The Gate Golf Club Brings Rare Public Golf to Naples in December

A new public golf course with no membership requirement, The Gate Golf Club, is set to open in December in Golden Gate, Florida, adding a rare daily-fee option to one of the most private golf markets in the country.

Why does Naples need more public golf?

Collier County, home to Naples, is 84% private clubs or communities, according to National Golf Foundation editorial director Erik Matuszewski, compared with a roughly 61% public, 39% private split across the nation's top 50 golf markets. Naples itself is only about 14% public, which Matuszewski attributed to a very limited public supply driven largely by resort pricing. Neighboring Lee County, home to Fort Myers and Cape Coral, is less skewed at 56% private and offers roughly 45 public-access courses, including three municipal courses.

What will The Gate Golf Club include?

Sitting at the southwest corner of Golden Gate Parkway near Collier Boulevard, the nine-hole, 3,369-yard course was designed by Peter Jacobsen and will be open to all for golf and clubhouse dining. Collier County owns the land, while a nonprofit formed by the Schmieding family, which has ties to medical device maker Arthrex, is developing and will operate the club. The site will also host First Tee - Naples/Collier's youth programs. Rates have not been announced, but organizers plan to discount green fees for county residents by 40% in season and 20% in the offseason.

Naples has more private golf holes per person than any other U.S. metro area, according to the National Golf Foundation.

How did the project come together?

The course sits on part of the former Golden Gate Country Club, a privately owned but publicly accessible course that closed soon after Collier County bought the 167-acre property for $29.1 million in 2019 amid financial uncertainty and the threat of commercial redevelopment. Arthrex proposed an unsolicited redevelopment plan in December 2023, months after another operator's golf entertainment center plan fell through over financing. Construction broke ground in February 2025 and has cost more than $21 million, with the county contributing $6 million and the balance coming from private donations, led by the Schmieding family and Arthrex.

The National Golf Foundation reports more than 140 new golf courses are in planning or under construction nationally, concentrated in Sunbelt states, though most are tied to private communities and resorts. The foundation also says the broader U.S. course market has stabilized at roughly 16,000 courses after nearly two decades of net closures.