It’s hard to keep up with Michael Keizer.
The son of Bandon Dunes founder Mike Keiser, he started in the family business several decades ago, working as a groundskeeper at the Oregon resort. He kept his head down and appeared to be allergic to a special treatment. Many colleagues had no idea who he was.
So much for anonymity.
Since developing Sand Valley in Wisconsin with his brother Chris, Michael Keizer has struck out on his own, pursuing major projects in three different states.
The first, Rodeo Dunes, located about an hour from downtown Denver, will welcome its founders this year to the Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw design before opening to the public in 2027. A second 18-hole course is already in the making. In East Texas, Wild Spring Dunes recently opened eight holes for preview play on a Tom Doak design ahead of its full debut next fall.
Now comes news of the latest addition to Keizer’s fast-growing portfolio.
Construction has officially begun at Old Shores, a destination golf project in Florida’s Panhandle, just inland from the Gulf’s sugar-white beaches and the heavily trafficked 30A corridor. Similar to Wild Spring Dunes, Keizer has partnered with Doak, marking the fourth collaboration between the developer and the acclaimed architect.
The result won’t be your grandfather’s Florida golf, with its flat, palm-lined fairways and fountain-spouting ponds. The sand-based terrain is home to longleaf pines, open savannahs, spring-fed rivers and elevation changes not typical of the Sunshine State – about 40 feet from high to low. There is even more dramatic movement on the acreage where a second corridor will be built. Perhaps most striking at Old Shores are the natural ‘sinks’, wide, inverted dunes that create dramatic angles and compelling shooting requirements. Florida doesn’t matter. Doak has described the sinkholes as unlike anything he has ever seen on a golf course.
The design is currently underway, with lead associate Angela Moser on site. Preview play on select holes is expected as early as late 2026, with a full opening planned for fall 2027. The second 18-hole course is already in design, along with a short course.
While Old Shores is seen as a broader lifestyle community – complete with a walkable village, dining options and outdoor recreation – golf will anchor the experience at a destination about 30 minutes north of Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.
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