Naples has long been dubbed the “Golf Capital of the World.”
There’s good reason: The Naples-Marco Island metro — representing all of Collier County — has long sat at — or near — the top of the leaderboard for the most golf holes and golf courses per person in the United States.
Meanwhile, Lee County, including Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita and Estero, has consistently scored in the Top 10.
Those rankings are based on data crunched by the National Golf Foundation.
Currently, Naples sits at third nationally in population per 18 holes — at 4,113, said Erik Matuszewski, the foundation’s editorial director.
“The only two ahead are similarly golf-rich destination locations with a significant number of part-time/seasonal residents: Pinehurst, North Carolina and Hilton Head, South Carolina,” he said.
Views of The Gate Golf Club as it evolves
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Construction is well underway on The Gate Golf Club in Golden Gate. It will be a new public golf and entertainment venue in Collier County. (Provided by Collier County)
Combined, Lee and Collier counties are home to more than 180 golf courses. Most of those golf courses are private or semi-private, or resident-only (with membership tied to homeownership).
Collier County skews heavily private, with 84% of its traditional golf facilities linked to private clubs or communities, Matuszewski said.
In Lee County, it’s less so at 56% private, but still well above the 28% national average, he said.
Doing the math, he estimated that roughly three-quarters of the golf facilities in the two counties are tied in with residential or resort developments.
In Southwest Florida, the boom in the development of gated, master-planned golf communities has been widely attributed to the creation of The Forest Country Club in Fort Myers in the late 1970s.
The National Golf Foundation reports that the broader U.S. golf course-building boom driven by real estate lasted from roughly 1986 to 2005.
Despite the surge in private golf clubs locally, research shows there’s a strong demand for more, with long waitlists. Developers and investors have taken note and are pouring money into them, including by converting public and semi-private courses into fully private, member-only ones.
A recent report by RVI Planning + Landscape Architecture in Bonita Springs sheds light on the unmet need, with a focus on Collier County — where a developer has proposed converting a troubled citrus grove into a top-tier private golf club.
A wood stork inspects a golf ball at Hibiscus Golf Club in Naples on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. The bird bird moved on after a brief inspection.
According to the report, these nine clubs are in high demand, with waitlists of anywhere from a year to more than 10 years:
Hideout Golf Club: 1-year wait, with a $250,000 initiation fee
Naples National Golf Club: 10- to 15-year wait, with a $400,000 initiation fee
Island Country Club: 5- to 7-year wait, with a $250,000 initiation fee
Hole in the Wall Golf Club: 3-year wait, with a $170,000 initiation fee
Grey Oaks Country Club: 2- to 4-year wait, with a $300,000 initiation fee
Kinsale Golf Club: 3- to 7-year wait, with a $500,000 initiation fee
Club Pelican Bay: 8- to 10-year wait, with a $250,000 initiation fee
Royal Poinciana Golf Club: 5- to 7-year wait, with a $300,000 initiation fee
Old Collier Golf Club: 1- to 2-year wait, with a $1 million initiation fee
The Old Collier Golf Club is one of a few by-invitation-only golf clubs in Collier County. With a golf-first philosophy, the club’s membership is capped at 240 to ensure an unhurried experience, with tee times completely unnecessary.
After Naples resident and serial entrepreneur David Hoffmann joined Old Collier, he loved it so much that he eventually decided to buy it.
Geoff and David Hoffmann pose at the Old Collier Golf Club in Naples. The family plans to redevelop their other golf property in Southwest Florida, located in Estero.
In 2021, Hoffmann purchased the club and all of its real estate through the Hoffmann Family of Cos., which has snatched up myriad local enterprises in recent years, including the Hertz Arena, the Florida Everblades hockey team, Naples Princess Cruises and Naples Transportation & Tours.
While RVI reports that Old Collier has a waitlist, Hoffmann said there isn’t really a formal one. It’s more of a list of people interested in joining the club, as there is a rigorous vetting process for new members, which involves a “two-way street,” he said.
“Somebody either has to move away, which doesn’t happen very often, or pass away — or have a back injured,” Hoffmann said of the rare opportunity to join. “We are full.”
He’s been a member of the club for 12 years.
The club and its golf course sit on 400 acres along the Cocohatchee River, west of U.S. 41 in North Naples. The Hoffmanns paid $45.3 million for it.
“We’ve owned the Old Collier Club for six years, and it’s gone very well,” Hoffmann said.
In fact, the family continues to invest in the club, with the course currently under renovation.
“We’re putting in all new greens,” Hoffmann said.
In April 2022, the Hoffmanns purchased the Old Corkscrew Golf Club, a public course near Estero, and its golf cottages for a combined $19 million. The club is now being converted to a private one, known as Pandion.
Nearly 60 of 280 memberships have already sold, with the initiation fee rising, as construction is well underway, Hoffmann said.
“It’s quite exciting. Estero is really nice. I mean, really nice.”
Laura Layden is a business and government reporter. Reach her by email at laura.layden@naplesnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SW Florida ‘Golf capital’ sees massive waitlists and fees