A Cut Above at Panther National

As golfers Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas stood poised to cut the ribbon at Palm Beach Gardens’ newest golf course this past November, all eyes turned overhead. Spectators watched as two Navy SEALs parachuted from a plane and floated down from the skies, landing next to Nicklaus and Thomas at Panther National’s first tee as the national anthem boomed through speakers. The exciting stunt was a fitting beginning for a golf course that, by many accounts, is destined to be one of the top private courses in the state.

Located at Avenir off Northlake Boulevard, Panther National sits on 2,400 acres of land and, in addition to golf, features a club and spa, pools and cabanas, tennis and pickleball courts, over 10 miles of nature trails, and a private residential community. To celebrate the opening, co-designers Nicklaus and Thomas were joined by Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Lexi Thompson, Erik van Rooyen, and Morgan Hoffmann for a friendly three-hole competition as guests sipped cocktails and enjoyed the show.

To create the 18-hole golf course Nicklaus and Thomas envisioned, the original land needed to be completely reshaped. “People asked, ‘How did you find a piece of property like this in Florida?’” says Nicklaus. “The answer is, we didn’t.” The project required almost 2 million cubic yards of earth to be moved to shape the links-style championship course that features huge elevation changes and beach-like bunkers.