PGA of America will get another winter golf home

What recession? At least not as far as the PGA of America is concerned.

In fact, the timing couldn’t be more right, officials say, to start construction on another PGA Village, except this one will be outside the country.

Actually, it won’t be that far from the original PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla., which is about 400 miles or so to the northwest of the new one being built on Cat Island in The Bahamas. This week, officials from the PGA of America and The Bahamas held an official groundbreaking.

The new PGA Village The Bahamas will feature a Rees Jones-designed championship golf course, PGA branded Golf Cottages, clubhouse, a PGA Learning and Performance Center, PGA Historical Center and the first phase of the village. Construction has already begun and is expected to take 24 to 36 months.

Cat Island partner David Southworth, who is president and CEO of Southworth Development, said the fact that it’s happening now in the midst of a worldwide recession may actually be a blessing.

“We truly believe that in two to three years, as Phase I of this great project is completed, we will no longer be in a worldwide recession,” he said at the groundbreaking. “We actually feel the timing of this development could not be better. We know that in this day and age, customers will not buy until developers have built the amenities and facilities. Because of this, the partnership is committed to the funding and completion of Phase I. Today is the first big step of many to come.”

How this shakes out remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: In order to get out of recession, development must continue, not stop. And if this PGA Village is anything like the one in Port St. Lucie, PGA Village The Bahamas should be an enticing destination.