- Courses
- North America
- USA
- Florida
Bonita Bay (Cypress)
Naples, Florida
- AddressBonita Bay Club, 3700 Wildwood Boulevard, Naples, FL 34120, United States of America
Bonita Bay Club boasts five 18-hole courses: three Arthur Hills-designed layouts – Marsh, Creekside and Bay Island – which are served by one clubhouse and a couple of Tom Fazio creations – Cypress and Sabal – which operate from the club’s Naples campus, ten miles away. Opened in the mid-1990s, the Cypress course was closed for more than a year during an extensive makeover that finished at the end of 2022.
Led by Fazio Design senior design associate Tom Marzolf, the renovation involved work on every hole, with the entire layout raised by 12-18 inches to improve drainage. Four existing lakes were enlarged and six new lakes were created, allowing around 200,000 cubic yards of fill to be spread across the property. New drainage and irrigation systems were also installed to further enhance playing conditions.
The routing remains the same but fairways were widened, putting surfaces were expanded and green surrounds pushed out to provide more recovery shot options. Wooden bulkhead walls were constructed along lake edges at several holes to enhance the aesthetics and new tees have also been added so there are now seven on every hole, enabling the course to play between 4,500 and 7,500 yards at 500-yard intervals.
Bunkers were rebuilt with white sand flashed up on the face of these hazards and many of the fairway traps were repositioned to accommodate modern-day ball and club technology. Huge waste areas were introduced alongside and between holes and these vast areas of sand are located in mostly out-of-play places to present a visually appealing contrast to the expanse of native plantings and pine straw.
The adjacent Sabal layout debuted in 1998 and it’s also due to undergo a renovation by Fazio Design in 2023.
Course Reviews
Leave a Review
This course has not been reviewed.
If you have played this course, consider .
Thanks for the review
Your review has been successfully submitted and will be reviewed for approval.
Course Reviewed
You’ve already submitted a review for this course.
Course Architect
View All
Born in the northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia, Tom Fazio entered the business of golf course architecture as a teenager in 1962, assisting his uncle George in course construction.
