Meadows Golf Club to open under new management

A 36-hole golf destination in Sarasota County now known as the Meadows Golf Club will begin welcoming golfers for public play June 19. The property was formerly known as The Meadows Country Club and operated as a private course.

The rebranding comes with new management after the Meadows Country Club declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July 2025. Arnold Palmer Golf Management, known for operating Walt Disney World golf courses, will now oversee the Meadows golf operation, according to a statement. The Dallas-based company has managed more than 500 golf courses that combined total more than $6 billion in golf, hospitality and real estate assets, the company says.

The Meadows Community Association, which represents more than 3,500 residences in the area, owns the land where the golf course is located. It purchased more than 310 acres at 3101 Longmeadow from The Meadows Country Club Inc. in 2018 for $6 million, according to Sarasota County property records. Earlier this year, the community association’s board signed a long-term lease with an affiliate of east Manatee County-based Benderson Development to operate the property.

When it first opens, the Meadows Golf Club will offer public access to what it is calling the Meadows Course, the release states. Following course restoration, Arnold Palmer Golf Management also plans to reopen the course designed by architect Arthur Hills, which it calls the Groves Course.

“This is a golf club with tremendous potential,”  Arnold Palmer Golf Management COO and partner Doug Howe says in the statement. “We look forward to restoring it to a level of quality that the Sarasota community and its golfers will enjoy.”

One of the oldest country clubs in Sarasota, The Meadows Country Club opened its first 18-hole golf course in December 1976.