Description: The Founders Club traces its roots back to John Hamilton Gillespie, who in the late 1880s traveled from Scotland to the wild lands of “Sara Sota” with his clubs in hand and a vision for what this land of natural beauty could become. Today, The Founders Golf Club is coming to life as a new, traditional golf club inspired by the ancient story of golf as it was told in Sarasota .

Nearest Airport: Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, 20 minutes

Amenities

The new clubhouse, Golf Hall.

Real Estate

• 262 homes
• Homesites priced from the $400,000s
• Home/Homesite packages from low-$1 million and up
• 200 homesites have golf course views, highlighted by wetlands and preserves
• Estate homesites priced from the $500,000s to over $600,000
• 13 stunning, golf-front cottages with Lowcountry-inspired architecture
  • Private, maintenance-free
• All other lots have been designated to five selected builders

Exclusive and Accessible

With a deliberate nod to the game of golf's rich history both in Scotland and "Sara Sota," The Founders Club is designed to blend a pure golf experience with the area's natural beauty. Set within the sculpted grounds of a gated and guarded community, The Founders Club is a classic golf club privately reserved with only 275 equity golf memberships.

A new club built reflecting the ancient traditions of the game.

The benefits of the limited membership include no tee times and the freedom to walk or ride the course as desired. The 18-hole championship course winds away from the clubhouse, embraced by an inspiring landscape of more than 700 lush acres and enhanced by a traditional caddie program and a full complement of golf practice facilities.

The approach to the green on hole No. 3.

Beyond the winding entry drive of this guarded sanctuary, the community's abundant landscape is  accented by 90 acres of picturesque lakes, and stands of pines, palms and old oak hammocks that also provide unique canopies above the meticulously kept streets.

The Founders Club will offer only 262 homes with 200 enjoying direct golf course vistas highlighted by free-flowing fairways, wetlands and natural preserves.

The golf course offers wide and stunning views.

The entry gatehouse, the golf clubhouse and the homes themselves are designed to blend the private club nature of The Founders Club with the beauty of these most pristine surroundings.

To preserve the sense of exclusivity within The Founders Club, the developers have hand-selected a group of homebuilders whose homes capture the spirit of community for the modern day while giving a nod to history with designs that recall Sarasota’s rich architectural heritage.

The grill at Golf Hall.

Though seemingly tucked away within a landscape miles from it all, The Founders Club lies just a short distance from Sarasota’s rolling white-sand beaches and downtown area with an  exciting mixture of attractions, restaurants and shopping.

Real Estate
The Founders Club is designed to accommodate just 262 homes, of which 200 homesites have golf course views, the remaining 62 are situated on either wetlands or preserves. Five top-quality builders have been selected to build within the club grounds.

Estate home lots, which will feature one-of-a-kind homes that start around the low-$1 millions and 3,200 square feet, can be purchased directly from The Founders Club. Estate homesites are priced from the $500,000s to more than $600,000. The buyer must use one of the designated Estate builders and commence building within 24 months of homesite closing.

A special option are the 13 beautifully designed, golf-front cottages available from the renowned firm of Cooper Johnson Smith Architects, featuring Southern Lowcountry architecture, fine finishes and spacious designs.

The cottages, which offer private, maintenance-free luxury and lovely golf vistas, are located directly on the 10th fairway adjacent to the Golf Clubhouse.

The cottages maintenance-free luxury and views of the the 10th fairway.

All other lots have been designated to five select builders, with home/homesite packages beginning in the low-$1 millions.

Golf
Carrying on the honorable traditions of golf that J. Hamilton Gillespie first brought to Sarasota, renowned golf course designer Robert Trent Jones, Jr. has fashioned a dramatic and rewarding course for The Founders Club in the Scottish links tradition.

Dining on the veranda at Golf Hall.

The 18-hole championship golf course takes cues from the gently rolling terrain, set against a backdrop of centuries-old oaks, pines and palms, and highlighted by natural buffers of untamed landscaping.

The 7,094-yard, 72-par layout offers an unfettered route of play across fairways embraced by lakes and natural wetlands. Furthermore, Jones has designated the course as a "core" layout, meaning that once golfers step on the course, they will not be disturbed by streets, interior homes or long walks between greens and tees; they will experience pure, traditional golf in a natural environment, the way way the game was meant to be played.

The No. 1 hole, framed by a stately oak.

The community's traditional golf clubhouse offers a quiet intimacy and classic, understated luxury. The 24,000-square-foot Golf Hall, designed by the award-winning architectural firm of FleischmanGarcia of Tampa, will include a full-service golf shop and adjacent golf cart storage, along with an outdoor dining verandah surrounding an intimate fireplace overlooking the oak-canopied 18th green.

The dining room at Golf Hall.

Additional features within the clubhouse include a gracious main dining room as well as an elegant private dining room, and a club bar and lounge featuring a fireplace with cozy, intimate seating.

A state-of-the-art fitness center includes a massage therapy treatment room as well as fully equipped men’s and women’s locker facilities, which also feature lounge areas with card tables and comfortable seating.

The Team Behind the Concept
The Founders Club is being developed by The Founders Club Development Company, L.L.C., whose principals include Thomas Brown, Jay Tallman and Fred Starling.

Brown and Tallman head U.S. Assets Group, which specializes in luxury residential development. The company's impressive resume includes the exclusive golf communities of Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club and Windsor. Other condominium residences include Orchid Beach Club on Lido Key, Beau Ciel in downtown Sarasota and en Provence on Longboat Key.

Orchid Beach Club on Lido, a luxury U.S. Assets Group project.

Fred Starling directs The Starling Group, a Sarasota-based full-service commercial real estate organization. Since 1981, The Starling Group has been involved in all phases of real estate from acquisition, planning, design and construction to sales, marketing and management. The companies of The Starling Group have completed millions of dollars in real estate development on Florida’s west coast, including executive centers, professional business parks, banks and medical facilities.