April 2026 – High Grove is the latest in the super remote and super exclusive golf clubs that offer a primarily national membership an experience for them and their guests that is inclusive of anything and everything you could possibly want before, during and after your round. It’s in Venus, FL that is not just in the middle of nowhere it is two or three exits southeast of the middle of nowhere. Getting there is definitely not easy – took us almost three hours from TPA though Fort Myers is probably your best bet (1.5 hours).
My buddy Wayne set us up as he joined here as one of the first members. The course opened in the late fall of ’25 so it is brand spanking new. Over the last two years, this has been a pretty consistent theme for me – playing brand spanking new courses. From the Fields Ranch courses, Apogee, Pinehurst #10, and Black Desert Resort, in 2024; GrayBull, and the Cabot Citrus Farms courses in 2025, and Trout and here in 2026, I have played all of the new, new courses that are opening almost daily it seems and shooting up the rankings. Here, Apogee, GrayBull and Trout are all similar in remoteness, blessed with great land and catering to a niche national membership with a hefty initiation fee but cabins and other amenities commensurate with the price tag.
I rank High Grove above all those even compared to those that have their clubhouses complete. Trout may bump up (played it the day after I played here and just two days after their official opening) once the cabins are done and if I get back and can try them.
Anyway, for High Grove the course is that good. The cabins are that good. And the showers!!! High Grove has the big pie plate shower heads with mega water pressure that was almost worth skipping my second round for. The other neat thing with High Grove, is the fee is all inclusive. You pay one lump sum (mind you a pretty pricey one) and everything is included including gratuities. Even for members, there are no monthly or annual dues. It’s pay as you go. So trying to best amortize my investment, we hit it hard on our overnight and my second round was appropriately horrible but I suck so much lately I could barely notice the difference.
High Grove is indeed inside my top 100. Generally I love the history around a golf course. Some of my favorites include St. Andrews, Pebble, Oakmont, National Golf Links, and Pine Valley, among many more. These all have history – some with tournament history others just with design history. So for a course like High Grove (offering as much history as a fruit fly) to rank so high for me, the course and experience must be awesome. And it is here. On an access to booze scale, yup they got that. You get a halfway hut serving drink and appie specials along with the usual fare on the sixth and ninth holes. They’ll send out drinks when you’re not near that. All rooms are fully stocked and there’s no million dollar upcharge for a room beer, wine or water.
Service is first class and the caddies were great (our guys AJ and Brendan were awesome and caddie at the Creek in NY in the off season here). The course is a Gil Hanse design and the holes were varied and the elevation changed pretty nicely for central Florida with sandy fast and firm conditions. If you’ve played and like Streamsong, this is better times ten. I will attempt to do a hole-by-hole description because there is not a lot out there on High Grove if you’re prepping for a round but I may have missed a few holes and have no idea how to connect my photos to the holes as this is too new to be on my Apple map. Also, be careful driving in because Waze doesn’t recognize it and will send you up a driveway into the neighboring orange orchards and you will be cutting across dirt roads to get back on track.
Before I get into the holes, here are some amenity photos. First the temporary clubhouse/proshop.
And the cabins.
Now to the course.
Hole 1 (422 yards/par four/#7 handicap): I was tee shamed into playing the Navy tees that measure 6,500 yards but only slope to a 129. The course is pretty wide open with no water hazards so you will be able to locate your golf balls even if you spray them pretty badly. In fact, I played the same ball both rounds. For one, if you don’t crest the hill with your drive, the approach will be blind. Be aware there is a bunker on the left that goes across the front of the green. You can’t run a ball up to the green because if you stay right of the bunker you will miss the green to the right and possibly end up in the right bunker.
The bunker on one of whence I spoke.
Hole 2 (476 yards/par four/#3 handicap): Yeah a 476-yard par four for your second hole of the round. Just keep it straight as there are no traps – sand on both sides of the fairway mind you but not officially traps. I was thrilled with a double here.
The approach on two. I’ll be doing a lot of guessing as these aren’t mapped on my phone and estimating based on time but almost certainly two. You see the front is pretty open but they’ve planted some orange trees as you see on the left. When they mature, the front will be more similar to the back although I heard when they harvest all of the oranges they will replant new trees on the back. The oranges are only for juicing if you’re wondering.
Hole 3 (486 yards/par five/#15 handicap): Pretty much the same length as two but a par five. Comes back in almost the opposite direction as two. The big hitters can definitely get on in two as our guys were pretty close.
Hole 4 (310 yards/par four/#13 handicap): A short par four that if you squint, you can see you’re heading back toward the clubhouse. Forget wind direction except I can say our first day was pretty breezy and not sure if it was prevailing wind direction or not. Sorry if you came here for astute course observation, you’ve come to the wrong place.
Hole 5 (182 yards/par three/#9 handicap): Downhill par three with a troubling bunker up front. I know on our second day I was able to run the ball up along the right-hand side.
Hole 6 (529 yards/par five/#1 handicap): The fairway is pretty narrow here and once out to your drive, you will have a decision to make about hitting it up to the upper fairway which is a tougher shot but easier approach or the lower fairway which will give you a pretty tough shot in. On the day I actually kept score, I took the upper fairway but left my approach short and in the bunker. Don’t do that.
From the upper fairway on six where I hit my second shot to. Most importantly, you see the halfway hut to the right? I was drinking Stateside and lemonades and they have a neat cup that they make your drink then put a beer can-like lid on that you crack open to drink. Never saw it before here but same thing the next day at Trout. Wish I took a picture but added a rendering of what it kind of looked like below (just add the High Grove logo) and if you check out my Trout review, I have the same glass pictured there.
Hole 7 (332 yards/par four/#11 handicap): Another short par four. I would bogey in for the last three holes on the front or the first three holes of our second six-hole match.
Hole 8 (424 yards/par four/#5 handicap): The fairway snakes up to the green. Another long par four.
I am walking down eight fairway and here is a shot to nine’s green.
Hole 9 (114 yards/par three/#17 handicap): Short but dead up-hill par three. Load back up at the shack after the hole.
Hole 10 (377 yards/par four/#4 handicap): You see the back is a little tighter with the orange trees now a factor in wayward balls. This is a dogleg left. I know on the second, terribly hungover day I drilled a drive along the left side of the fairway which beat the trees leaving me a 9-iron in which I should’ve taken an eight as I put it in the trap and couldn’t get out. Alas, I suck.
The approach on ten with two good drives.
Hole 12 (257 yards/par four/#18 handicap): I missed the par three 11th and here is the easiest hole on the course. I would finally par but our opponent Rob eagled so we still lost. Grrr.
Hole 13 (558 yards/par five/#10 handicap): Don’t hate on me if I am mislabeling these.
Hole 14 (411 yards/par four/#2 handicap): From the back tees. Our tees (the navies) were up where the caddies are. Would bogey with a stroke here.
I think from my drive on fourteen. Maybe?
Hole 15 (411 yards/par four/#8 handicap): Yup same exact yardage as 14.
Hole 16 (363 yards/par four/#6 handicap): I’m pretty sure I am getting these labeled correctly. I took quite a few tee and approach photos here at the end and looks like I only missed the one hole.
Approach on 16.
Hole 17 (137 yards/par three/#16 handicap): Would keep the final match alive with a par push.
Hole 18 (502 yards/par five/#14 handicap): A great and straight closer.
The approach on 18 where I would somehow screw it up for a bogey and a match loss. You see the clubhouse in the background and once completed, High Grove will be a really special place (though it is already despite just opening four months before I played it). When you factor in the course elements that I know the golf mag raters look for, I do think you will see High Grove run up the rankings and end up firmly in the top 100 if not higher. It will be curious to see though since there are so many of these types of courses being built. A great experience if you can figure out how to get on.
Golf Scrapbook 