MYAKKA CITY, Fla. — In 2023, ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska toured the FJB Ranch, which is now home to a Nick Price-designed golf course. The transformation from flat grasslands to a course with hills, water hazards, and native trees lining the holes is unbelievable.

It was a vision and a blank space when groundbreaking started last year.

Paluska first reported on the Soleta Gulf Club for a story that aired last year: “Florida and Golf: Why a new renaissance for the game is underway.”

A year and a half and three hurricanes later, the team opened only 2-weeks behind schedule.

The course was designed by Price, a three-time major champion, World Golf Hall of Fame member, and one of the best players of his era.

A native of Zimbabwe, Price won 18 times on the PGA Tour, earned two PGA Tour Player of the Year Awards (1993, 1994), and spent 43 weeks as the No. 1 player in the world.

Price told Paluska that the course is for players of all skill levels. Its goal is to immerse players in their golf game and the natural beauty of Old Florida.

“It’s all about the golf here, and that’s really helped us to build a better golf course,” Price said. “I drove around and got to experience what I had been dreaming and thinking about for the last year and a half. And to see it in fruition, to see it finished is just something very special.”

During the design process, Price focused on using all-natural and native elements of the land to sculpt the course. The native white sands on the course are a beautiful way to help the course blend into its natural surroundings while preserving natural resources and limiting its environmental footprint on the property.

Soleta Golf Club is located at 33720 Singletary Road in Myakka City. Although the location feels far off the beaten path, development across Sarasota is slowly starting to pop up around the new course.

“What does it feel like to have seen cattle ranch get transformed into this world-class golf course,” Paluska asked the developer and owner of Soleta Golf Club, David Turner.

“This was open pasture land with cattle still on it, and we made a lot of progress to be open in playing golf in under a year,” Turner said. “We actually protected all wetlands, didn’t encroach on any of those 164 acres of wetlands. We moved over 2000 trees from different parts of the property onto the golf course itself.”

“It is pretty amazing for a developer to come into an area that’s a clean slate and protect the environment the way you guys did,” Paluska said.

“Well, it was important, based on the location and the topography we had to work with, why we selected the site, why we partnered with Nick. He was very into the natural feel of a natural golf course, unlike a lot of golf courses that are built today, so we wanted to preserve that as best we could,” Turner said. “We think it’ll be great for the Myakka City area. But also, as you mentioned, Sarasota continues out to Lakewood Ranch. Development continues to come out this way. One big thing with us is, again, with the environment, is sensible development. So we’re trying to have a minimal footprint. Not a lot of houses just really create something special out here that’s unique to the community and area.”

Avid golfers will notice one key difference at Soleta compared to other courses: no homes along the course.

“The course brought us here,” Janet Gaitan said. “The fact that there are no homes on the course, we loved that. You feel like you’re playing in a park; it’s peaceful, and the natural aspects out here were what sold us on the course. And then, we wanted to live in the community where we played, so we started looking into the builders and what they had planned for the community at large, all of the amenities.”

Her husband, Lance Gaitan, told Paluska the course is one of a kind.

“We’ve golfed courses all over the country, and this is definitely one of the most interesting courses we’ve played,” Lance Gaitan said. “It does have a feel to Pinehurst No. 2, which we’ve both played a couple of times, and it’s just super unique. The wind plays a big factor in the game here. It is a little bit similar to playing overseas in Scotland and Ireland. We’re excited to get our home built here in the next year and a half or so and to get the opportunity to play this beautiful course.”

Soleta Golf Club is a high-end community. It will be gated and contain just under a hundred custom-built luxury residences.

Soleta partnered with two well-known builders:John Cannon Homes and Anchor Builders. One-acre plus estates will be available. All home sites are conveniently situated within one mile of the clubhouse.

The homes are costly, starting around $1.6 million and going up to over $3.6 million, depending on upgrades, etc.

The golf course was phase 1, but family-friendly amenities and more construction are on the horizon. The club recently installed Toptracertechnology, the same as used at Topgolf driving ranges.

“We’ll do pool, grill, kids club, and family area. We’re going to do a performance center with all types of golf technology. And then, we’ll do several stays and play cottages and the clubhouse,” Turner said. “We hope you come out here and realize that it’s pretty much unlike anything else in South Florida. It’s very unique. It’s very serene out here. But not just the golf, the overall experience.”