My friend Steve Perelman, a former Connecticut resident who now splits his time between West Palm Beach, Florida and Nantucket, Mass., recently visited Ibis Golf and Country Club and wrote this report for Golf Community Reviews. Steve's not a golfer, but he checks his terminology with his two sons, who have handicaps in the teens.
"All Nicklaus all the time." That could be the slogan for members of northern Palm Beach (FL) County's Ibis Golf and Country Club, site of the only three-course rotation designed separately by a father and his two sons.
The courses -- Jack's "The Legend," Jack II's "The Heritage," Steve Nicklaus' "The Tradition" -- are ringed by nearly 1,900 homes in the diverse Ibis community. Many of the homes offer direct fairway views, but waterways and natural borders keep the homes well away from the field of play. With a location seven miles west of I-95 in West Palm Beach, and adjacent to the 12,800 acre Grassy Waters Nature Preserve, homes in Ibis offer some extra value compared with their competition, according to Bob Frein, the community's senior vice president of sales and marketing.
"We are a little out of the way," says Frein, explaining the relatively lower prices for real estate than at communities a little closer to the heart of Palm Beach.
Frein notes that Ibis is popular with retirees who want to play golf throughout the winter, adding that "tropical
southeast Florida" is a better place to do that than, say, the Carolinas or Georgia, areas currently popular with "pre-retirees." Frein added that the Palm Beaches offer more in the way of cultural activities.
Ibis' blends well into its natural environment and is adjacent to a 12,800 acre Grassy Waters Nature Preserve, which make the 1,500-acre community home to many species of wading birds and native Florida wildlife, including sandhill cranes, blue herons and, of course, the long-legged and crooked beak Ibis.
Only 80 home sites remain in the Ibis community, and although sales have slowed from previous years, Frein estimates the community will be "sold out" in about 18 months. New homes are available in three price ranges:
➢ Vacation Villages, typically 1,600 to 2,000 square feet, at up to $400,000.
➢ Second Homes, typically 2,000 to 3,500 square feet, in the $400,000 to $700,000 range; and
➢ Permanent Residences, 3,000 square feet and above, from $750,000 to $2,000,000.
The three Nicklaus courses offer different challenges:
The Legend, with large, angled greens, was named one of the country's "Most distinctive courses" by Golfweek magazine. The course opened in 1991, and the greens were rebuilt in 2003 with Champion grass to give a consistent and faster putting surface.
Among the claims to fame for The Heritage is that it was named "Most Women-Friendly" course in America by Golf for Women magazine. The five sets of tees mean that other family members, as well as mom and grandma, can choose a suitable challenge.
The third course, The Tradition, which opened in 2001, was laid out links style, with open fairways and smaller greens. True to links tradition, the front nine holes head "outward" and the back nine "inward" to the clubhouse.
A variety of membership options are available at Ibis, from social to full family golf, with annual costs ranging from $3,000 to $11,000. The Premier (full) golf memberships are capped at 1,185 to ensure starting times are available to all who sign up. Membership "deposit" fees range from $40,000 for social to $80,000 for full golf. All members have access to Ibis' 50,000 square foot Mediterranean-style clubhouse.
If you would like to know more about Ibis Golf and Country Club and its surrounding community, contact me and I will put you in touch with Bob Frein in their real estate office.