The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane CourseBonita Springs

The Hurricane is the second of Tom Fazio's two eighteens at The Nest in Bonita Springs, the member-owned club formerly known as Pelican's Nest. It measures par 72 and 6,743 yards from the back of seven tee sets — 187 yards shorter than the Gator — and the club calls it the more forgiving of the pair. Its own scorecard argues with that: rated 73.0 against a slope of 140, it carries the steeper slope of the two by ten points, so the course that plays shorter is the one that punishes a wayward round harder. Private club; members and their guests only.

The club's golf began with a Tom Fazio eighteen that opened to the public in 1985 and was named one of Golf Digest's top three new public courses in the country. Nine holes followed in 1988 and nine more by 1993, giving four nines named for Florida's college teams — Gator, Hurricane, Panther and Seminole — which were then recombined into two eighteens. The Hurricane is the old Hurricane nine, now playing as holes 10 to 18, joined to the Panther nine as holes 1 to 9. The club bought its land from Westinghouse Communities across the 1990s, became member-owned in 1999 as Pelican's Nest Golf Club, and took the name The Nest more recently. Jan Bel Jan's renovation of both courses earned ASGCA Design Excellence recognition, and it has been a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary since 2001.

Fazio used water and native vegetation to frame corridors rather than block them, and on the Hurricane those corridors are the tighter of the club's two sets. The difference between the two courses is not length but margin: the Gator's rating is higher and its slope lower, meaning a scratch player finds the Gator the longer day while everyone else finds the Hurricane the less forgiving one. Jan Bel Jan renovated both eighteens, and the Hurricane was re-grassed in Bimini Bermuda in 2024, a year before its sibling.

One of very few courses anywhere that opens on a par 3, and the steeper-sloped half of a 36-hole Fazio club. Its "Scoring Tees", introduced in 2015, are built so players with clubhead speeds of 55 to 65 mph can reach greens in regulation — a genuine seventh tee set rather than a forward marker.

How do I get on The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course?

The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course is a private club — play is reserved for members and their guests. The only way on is a membership or a member's invitation; there is no public tee sheet.

Who designed The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course?

The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course was designed by Tom Fazio; renovated by Jan Bel Jan, 2016-2018 and opened in 1985.

What is the par and yardage at The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course?

The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course plays to a par of 72 over 6,743 yards from the championship tees, with a course rating of 73.0 and a slope of 140.

Is The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course public or private?

The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course is a private member club — not open to public play. Access is by membership or a member's invitation; there is no public tee sheet.

Where is The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course located?

The Nest Golf Club — Hurricane Course is located at 4450 Pelicans Nest Dr, Bonita Springs, FL 34134, in the Naples area of Florida.