The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club was established by Henry B. Watkins in 1946 and managed by his family for generations as an iconic Naples landmark.
But the site’s history traces back to Allen Joslin who built Southwest Florida’s first 18-hole golf course and The Beach Club, a precursor to the hotel, which closed in 1939.
Watkins bought the property in 1946, establishing the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, a family-run resort for three generations.
Over the years the property hosted numerous events, including PGA tournaments, and was a significant part of Naples’ social and sporting scene.
From a May 2021 article in the Naples Daily News: “Where’s the home of golf in Naples? It was The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club,” said Larry Gantzer, 54, a former Beach Club professional who has lived in Naples since 1978 and started as a bag boy at the club when he was 15.
In 2021, the Watkins family sold the property to The Athens Group, with the family bidding farewell after over 70 years.
“I’m sorry to see it’s closing, but time does come along every now and then,” said Dan Bracy, who first started working at the club in 1973 seasonally, then stayed year-round beginning in 1987. “It’s been a great pleasure to have the opportunity to work here for all of the years that I did. I couldn’t have had a better situation than what I had.”
George Willard, the head of golf at the resort at the time of the sale said: “It’s been a quick 15 for some reason.” Willard first played the course on Naples High’s Senior Skip Day in 1973 and began working at the club in 1998. “Great family, great location, and more than a third of my life — and enjoyable. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
The next chapter for the property is the new, luxurious Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, a coastal village featuring residences, a hotel and “reimagined” amenities.
In February 2021 an opinion piece penned by Kim Richards with The Athens Group was published in the Naples Daily News about the resort. “Like so many others over the past seven decades, I was enchanted by the resort’s unparalleled location, casual charm, and the warm hospitality offered by everyone with whom I came in contact. It was clearly evident that the Naples Beach Hotel is a unique, special place.”
Sources: Naples Daily News archives, newspapers.com, the Seminole Tribe and Wikipedia.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: From the Archives: ‘The home of golf in Naples’ – The Beach Club
Reporting by B.D. Green, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
