A second new golf course is planned for Myakka City. PGA Champion Azinger is a partner
In the near future, Myakka City could have not one, but two championship golf courses.
Developers recently filed plans for Miakka Golf Club with Manatee County Development Services for a golf course at 12950 MJ Road on a 685-acre parcel owned by Terranova Preserves LLC.
Fry/Straka Global Golf Design is partnering with PGA Tour Champion Paul Azinger on an 18-hole championship golf course, a 12-hole short course, a rustic and expansive clubhouse, luxury cabins and a curated, limited membership are just a few of the elements that combine to create this one-of-a-kind club focused on the fun, passion, and camaraderie inherent in the game of golf,” the website says.
Memberships in Miakka Golf Club would be offered by invitation only.
The course is scheduled to open for play in early 2025, according to the website.
Azinger, 63, had 12 wins on the PGA Tour and now works as a TV golf analyst. He and his wife, Toni, are benefactors for The Azinger Family Compassion Center on the campus of One More Child and Guardian Angels of SW Florida, 3410 Bouwer Court E., Palmetto.
The center serves vulnerable children and struggling families in Manatee County.
The managers of Terranova Preserves LLC are listed as Natalee Herrig, Steve Herrig, Hannah Herrig and Zachary Ketelboeter, according to the Sunbiz website.
Terranova Preserves LLC bought the property for $14,110,000 in 2021, according to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s website.
Steve Herrig is the owner of SUNZ Insurance, a national worker compensation insurance company based in Bradenton.
The planned golf course property is near TerraNova Equestrian Center, 31625 Clay Gully Road, which opened in 2021.
Myakka Village
Myakka City is also expected to become home to Myakka Village, a golf course community planned for 537 acres at 33720 Singletary Road.
In June, Manatee County Commissioners approved the zoning for the 18-hole, U.S. Golf Association championship-style private golf course designed by Nick Price.
Planned for Myakka Village are 95 custom single-family homes, 55,000-square-feet of residential amenities and 14 resort cottages.
The residential amenities would include a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 20,000-square-foot training facility designed by retired pro golfer David Leadbetter and a 10,000-square-foot maintenance building.
Resident reaction
Carol Felts, a Myakka City activist, said that there have been rumors of a second golf course, but that there had been nothing official until paperwork for Miakka Golf Club was filed recently with Manatee County government.
Felts tried to take a hopeful stance on Miakka Golf Club, and said she hoped that it and Myakka Village could both thrive.
“We want people to be successful at what they do. We’re trying to promote good practices and make them good neighbors,” Felts said.
Traffic will be a concern, but if the golf courses can provide good jobs for the community, that would be a good thing, Felts said.
“I am hoping to turn them into a help and not a hindrance,” she said.
Peggy Beckens moved to the area in 2000 from an apple farm in upstate New York.
“It was nice and rural and MJ Road was a dirt road. I used to watch them work cattle up and down the road,” Beckens said of the changes that are coming to Myakka City.
