Grey Oaks Country Club members have approved GO Beyond, a $63 million capital improvement plan that the club will carry out in phases from 2027 through 2032. Business Observer reported the approval on November 6. Its list of work runs from the golf course to the dining rooms.
The last round of work rebuilt the Pine Course and the racquets center. This round moves to the Estuary, the youngest of the three courses, and its clubhouse, and puts the most square footage into wellness. The club is reinvesting one part of campus at a time, and the Estuary side is next.
The Order Grey Oaks Has Been Working In
The club's three courses date from 1993 to 2002, and each has been reworked on its own schedule. The record so far:
- 1993. Lloyd Clifton designs the Pine Course. It is the longest of the three and has a reputation for difficulty.
- 1999. The Palm Course opens, also designed by Clifton's firm.
- January 2002. Bob Cupp's Estuary Course opens. Tim Liddy later redesigned both the Palm and the Estuary.
- 2019. A full review of the Pine leads the club to hire architect Andrew Green.
- 2021. General Manager Don Emery joins and introduces GO FORWARD 2026, the club's strategic financial and capital plan.
- 2022. Green's redesign of the short-game area is completed, and the expanded racquets center opens in December.
- November 2023. The Pine reopens after Green's renovation, which began in February 2023 and added wider fairways, larger greens, new tees and rebuilt bunkering.
- November 2026. Members approve GO Beyond, which Club + Resort Business describes as building on GO FORWARD 2026.
The Pine was the oldest course and the first to get a full modern renovation. The Estuary is now the course named for renovation in the next plan. The Estuary Clubhouse gets the biggest dining change on the list.
The Estuary Course, Twenty-Odd Years In
The club's own golf page describes the Estuary as routed among original stands of tall pine, cypress and oak, with natural preserves, water features and wide views. It was the last of the three courses to open. In 2005, Golf Course Industry reported on the course's standing among Florida courses within a few years of its January 2002 opening.
Business Observer says the goal of GO Beyond's Estuary work is to "improve playability and the overall golf experience." The Pine renovation shows what the club has asked for before. Green's brief there was to improve play, make maintenance easier and improve the look of the course, and the Pine came back with what the club called a new strategy and character. That project took about nine months, from the start of construction in February 2023 to reopening in November, including a four-month grow-in.
Two Clubhouses, Two Different Jobs
The clearest sign of the plan's priorities is how it handles dining. Both clubhouses get work, and each is being built for a different part of the year.
| Clubhouse | What GO Beyond adds | Stated purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Estuary Clubhouse | Major renovation, a year-round pub serving lunch and dinner, a redesigned entryway, more flexible dining spaces | A dining room open in every season |
| East Clubhouse | A new patio at the back of the building | More seating and event capacity, and more à la carte dining in the busier seasonal months |
The words "year-round" belong to the Estuary pub. The East Clubhouse patio is described in terms of peak months. Gulfshore Business, which gives the club's address as 2400 Grey Oaks Drive N., describes the patio rendering as adding dining and event space.
Put together, the Estuary side gets a renovated course and the club's year-round casual dining room. The East Clubhouse gets more room for the busier seasonal months.
Wellness Gets the Most Space
The most detailed building project in the club's statement is not on a course. Grey Oaks' 30,000-square-foot wellness center will grow, with the spa and longevity area expanding to about 9,500 square feet. According to the club's statement, the new space includes sauna and steam rooms, a cold plunge, more massage rooms and room for expanded physical therapy.
The last time Grey Oaks expanded a non-golf amenity, members used it much more. After the expanded racquets center opened in December 2022, the club reported that visits rose by more than 150% for pickleball and 35% for tennis. That increase came under GO FORWARD 2026. GO Beyond goes back to the racquets areas again, along with a larger pool deck with more seating and cabanas and improvements to the children's amenities.
Club + Resort Business places the plan within the private club industry's growing focus on overall lifestyle amenities. At Grey Oaks, the wellness, pool, racquets and children's items together outnumber the golf items on the project list.
The Work Members Won't See
Part of the $63 million goes to areas members rarely visit. Club + Resort Business reports that the plan also pays for grounds maintenance facilities, employee housing and operational infrastructure. These line items support the rest of the plan. A renovated Estuary needs a maintenance operation to match, and a year-round pub needs staff in July as well as February.
The club describes GO Beyond as one coordinated plan so that financing and construction are more predictable and the spending is spread over several years. The phasing is meant to keep disruption to members low. The plan came out of five years of member surveys, focus groups and feedback.
What the Club's Leadership Said
"Our membership has demonstrated tremendous confidence in the club's strategy, its leadership and our shared vision for the future."
Mary Perry, chair of the Grey Oaks Country Club Board of Directors, gave that statement to Club + Resort Business. She added that the members' support reflects a commitment to keeping one of Naples' most distinctive private club experiences going for generations. In the same report, Emery said that "successful private clubs must continually evaluate how their members' needs are evolving and make strategic investments that anticipate those changes."
This Season, Before the First Phase
GO Beyond's phases begin in 2027, so the 2026/2027 season plays out before any of its work starts, on the Pine, Palm and Estuary courses. The club has published a Fall & Winter 2026/2027 Connections guide on its official Issuu page, which covers the season ahead.
If you would like to talk through how GO Beyond fits into a purchase or sale in Grey Oaks, the team at Earls & Lappin follows the club's plans closely and is glad to help.