The first members of Mayacoo Lakes Country Club reached their course from State Road 7. Their clubhouse was a trailer. The course they played was one of Jack Nicklaus's earliest designs, drawn with Desmond Muirhead. It opened in 1972 and made Golf Digest's list of the Top 100 Courses in America soon after. The permanent clubhouse came in 1976.
Nearly fifty-four years later, the 2026–27 season opened on November 1 and runs through March 28. In April 2027, renovation of the course and practice facilities is set to begin under architect Kipp Schulties. Schulties is the same architect who rebuilt Mayacoo nearly twenty years ago. That makes this winter the last full season on his first pass at the course, before he comes back for a second.
One architect, two passes, twenty years apart
The club's own history credits Kipp Schulties Golf Design with the 2007 renovation, which reopened that December and won Golf Digest's "Best New Remodel" in 2008. Schulties' firm describes that work as a restoration to the original design. Its portfolio now lists Mayacoo as a redesign in two years, 2007 and 2027.
Laid out as a timeline, the course has been through two phases so far, and a third begins this spring:
| Date | What happened at Mayacoo Lakes |
|---|---|
| 1971 | Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead design the course |
| December 1972 | Course opens and soon makes Golf Digest's Top 100 |
| 1976 | Permanent clubhouse replaces the original trailer |
| December 2007 | Course reopens after the Kipp Schulties restoration |
| 2008 | Golf Digest names it a Best New Remodel |
| October 17–18, 2026 | PBCGA Tour Championship presented by Tiger Woods is played here |
| November 1, 2026 | Official 2026–27 season begins |
| March 28, 2027 | Official season ends |
| April 2027 | Course and practice facility renovation begins |
The course members are playing right now is the 2007 restoration of that 1972 original, and it has been in play for nearly two decades. Every round between now and March 28 is played on that version, with the 2008 award still attached to it.
What 6,906 yards asks of a player this winter
The current layout plays as a par 71 at 6,906 yards. Schulties' firm describes it as set within a forest of slash pines, palms and native South Florida vegetation.
On October 17 and 18, the Palm Beach County Golf Association held its season finale at Mayacoo, the 2026 Tour Championship presented by Tiger Woods. It was an invitation-only, 36-hole stroke play event. The field was the top 36 players from the Open, Senior and Super Senior standings, and it was the last event of the year to award points before the association named its Player of the Year in each division on total points. The PBCGA reported that Jordan Elsen won at even-par 142. Over two rounds on a par 71, even par works out to exactly 142. Against an invited field built from a full season of county standings, the best score of the weekend was par.
That is the course members get for one more winter. The club also has a long record of hosting serious qualifying golf. It has been a regular host of the PGA TOUR Monday Qualifier for the Honda Classic and a host site for USGA Qualifiers and FSGA Championships. The October finale fits a pattern of tournament golf going back decades, and it may be the last notable event played on this version of the course.
How Schulties has run his recent Palm Beach County work
The club's homepage promotes the "Golf course Restoration Project coming in 2027" and links to a project presentation for members. Schulties has finished two other renovations in the county recently. Neither is a blueprint for Mayacoo, but both show how he has handled member play at clubs that stay open during construction.
At Wycliffe Golf and Country Club in Wellington, Schulties finished the East course in 2025, following his West course renovation in 2022. Golf Course Architecture reported that he built the East course masterplan after focus groups with club members. The work was phased. The back nine closed in March 2024, with the aim of reopening it first so members could play a 27-hole crossover with the West course. The front nine followed in April 2024. The East course got new irrigation, turfgrass, drainage systems and a bunker liner. Wycliffe general manager and COO Rob Martin described the club's goal to that publication:
"The goal was to create a true championship-calibre course that would position us well as a golf community of choice in Palm Beach County and South Florida."
The second example moved quickly. Golf Course Industry reported that construction on Hunters Run's East Course began in March 2024. By the article's January 2025 publication, the course was complete and in grow-in, with work covering irrigation, greens, bunkers, tees, turf and drainage.
Both projects started in March or April, the same spring window Mayacoo has set for 2027. Both covered the infrastructure under the grass, not just what golfers see. Mayacoo's own scope is laid out in the members' presentation linked from the club homepage.
A season with a hard edge on the calendar
Most South Florida winters end gradually. Mayacoo's ends on a set date. The season closes March 28, and renovation of the course and practice facilities begins the following month. That leaves the members, more than 325 by the club's count in its job listing, roughly five months on the current course.
The club's about page lists tennis, swimming, the clubhouse and its dining and social spaces, and a calendar of member events, tournaments and mixers. Dated schedules sit in the member event calendar behind the club login. For members planning their winter around the course, a few points shape the next few months:
- The window is November 1 through March 28. Rounds on the 2007 version of the course fall inside it.
- Practice facilities are part of the April 2027 work. The range and practice areas members use this winter are included in the renovation, not just the 18 holes.
- Guests play as a member's guest. Mayacoo's guest guidance asks golf guests to name their member host at check-in, so out-of-town visitors who want a round on this version of the course need a member to sponsor it.
- The club's project presentation is linked from mayacoo.com. That is where members can follow the restoration's details as the spring start gets closer.
For hosts with visitors in town, the Village of Royal Palm Beach has evenings scheduled at Commons Park, 11600 Poinciana Blvd. These include a Food Truck Expo and Concert featuring Solstice Reign on Friday, November 6, and another featuring VTB Band on Friday, November 20, both from 7 to 9 p.m. Winter Fest takes over the same park on Saturday, December 5, from 2 to 9 p.m. A morning tee time at Mayacoo and an evening at Commons Park makes a full day without a drive downtown.
What carries forward
The Nicklaus and Muirhead routing has shaped this property since 1972. The 2007 work was billed as bringing the course back to that design, and the architect who led it now has a second chance at the same ground. Members who played Mayacoo before 2007 have already lived through one version of this. For members who joined after the reopening, the version they know has been Mayacoo all along, and it has one more winter in play.
The club's own history calls Mayacoo "one of Nicklaus's earliest course designs." Between now and March 28, that design plays as Schulties left it in December 2007.
Sarah Mahoney has followed the golf communities along the Okeechobee Boulevard corridor for more than thirty years, including how course projects like this one change daily life at a club. If you'd like to talk through what the Mayacoo restoration means for your home or your plans, Breakers West Properties is glad to share what we know. Work With Sarah.
