Construction begins at Old Shores

Golf course developer and owner Michael Keiser announced that construction has started at Old Shores in northwest Florida. The milestone marks the fourth course that Keiser has commissioned with architect Tom Doak. The course is part of a larger community with a hotel, restaurants, and cottage and estate homesites. 

Located in Florida’s Panhandle, just inland from the Gulf’s beaches and 30A corridor, the property rests on a sand-based site, with its namesake drawn from old-world maps that document the Gulf’s former reach to the property. 

“This site is unlike anything I’ve seen. The contours are incredible, and there is a deep beauty in the forests and the flowing water,” Keiser said. “The Old Shores vision includes outdoor recreation, food, art and land restoration, inspired by the towns I’ve fallen in love with in Scotland.”

The Doak course traverses the sandy soil and diverse terrain, featuring longleaf pines, open savannas, clear spring-fed rivers, rolling hills and unique “sinks” – wide, inverted dunes that allow for dramatic shots and angles. Doak’s routing highlights this natural topography.

“The site for Old Shores is not at all what people expect when they think of golf in Florida,” Doak said. “There is about 40 feet of elevation change from high to low on our site, and even more on the site for the second course, with big sweeping hills providing a variety of stances.

“Then there are the sinkholes, which are unlike anything I’ve seen on a golf course; in some cases there are abrupt banks 30 to 50 feet deep, and the largest of them, Long Lake, is something like 50 acres in size.”

Shaping of the Doak course is currently underway, with lead associate Angela Moser on the ground. Preview play on select holes is expected to begin as soon as fourth quarter 2026, with a grand opening planned for fall 2027.  

A second 18-hole course is in design, and a short course is also being planned. 

Old Shores represents the latest addition to Keiser’s growing portfolio of destination golf developments. Other projects include Rodeo Dunes in Colorado, currently open for Founder preview play ahead of a 2027 grand opening, and Wild Spring Dunes in Texas, recently opened for an eight-hole preview play loop on its Doak-designed course ahead of its fall 2026 grand opening. Keiser is also the co-owner of Sand Valley in the Central Sands of Wisconsin, which will celebrate the opening of the Commons, its sixth course, this year.