospitality. Swapping a public course for an exclusive retreat could reshape who gets waterfront access and kick off a local fight over what happens to public land and public money. Lake Worth residents and officials are already zeroing in on how permits, timelines and compensation for the city will play out.
As reported by the South Florida Business Journal, the family behind Jack Nicklaus wants to reposition the former club as a private golf and hospitality venue. According to the Business Journal, the concept leans on membership, wellness amenities and upscale lodging, although a full master plan and construction schedule have not been publicly released.
City meeting materials and a stormwater application from the City of Lake Worth show the course has struggled with chronic drainage and erosion issues along the Intracoastal, problems the city has been tackling with targeted repairs. Those stormwater filings lay out plans to install outfall check valves, reline existing pipes and reinforce the living shoreline that runs beside the course…