The North Palm Beach Country Club Turned 100. Here's Where the Next Round of Money Is Going

The centennial fireworks over the North Palm Beach Country Club golf course ended last May. The club's next plans are already set, and they follow one pattern. The money lined up for the club's second century goes to the places that get used hardest. That means a practice green that has run out of room, the smallest green on the course, a seven-year-old splash pad, and tennis courts that saw thousands more visits this year than last.

The Village Council adopted the FY2026-27 budget at its September 24 meeting, and the new fiscal year began October 1. The Country Club items in the capital plan read like a list of what wears out first.

The capital list follows the wear

At an August 25, 2026 budget workshop, Village Manager Chuck Huff walked Council through the Country Club projects planned for fiscal years 2027 and 2028. The three largest items match problems club staff had already described at a March advisory board meeting:

The golf plans first came up in March, when head golf professional Allan Bowman told the Country Club Advisory Board that the putting green was overused with only six flags and needed to grow in FY2027 to keep up with play. He called the 11th green the smallest on the course, with too few pin locations. An architect had already been consulted, and sod was already reserved.

The September 24 Council agenda included a $125,100.32 contract with NMP Golf Construction Corporation for work on the practice putting green and the 11th hole. Minutes from that meeting had not been posted when this was written, so the contract's approval is not yet on the public record.

Why the golf work had to be booked early

Reserving sod sounds like a small detail. In 2026 it was not. In March, Bowman reported that every major turf farm in South Florida had sold out for 2026, and most were about 85% sold out for 2027, because so many courses in the region are being renovated. North Palm Beach got a limited supply. That meant laying two truckloads of sod during peak season, not waiting for a quieter time of year.

The 11th and 12th holes had already changed shape for other reasons. After an arborist's evaluation, the club removed an oak whose roots and growth kept damaging the back of the 12th green and the 11th hole area. The plan is to plant two new oaks farther west, away from play. Golfers who play that stretch regularly will notice the difference before any construction begins.

Staff are also studying a 6-foot collar around each green to keep lateral grass from creeping in. They estimate it could add six to seven years of green health before a major rebuild is needed. As of March it was still at the costing and feasibility stage. With sod this hard to find, spending a little to delay a full rebuild has an obvious appeal.

The pool showed how many people use it

The best evidence for funding the pool came from the Village itself. Huff told Council on September 10 that just under 1,000 residents used the Country Club pool in August, the month it was advertised as free for residents. Council then discussed making both July and August free next year. That discussion is not yet a decision.

The pool repairs have been building for a while. In March, aquatics contractor Alf Aguirre told the advisory board that chemicals were corroding the splash pad's ground sprayers. Fixing them means cutting into the deck to replace whole fixtures. The splash pad surface, about seven years old, also needs replacing. On the main pool, the coping tiles are cracking, and early inspection pointed to possible cracking in the pool wall. Staff planned to get bids for reconstruction. The splash pad stayed open while repairs were planned. The $290,000 in the capital plan covers this work.

The September 24 agenda also included a two-year agreement with NPB Aquatic Group, Inc. to run the pool for $56,620 per year. As with the golf contract, the outcome will be in the minutes once they are posted.

Tennis is growing faster than its courts

The largest item on the list is also the least settled, and tennis demand is the reason for it. In March, Tennis Center Manager Donna Tollefsen reported 19,050 participations so far that season, compared with 16,864 at the same point the year before. The club had 306 tennis members and 85 Junior Academy members. The Palm Beach County Women's Tennis Association league alone had about 130 participants and roughly $140,000 in team fee revenue.

That growth led to the $2,259,000 parking expansion and tennis renovation, scheduled in two phases with $1,509,000 assigned to FY2027. The open question is who pays for it. In March, General Manager Beth Davis presented a recommendation that the club's enterprise fund cover the new tennis courts, about 30% of the cost, and the General Fund cover the remaining 70%. At the August workshop, Huff described the project as funded by the Country Club. Councilmember Searcy said he disagreed with using residents' tax dollars for it. Huff and Deputy Manager Samia Janjua explained that the listed funding source was only a placeholder and would not be approved until the project came back to Council. Janjua said she would label the FY2027 amount "Evaluating Funding Sources."

So the tennis and parking project is in the plan, but it has neither a final funding decision nor approval to start construction. It has to come back before Council first.

Junior tennis kept going regardless. The 2026-27 Junior Tennis Academy runs Monday and Wednesday sessions that began August 17. The junior membership year runs October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027. Future Stars, for ages 5 to 9, meets from 4 to 5 p.m., and the season will include Junior Grand Prix and parent-child tournaments, with details still to come.

The master plan is where residents get a say

Each project above is being decided on its own. The longer-term plan for the whole property is just getting started. Davis is working with Dr. Kim Delaney of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council on a master plan scope of work. It goes first to the Country Club Advisory Board and then to Council. Huff estimated the whole process, including public input meetings with residents, at about eight months.

The advisory board's September 14 agenda included a master planning presentation by Dr. Delaney, along with golf, tennis, pool, and food and beverage reports. Minutes from that meeting are not posted yet. Upcoming dates:

• November 9, 2026: next Country Club Advisory Board meeting
• Minutes from September 14 and September 24: will show whether the golf and pool contracts were approved and what the master plan presentation covered
• Resident input meetings: part of the roughly eight-month master plan process, dates not yet announced

The centennial showed what the club already offers. WPTV's preview listed the April 30 to May 3 lineup: the unveiling of the Bear's Lair, a five-hole charity skins game with Michelle McGann, Allan Bowman, Craig Lindsey, and Chris Dachisen, $2.50 green fees as a nod to 1926, a tennis glow party, the Beach Buoys Band, fireworks over the course, and a residents-only kids fishing derby on holes 16, 17, and 18. The master plan will decide what the club looks like the next time it holds a celebration like that.

On the calendar at The Clubhouse this fall

The planning will continue at Council Chambers through the winter. In the meantime, The Clubhouse has its regular fall schedule:

1. October 14, National Dessert Day: half off dessert with the purchase of an adult entrée.
2. October 21, Community Mixer, 5 to 7 p.m.: a house beverage, themed buffet, raffle, and live music. The location rotates around the property.
3. October 29, Halloween Pumpkin Decorating, 4:30 to 6 p.m.: on the Garden Patio, $5 per pumpkin, with live music and drink specials.
4. November 26, Thanksgiving buffet: reservations from noon to 6 p.m., listed at $75 per person and $25 for children under 10. Confirm details with The Clubhouse before booking, since the event page was first posted last year.

Sunday brunch runs every week from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Two Village events fall on the same weeks: Boo Village at the Community Center on October 17 from 5 to 8 p.m., and the Tree Lighting Ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park on December 2.

For more on the area around the club, see our North Palm Beach neighborhood guide.

If you own a home near the course and want a clear record of its condition before the club's next round of projects begins, Holland Group can document it and coordinate the right specialists through our vetted vendor network. Book a Call to start that file.