- December 4, 2025
The Flagler Beach City Commission has agreed to negotiate with Ocean Palms Golf Club LLC and principal manager Jeff Ryan for the purchase of the city-owned nine-hole golf course at 3600 S. Central Ave.
Ryan’s group has held the lease on the Ocean Palm Golf Course since January, 2024.
The commission voted 4-1 on Thursday, July 10, to enter negotiations with Ocean Palms for a deed-restricted sale that would limit the use of the property solely for golf course operations.
“I think it would be a disservice not to have the conversation,” Commissioner Eric Cooley said. “Everybody but a couple of folks want it to be a golf course and a really nice one. We’ve clearly demonstrated we can’t do it. We’ve been there. We’ve done that. I’m all for having the discussion. It’s in the city’s best interest. It’s in the citizens’ best interest.”
Commission Vice Chairman Rick Belhumeur said it’s time for the city to get out of the golf business.
“It’s cost us a lot of money,” he said. “As long as we keep it, it’s going to cost us a lot more.”
The course is in disrepair. During public comment, Chris Conklin, whose house is along the course, said, “(Right now), I would not allow my kids to play football on it. It’s not a golf course.”
In a letter of intent to purchase the property, OPGC said it plans to redesign the course from a nine-hole configuration to 12 holes. It would build a new clubhouse which would have a restaurant, bar, indoor putting lab and short game practice area, digital golf simulators and fitness area. It would replace the current turf with seashore paspalum, which has a high salt tolerance. A timeline of 28 weeks after purchase to rebuild the course and clubhouse was included.
After the purchase, the OPGC would finance the renovations, a lawyer for the group said.
A conceptual site plan has been presented to the city’s Planning and Architectural Review Board and the St. Johns River Water Management District has issued stormwater permits for the proposed redevelopment, according to city documents.
John Cunningham was the only commissioner to vote against the motion to negotiate a sale. He said he would like to see the city look into other options for use of the property. Although he said he was fine with negotiating, he ultimately voted against moving forward because he felt more information was needed.
Mark Imhoff, who lives along the course, submitted a letter asking the city to retain ownership of the golf course and allow a citizens’ nonprofit to manage it. During public comment, he said he would like the city to survey residents for their opinions on the future of the course.
Some residents said Ryan hasn’t been able to maintain the property since he took over the lease and didn’t want to see Flagler Beach sell such a valuable property, while others were in favor of the city entering into negotiations with Ryan's group.
The city had two appraisals done of the 38-acre course earlier this year with Cooksey and Associates valuing the property on Jan. 9 at $810,000 and Huffington and Associates on March 10 giving it a market value of $794,000.
