TwinEagles Club in Naples, Fla. opens 'new' golf course set to host the LPGA's CME Group Titleholders

I remember getting a press release several years ago from the Bonita Bay Group representing TwinEagles Club in Naples. The release talked about how excited TwinEagles was to be the only club in Florida with a Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player design.

Scratch that distinction from the record books. TwinEagles recently unveiled its “new” Eagle Course redesigned by Florida resident Steve Smyers. Smyers completely revamped the old Aerie Course by Player that opened in 2007. This new track will be the latest host of November’s CME Group Titleholders, the signature season-ending tournament on the LPGA Tour. Grand Cypress Resort held the event in 2011.

TwinEagles seems to be on a nice roll after its former developer/owner, the Bonita Bay Group, sank into bankruptcy, forcing the club to close in 2009. A new owner stepped up in 2010 and has spent the last year getting the place up to snuff again. In February, the TwinEagles Talon Course, a Jack Nicklaus-Jack Nicklaus II layout from 1998, will host the 2012 ACE Group Classic, a Champions Tour event it previously held from 2002-06.

Want to play these tournament venues? They’re bookable here.

Getting the Titleholders – where only tour winners or those who finish among the top three in a tournament are invited – is a nice catch for Naples, a high-end golf market that nosedived during the recession. Maybe things are looking up for this swanky southeast Florida golf destination. TwinEagles seems to be leading the charge.