Lake Worth Beach Golf Club Centennial: History, Gala and What's Next
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
The ground under Lake Worth Beach's municipal golf course, which turns 100 next month, was pumped up from the bottom of the lagoon for 24.4 cents a cubic yard. Waldeck-Deal Dredging company of Miami charged that price for the 400,000 cubic yards of fill that turned open water along the lakefront into fairway. That account comes from the Florida Historic Golf Trail. The course came together over 25 years from three separate pieces: made land, a donated parcel and a full redesign. The city's Centennial Gala on Nov. 14 marks the first of those pieces. In the same year, the north edge, the west edge, the clubhouse and the long-term finances are all being decided again.
The course is easiest to understand as a set of dated decisions.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1923 | The City of Lake Worth approves a municipal course on its lakefront and hires the design firm Langford and Moreau |
| Early 1925 | Capt. H.H.C. Tippett, a golf architect from Miami, takes over construction and architectural work |
| November 1926 | Nine holes open at a reported cost of $400,000 |
| June 23, 1944 | Seven acres at the north end are deeded to the city, with conditions attached |
| Nov. 6, 1948 | The full 18 holes open after architect Dick Wilson redesigns the original nine and adds nine more |
| August 2017 | The course is the Florida Historic Golf Trail's course of the month |
Even the birthday isn't settled. The Historic Golf Trail puts the opening on November 11, 1926. The Florida Department of State and the Lake Worth Beach Independent both give November 12. At the opening ceremony, Mayor A.D. Clark gave the clubhouse keys to golf professional Cameron Trent, and a round cost $1 a day or $15 for the month.
The Wilson course from 1948 is the one people play today. Its scale has barely changed. Wilson's 18 opened at 5,808 yards and par 68. In 2025, Stet News reported the course at 6,011 yards. It still runs along 1.2 miles of the Intracoastal. That stretch of fill is now where the course's future is being worked out.
The biggest recent attempt to rebuild the course came from outside City Hall. In January 2025, Copperline Partners proposed a package of about $355.6 million, the Lake Worth Beach Independent reported. It included a Jack Nicklaus redesign of the golf course, hotels and other projects. Some of the charter changes it needed would have gone to voters.
The plan, called Horizon, ended at a six-hour commission meeting that ran past midnight in October 2025. Commissioners declined to put a question about hotels at the beach on the ballot. Copperline's own statement to the Independent called the vote "the death knell of the Horizon project." Later reporting said the plan was withdrawn that month.
Turning it down didn't solve the problem Horizon was pitched to fix. City officials have said the aging course is exposed to flooding and sea-level rise and needs a major makeover, and also that the city can't afford one, according to the Independent's July 2026 reporting. The work that has been approved is smaller. In June 2025, commissioners approved nearly $300,000 to stabilize retention ponds and repair cart paths that had started collapsing toward the water, Stet News reported. A bigger package from 2023, $2 million to $2.5 million for tee boxes, greens, bunkers, irrigation and the clubhouse, was reported by WPTV as a proposal that depended on funding. The research turned up no record that it was finished.
The money matters because the course has only recently started paying its way. Interim City Manager Jamie Brown told commissioners in June 2025, as quoted by Stet News:
"We just started becoming profitable on our course a few years ago. We are just now getting to a point where we're attracting more and more people."
The second piece of the course, the 1944 parcel, is now in front of a judge. On July 1, 2026, a lawsuit was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court claiming up to seven acres at the north end of the course, a strip about 200 feet wide that reaches the Lake Worth Lagoon. The Lake Worth Beach Independent reported the filing.
The claim rests on the original deed. When that land was conveyed to the city on June 23, 1944, the deed required a golf course to be built "within one year after the termination of the present war." World War II ended Sept. 2, 1945. The suit argues that work began well after September 1946. A historical Lake Worth Herald story cited by the Independent suggests construction started in the summer of 1948.
The city rejected the claim before the suit was filed and doesn't comment on pending litigation. Circuit Judge Scott Kerner has the case. The claimant's attorney told the Independent that the claimant would be open to negotiating with the city if the claim succeeds, hinting at a lease that would keep the land in play. As of this month, the research found no court ruling. The north end of the course is waiting on a deed signed during the war.
On the west side, the course meets the Parrot Cove neighborhood. Residents of that adjacent neighborhood complained about errant golf balls hitting homes and cars, some landing as far as two blocks west of the course. Commissioners responded on June 17, 2025, by approving a temporary plan to turn the 400-yard par-4 third hole into a par 3 of about 180 yards. The city planned to ask residents of North Lakeside Drive and North Palmway whether the temporary fix helped.
Course manager Marty Caifano warned at the time that the change would make the course the only public course in southeast Florida under 6,000 yards. Dropping from par 71 to par 70 could also affect its reputation and revenue, he said. Officials planned to use the trial to see whether it helped. The research found no 2026 update on whether it is still in place. The club's course details page, as recently as August 2026, still describes an 18-hole, par-71 layout.
The newest open question is the clubhouse. The Beach Club has been run by E.R. Bradley's Lagoon Saloon since October 2013. The Independent described it as known for "affordable food, a casual vibe and spectacular water views." On April 21, 2026, commissioners extended its lease, which had been due to expire Aug. 3, to April 30, 2027. They also agreed to look for proposals for a new restaurant operator, and said the current operator would be encouraged to apply.
A June 2026 staff report asked the commission to approve the solicitation, ITN #26-101. The draft asks for a long-term operator who would also run food and beverage cart service on the course, with a start date of May 1, 2027. The research found no public record yet of who applied or who was chosen.
Until then, The Beach Club is open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Posted hours are 10 a.m. until late on weekdays and 9 a.m. until late on weekends, with Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The menu includes grilled avocado, fish tacos, Cobb salads and cheeseburgers.
The city's staff report from December 2025 laid out a yearlong celebration, with monthly themes, quarterly tournaments and a kickoff tournament and mixer on Jan. 23. Commemorative brick orders closed Sept. 2, and the bricks are due to be installed this winter. The main event left is the gala, and it lands in a busy few weeks on the lagoon and beach side of town:
On a normal day, the course is less formal than its history. Walkers are welcome, and rental clubs are $45 a set. The club's own description mentions mature banyans and views toward the Palm Beach skyline and coast. The posted rate schedule ran from May 11 to Oct. 11, 2026. For current green fees, call the pro shop before you go.
The gala trolley runs from a clubhouse with a lease ending in April to a ballroom on the beach. Along the way it passes a course whose north end is in court, whose third hole may still be on trial and whose upgrade has no funding yet.
Martha's Properties follows how decisions about public land, from a golf course deed to a clubhouse lease, end up shaping the lagoon-side streets around them. If you own near the course or are weighing a home there, request private listing access and a consultation, and we'll take you through what's still pending and what has been decided.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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