The PGA of America’s long-rumored plans to relocate its headquarters from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to Frisco, Texas, appear to be crystalizing.
The Frisco City Council is scheduled to vote on the deal Tuesday, according to a notice posted on the City of Frisco website.
The Dallas Morning News first reported the news, adding that the $500 million deal includes a “guarantee” that a pair of new courses on the Frisco site will play host to two PGA Championships, two Women’s PGA Championships and multiple men’s Senior PGA Championships. The last major championship held in North Texas was the 1963 PGA Championship won by Jack Nicklaus.
Sources told GOLF.com that many PGA of America members learned that the plan was progressing at the PGA’s annual meeting in Palm Springs, Calif., last month. In a forum attended by hundreds of club professionals, Seth Waugh, the PGA’s chief executive officer, said that the relocation was all but a “done deal,” pending some final details that still need to be worked out.
One of the investors in the Frisco site is Jonas Woods, who helped develop Trinity Forest golf course in South Dallas, the home of the AT&T Byron Nelson. Woods, who has been involved in the PGA project for years, said all signs point to the deal being approved.
“I believe what Seth says on this,” Woods told GOLF.com.
GOLF.com first reported the proposed move back in March, but it has taken months to progress as PGA officials have worked with the City of Frisco and their own organization to execute the landmark move.
According to three pros who heard Waugh’s remarks, he said the association will keep a satellite office in West Palm Beach, likely in their current headquarters where they have been for decades, but would move the membership and general headquarters to a rolling piece of land in northern Frisco.
“This is very exciting for North Texas,” said Paul Earnest, director of golf at The Woodlands (Texas) Country Club, who attended the forum. “I had certainly heard about this for a while, but not as publicly [detailed] as this … It will be an incredible place and bring in some great events.”
The PGA of America has been working for several years on the complicated project, which will include two courses, one designed by Gil Hanse, a luxury hotel and an expansive practice area, including a nine-hole practice course. Hanse has already completed an initial routing for a championship course on the site and the PGA has been presented with architectural drawings of the new headquarters.
A PGA of America spokesperson told GOLF.com in a statement, “We continue to pursue a transformational headquarters opportunity in Frisco, but until an agreement is in place we have no further comment.”
