Members at Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club have an expansive new outdoor dining room and lively sports bar that transform the vibe of the golf clubhouse and open it to nature – thanks to COVID-19. “During covid, we used a wedding tent to cover the patio behind the clubhouse to provide outdoor dining and people really liked it,” said marketing coordinator Amanda Hope. “Even after covid, members kept coming to enjoy the fresh air and golf course views – but the area didn’t look great.” The $5-million golf clubhouse renovation officially unveiled at the end of March replaced the ad-hoc outdoor dining setup with a large, covered outdoor dining area with “West Indies-style design and furnishings and Palm Beach-inspired pink and green accents,” according to the club. The project also included an adjoining 2,200-square-foot sports bar, along with a renovated and expanded pro shop that now feels like a high-end Ocean Drive boutique, and a new patio with seating and a fire pit. Vero Beach country clubs boomed during and after covid as people sought open air activities and homes away from big cities in the Northeast and elsewhere. In response, the clubs embarked on an unprecedented surge of improvements and expansions, pouring tens of millions of dollars into golf course and clubhouse renovations and adding everything from swimming pools to racquet complexes. Orchid Island made its move in 2023, developing a masterplan for upgrading the club based on extensive member input. “I think all good clubs have a similar mindset,” said general manager Rob Tench. “We want to make sure we are serving both current and future members and always improving to make the club more compelling.” The first project was a major renovation of Orchid’s Arnold Palmer-designed golf course, with new greens and tee boxes going in and some greens and bunkers reshaped. “We finished that project in the fall of 2023,” said Tench, putting the course in top shape for a U.S. Open qualifying tournament that took place in May 2024. “The new racquet sport and lawn game complex was second on the list,” Tench continued. That facility, completed last year, added six padded pickleball courts, a playground, a basketball court, two bocce lanes and a full-size croquet lawn, all gathered around a central pavilion with a bar, tables and chairs, and lounge area. It was an immediate hit with members. “We opened in late May and even though it was already hot, the pickleball courts were immediately all taken in the mornings,” said Kainoa “Kai” Rosa, director of racquets at the club, who has since launched a popular interclub pickleball competition. “When we had our opening day for bocce, 110 members came out for it,” an amazing showing in a club with only 375 memberships, Rosa added. As that project was wrapping up, Tench and improvement committee members were meeting with renowned private club architects Peacock + Lewis to plan the golf clubhouse renovation. Peacock + Lewis, which has an extensive portfolio in Vero Beach including John’s Island Beach Club and Quail Valley’s Golf Club, handled both architecture and interior design. “When we surveyed members, they wanted more outdoor dining and a larger bar area, a place to socialize with their friends and families,” said Tench. “What you see is what we came up with.” The 15,000-square-foot Golf Clubhouse was constructed in 1999 and last renovated in 2011, so it was due for a substantial update. The back of the club faces south, overlooking a lake that is part of the golf course. Prior to renovation, there was a shallow covered outdoor dining terrace with a sunken patio next to it that had seating and firepits. The renovation more than doubled the outdoor dining space and added a spacious sports bar. The dining space is equipped with NanaWall glass doors that can be closed when weather is rainy or too windy but is otherwise open to the green and watery country club landscape with long golf course views to the south. The new space, which totals 6,200 square feet, is all on one level, with the outdoor dining room directly behind the indoor dining room. The sports bar is next to the dining room, with the new, uncovered patio space on the other side, adjacent to the expanded pro shop. Before renovation, bar socializing was limited to a 12-seat bar in the indoor dining room. “You couldn’t really put a game on,” said Tench. “It would have been too loud for people eating lunch or dinner.” The new U-shaped bar seats 20 or more and has a four-sided TV at the center. “We had a Super Bowl party, and all the TVs were on,” said Tench. “People loved it. We will do the same thing for The Masters. These are fun, social events that we didn’t have a place for before.” Sitting in the bar or on the adjacent patio, members and their guests have a close-up view of the 18th hole, so they can watch friends finishing up their games and heading into the clubhouse. “This whole area has been a huge hit with members since we opened it in February,” said Hope. “About two-thirds dine outside now, with just a third inside,” added Tench. “Continual improvement is an essential component of being a premier club. If you aren’t improving your facilities, you will fall behind.” Guided by that philosophy, the club is finalizing plans for renovating its Beach Club, the next phase of its $20-million slate of upgrades. “It is an exciting project,” says Tench. “We will be adding 1,500 square feet to the seaside lounge and building a 4,100-square-foot spa. We’re also adding two 600-square-foot suites overlooking the ocean for family overflow and for the real estate office to use for prospective buyers who come to visit. “We will start renovation in May 2026 and hope to have the project done by May 2027.” And there are more projects coming after that, including a renovation and possible expansion of the fitness center. “These upgrades are critical from a marketing perspective,” said Hope. “You have to sell the club in order to sell the homes. Having new, top of the line, beautiful amenities is great for the real estate office.” Orchid Island is a residential club, where you purchase property to gain membership, and members have a heavily vested interest in the quality of the club. The more attractive it is to prospective members, the more the homes of existing members will be worth if they decide to sell, and the faster the sales will close. Recent upgrades appear to be paying off in that regard. Tench said houses and condominiums in the 375-home community sell quickly, and prices have been strong. Indian River County property records for the community show that most homes sold this year have closed for more than double what they were worth in 2018 or 2019, the last time they traded. For example, a 5300-square-foot home on White Pelican Circle that sold for $2,050,000 in December 2019, just a couple of months before the start of the pandemic, resold in January for $4,440,000. Also this year, a 6500-square-foot home on Seaspray Lane that sold for $2,525,000 in 2019 sold again at the end of February for $4.9 million, while a 4200-square-foot home on the same lane that went for $1.6 million in late 2018 resold in January for $3,360,000. A strong real estate market is vital to the club, too, because the sale of new memberships is the main source of capital improvement funds. Because the Club is so inherently beautiful and well cared for in its enviable ocean-to-river location, people tend to stay put. Tench said there are still original members in residence among the palms and tropical flowers, people who helped found the club and have never left. But there is some turnover, with “12 to 15 new members per year,” according to Tench, who pay a non-refundable $250,000 to join. Multiply that figure times 15 and the club nets $3,750,000 for ongoing upgrades. “Most of the $25 million for our current master-planned expansion came from the sale of memberships,” Tench said. The modest membership turnover that Tench identified will be the only source of new members and new membership fees going forward. There was a burst of new home building in the community during the pandemic real estate boom and the club is now effectively built out. 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