How The Witkoff Group Built South Florida’s New Breed Of Private Clubs

Aerial of the golf course and clubhouse at Shell Bay, a modern luxury private club in Hallandale Beach.

Erik Matuszewski

In a South Florida market where developable land is vanishingly scarce and golf’s resurgence has elevated demand for luxury lifestyles, the Witkoff family and their partners have built an enviable niche. Their two marquee golf developments — Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach just outside Miami and Dutchman’s Pipe in West Palm Beach — have quickly become symbols of a new era in private-club living in the region: boutique, amenity-rich, and targeted at a younger, highly affluent audience.

Both developments, complete re-imaginings of existing properties, are the product of timing and vision. South Florida in recent years has seen an influx of younger professionals, families, and investors from finance, technology, and real estate. Heightened demand for privacy and experiences meant opportunity, but very few new clubs have been built in the region in decades, and almost none that have the combination that Shell Bay and Dutchman’s Pipe provide with luxury amenities, a commitment to service excellence, a modern aesthetic, and residential offerings paired with a high-end hotel component.

Shell Bay is tucked on a prime piece of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, and golf is the focal point of the 150-acre luxury project that features a residential tower with over 100 multimillion-dollar bespoke condominiums and penthouses, along with an Auberge-branded boutique hotel and spa. Dutchman’s Pipe is a similarly exclusive private club with a training academy and racquet center that’s affiliated with The Belgrove Resort & Spa, a luxury hotel on the same property in tony West Palm Beach. Both have courses designed by greats of the game.

“Our deep-rooted expertise in real estate development allowed us to recognize an opportune moment to establish a premier golf presence in South Florida,” said Alex Witkoff, CEO of the Witkoff Group, which was founded by Steven Witkoff in 1997 and is a developer of luxury condos, hotels, golf courses and apartment buildings in Florida, Los Angeles and New York.

“As the sport’s popularity has surged and demand for exclusive communities continues to grow, we capitalized on the rare opportunity to develop two courses in the highly competitive Palm Beach and Miami markets,” Alex Witkoff added. “Our focus and drive was to create truly transformative spaces that cater to discerning players and a younger, Wall Street-driven demographic.”

Shell Bay: South Florida’s Most Exclusive Enclave

Situated on land that was part of the long-gone Diplomat Golf Resort, Shell Bay Club has made waves as the first new private golf club built in the Miami area in more than two decades, and an eye-catching membership fee upwards of $1.35 million.

Golf was always intended as the centerpiece – there’s a “vicious dearth” in the market, Witkoff says – but to make it happen in a prime urban area with sky-high real estate prices, the only viable option was to build up.

The Auberge Resorts Collection-branded residences at Shell Bay, with prices up to $11 million, are in a 20-floor tower that offers panoramic views of the water, the Miami skyline, a private yacht club and the Greg Norman-designed championship golf course.

Beyond golf, Shell Bay is envisioned as a holistic lifestyle environment by the Witkoff Group and their partners at PPG Development.

The expansive racquet facility is run by the renowned Bryan brothers and has immaculate tennis courts with all four grand slam surfaces, along with pickleball and Padel courts. There are wellness facilities, fine dining, a 48-slip yacht club, a barber shop, and much more within what’s emerged as a self-contained enclave for members and residents. A 60-room Auberge managed hotel is soon to come, though golf at Shell Bay remains exclusive and won’t be accessible for guests (unless they’re accompanying a member).

The course itself features a variety of risk-reward options and can stretch to over 7,200 yards. There are aspirations to host a professional tournament and a LIV Golf Miami event is rumored as a potential fit with several LIV players – Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Lee Westwood – being Shell Bay members. There is also a 9-hole par 3 course – as short courses are all the range at modern private golf facilities – as well as an expansive 12-acre practice campus with high-tech hitting bays and a short-game facility.

Dutchman’s Pipe: A New Model for Club Life

An hour north of Shell Bay, the developers’ second project, Dutchman’s Pipe, delivers the same sense of refinement with a slightly different personality.

On the site of the former Presidents Country Club (and more recently Banyan Cay), it features a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, which was the first new private golf design in central Palm Beach County in decades. Witkoff, who teamed with Access Industries on the property, has called Dutchman’s Pipe a “generational opportunity” to deliver a golf experience unlike any other in the region.

With a $350,000 membership buy in, the club has more than golf, positioning itself as a multi-sport private retreat. The world-class racquet club features tennis, pickleball, and padel, and there’s a modern performance academy for golf instruction.

The neighboring Belgrove, operated by Marriott International, is separate but intertwined — much like the native vine that Dutchman’s Pipe was named after. The 150-room luxury hotel sits immediately next to the golf clubhouse and features multiple food and beverage outlets, fitness and spa facilities, and two pools and outdoor patio areas that club members have access to.

Shared Vision

While Shell Bay and Dutchman’s Pipe serve distinct markets — Miami and Palm Beach — both stem from the same guiding philosophy: to create one-stop lifestyle sanctuaries near bustling metropolitan areas where golf, fitness, wellness, dining, and premium service levels coexist seamlessly within a footprint that has real estate and resort components.

The Witkoff family’s real estate pedigree informs every aspect of that strategy.

Known for projects that merge design excellence with hospitality, the group approached these clubs not simply as golf developments but as vertically integrated lifestyle environments.

It’s a different approach than many of the ground-up, new golf-centric private clubs further north in and around Hobe Sound, and this significant investment is intensifying the arms race within the luxury golf space in one of the game’s richest markets. Perhaps most notably, it’s created a formula that’s resonating with a new generation of private-club members in South Florida who are looking for a modern interpretation of exclusivity focused on a wealth of amenities, curated quality, personalized service and member experience.

Shell Bay and Dutchman’s Pipe might not be a blueprint for the future in the broader private golf space, but they’ve certainly succeeded in creating transformative spaces tailored for the most discerning clientele.