PGA of America finds Frisco fabulous

By David Mullen

On February 11, the Omni PGA Frisco Resort celebrated its topping out with a milestone ceremony. Slated to open in spring 2023, the property will boast 510 luxury guest rooms and Texas ranch homes, three swimming pools, 12 dining establishments, retail and two championship golf courses, representing a $520 million investment. It is the largest resort currently in development in the U.S.

“I got so excited I ripped up my knee,” said a hobbling Jeff Smith, vice president and managing director of the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, who later confided that he hurt his leg in a skiing accident. “This is a generational opportunity. This is going to be one of the premier resort destinations, not only in the U.S., but in North America. We can’t wait for April 2023 when it all happens.”

 The topping off ceremony was more than a barbeque buffet within the massive meeting shell and a thank you to hundreds of workers who are building the stunning 600-acre complex. It marked a groundbreaking change in the way the PGA of America will do business.

In December 2018, the PGA formally announced its headquarters would move from Palm Beach County, Fla. to Frisco to develop a mixed-use development with an investment worth more than half a billion dollars on a massive parcel of barren land. “Our move to Frisco will be transcendent for the PGA of America,” said Seth Waugh, CEO, PGA of America in 2018.

Four years later, the PGA headquarters, the golf courses and the Omni PGA Frisco Resort are now — metaphorically — playing the back nine.

Two championship golf courses — West and East — designed by noted golf architects Beau Welling and Gil Hanse, are maturing. The East Course will be home to the first major tournament, the 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. At least two dozen PGA of America Championships are planned for PGA Frisco during the next 12 years.

A lighted, 10-hole short course — called “The Swing” — and a 75,000 square foot putting green — called “The Dance Floor” — are also nearing completion. A Topgolf lounge, teaching facility and rustic-style icehouse are being finished and will overlook the practice area.

As part of a “first look” at the few holes currently accessible, the golf course is dramatic in layout and will be a foreboding challenge. The greens are sizeable and will be difficult to manage. The East course will be more than 8,000 yards from the back tees. Errant tee shots could end up in Prosper.

The PGA’s Northern Texas Section will also move to PGA Frisco, where state-of-the-art connectivity will provide opportunities to pilot growth-of-the-game programming. The PGA’s four-story headquarters, on the property but not connected to the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, will open in late March.

The Metroplex has always been a hotbed for golf, and things are really heating up. Highland Park High School and UT golfer Scottie Scheffler won the WM Phoenix Open on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff against Patrick Cantlay on February 13. 

On February 14, the Salesmanship Club Charitable Golf of Dallas announced that the AT&T Byron Nelson on Monday, May 9 through Sunday, May 15 at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney will be played in front of a full complement of fans after COVID-19 protocols cancelled the tournament in 2020 and reduced capacity in 2021. 

Many PGA pros like Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau call the Dallas area home. And soon Frisco will become the official home of the “experts on the business and game of golf,” as the PGA of America defines their role.

The PGA’s vision of a colossal corporate construct seemed as unlikely as a double eagle. 

The PGA of America teamed with Omni Stillwater Woods (OSW), a joint venture led by Omni Hotels & Resorts with Stillwater Capital and Woods Capital, the City of Frisco and the Frisco Independent School District to bring the idea to fruition.                 

The entire project had an initial, estimated public-private investment totaling more than half a billion dollars. The PGA of America invested $30 million to build its 100,000-square-foot global headquarters and education facility. OSW invested $455 million to purchase the land, construct the hotel, conference center, retail space, parking facilities and golf courses. The golf courses, clubhouse, practice areas and associated public facilities are owned by the city. More than 300 Frisco ISD high school golfers will practice at the facility on a weekly basis. 

Additionally, the State of Texas will contribute all the hotel and sales tax, along with a portion of mixed beverage tax collected on the project for 10 years. The state grant total is valued at more than $62.5 million throughout 10 years.  

The first 25-year agreement calls for the land and conference center to be publicly owned by the City of Frisco and operated by OSW, which will pay $100,000 a year in rent to the city. The gateway to golf is located at Frisco’s northern border at Rockhill Parkway and Legacy Drive, just south of U.S. 380. The PGA headquarters, Omni PGA Frisco Resort and the golf courses will be open to the public. 

More information is available at omnihotels.com/hotels/pga-frisco.

“This is a truly special development that will draw a whole new market of business and leisure travelers to Texas, including significant group business that typically haven’t even considered Dallas for their needs,” said Peter Strebel, president, Omni Hotels & Resorts. “Residents of Frisco will have access to some of the most extraordinary golfing facilities in the country, not to mention fabulous dining, spa and more.” The complex is approximately 30 minutes by car from DFW Airport. 

“A wise man once told me that in 2027, when we host the PGA of America major, we will have a billion eyes on this site,” Smith said. “One billion! That’s pretty amazing. How many projects can say that?” Soon, all eyes in the golf world will be on Frisco, where using the term “billion” seems par for the course.