Greece to have a new Luxury Golf Resort Featuring first Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in the eastern Mediterranean

 

Kilada Country Club, Golf & Residences is a new luxury golf resort community under construction in the Porto Heli area of the Peloponnese region in southern Greece. The management and operating services for the new luxury golf resort will be provided by Arcis Golf.

Kilada Country Club, Golf & Residences will open in phases. The first phase is scheduled to debut in June 2023 with the country club, golf course, dining, pool, and clubhouse, to be followed by the spa and the beach club shortly afterwards. Future services and features of value to members and their guests include the boutique Kilada Hilltop Hotel and a dedicated wellness and training center.

The community also will offer exclusive residential real estate, including 90 signature villas lots ranging from nearly 10,000 to more than 20,000 square feet.

Holding geographical exclusivity, Kilada Golf Course is recognized globally as PGA National Greece, becoming only the 10th PGA National-designated resort in the world. The golf course presently has nine holes graded, with the remaining under construction.

Arcis Golf will be involved in all facets of construction, club membership and pre-opening marketing. Upon completion, the company will oversee operations for this world-class destination including marketing, staffing, budgeting, retail, event development, and member programming for the private golf club, clubhouse, pool, and spa.

“This project enhances our breadth and depth as a company and taps into the vast and varied skills of our leadership team,” said Arcis Golf Founder and CEO Blake Walker. “Consulting and management on a development of this magnitude uses our extensive club operations expertise and taps into our proficiency in designing world-class lifestyle offerings and in delivering extraordinary experiences.”

For a company in high growth mode, including the recent acquisition of the Mickelson Golf portfolio in Arizona and two premier clubs in its Dallas headquarters market, the new relationship with Kilada fits into Arcis Golf’s expansion plans.

“We are committed to finding and affiliating with high quality clubs like Kilada,” Walker added, “and international expansion is the next step in our growth strategy. We’re excited for our members and guests to have an opportunity to visit and experience all the beauty and quality that Kilada has to offer.” Arcis Golf is the second largest and fastest growing owner and operator of private, resort and daily fee clubs and now stands at approximately 70 courses and clubs.

Dolphin Capital, the owner and developer of world-class integrated resorts, is financing the project, which includes the first Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in the eastern Mediterranean. Zoniro, the exclusive developer of Dolphin Capital Investors’ projects, is overseeing the community master plan and integration of operational components. Set within 514 acres (208 hectares) of olive groves overlooking the picturesque traditional fishing village of Kilada, the region—often referred to as the “Hamptons of Greece”—is characterized by mountainous terrain and rolling hills with sweeping views of distant islands and the Aegean Sea.

“The golf course we are designing at Kilada will surely be the centerpiece of something unique and special within this Mediterranean location,” said Nicklaus. “This is a superb piece of property with wonderful movement and existing natural features. Our job is to simply set the golf into the land, and we hope this is a course and resort that will attract golfers of all skill levels.”

Arcis Golf has a previous working relationship with Nicklaus Design: Both The Club at Ruby Hill (Northern California) and The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge (Snoqualmie, Washington) have Jack Nicklaus Signature Design courses.

Arcis Golf has received numerous honors, including ranking on the Inc. Magazine 5000 list of the United States fastest-growing companies (2017, 2018) and National Golf Foundation’s biennial “Top 100 Businesses in Golf” award (2018, 2020). In addition, CEO Walker was recognized by EY in 2018 as the Entrepreneur Of The Year® in the hospitality category.