Over the past few years, Shadow Wood Country Club in Estero, Fla. has been evolving through a transformation process to completely renovate the club facilities. From style to functionality, no stone was left unturned.
The addition of the wildly popular Golfside Grill in 2019 was just the beginning. The 10,000 sq. ft. addition features a folding glass door system for all-weather enjoyment of expansive sunset and golf course views. The 260-seat casual dining space includes a large octangular bar and a second kitchen. Members enjoy a sushi bar, pizza oven and a built-in soup and salad buffet. A wall of nine 55” monitors together form one giant TV screen, in addition to 16 big screen televisions positioned throughout the space. The addition of the Golfside Grill led to an increase of 506% a-la-carte covers and a 181% increase in F&B revenues.
The renovations in 2021 included remodeling the ladies’ locker and card rooms, expanding and renovating the men’s lounge, converting the old golf shop into a multi-purpose room, building a new golf shop, and redesigned the bag drop and golf arrival areas. The goal was to increase member utilization by connecting the spaces intuitively, capitalizing on best exterior views, providing flexibility in utilization, and increasing operational efficiency.
The most notable part of the transformation was relocating the original 1,200 sq. ft. golf shop to a new 3,500 sq. ft. structure connected with covered walkways to the remodeled locker rooms. The new building overlooks the expansive golf practice facilities and redesigned cart staging area. This space offers unique retail opportunities unparalleled at most private clubs featuring more than 60 brands in a boutique style environment.
The Golf Shop has seen a 30% increase in daily traffic and is forecasting more than doubling annual merchandise sales as a result of a 50% increase in overall inventory levels and a 20% increase in categories of retail offerings.
The old golf shop was converted into a multi-function room for overflow card players during the day and private events at night. The interior design included built in wine storage displays and transformed the old golf shop into one of the most elegant flex spaces in the club.
The final phase of the transformation included expanding one outdoor patio and building a second. Members can enjoy comfortable lounge seating, bar seating, dining tables, and eight fire pits with weekly live entertainment while dining or enjoying a cocktail outside.
Upon completion of the West End renovations, Shadow Wood Country Club membership reached capacity for the first time in club history. New membership sales more than doubled and hit record highs in 2022 following the completion of the new Golf Shop and East End renovations.
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