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The PGA's Original Home, Palm Beach Gardens
John D. MacArthur built this community with the PGA of America in the early 1960s as PGA National Golf Club, and it hosted the 1971 PGA Championship before the association moved west. Today BallenIsles holds about 1,575 residences across 33 neighborhoods and three championship courses, each rebuilt between 2013 and 2023. Membership is mandatory with ownership, in tiers.
Market Intelligence
Closed sales in the selected window, grouped by price tier.
BallenIsles closed sales by price tier, trailing twelve months, data through August 25, 2026. Source: Beaches MLS. · Updated September 1, 2026
Closed sales, Beaches MLS. Select any tier to view its recent sales. Tiers with fewer than three sales list each sale but show no median.
The Community
BallenIsles carries the deepest golf pedigree of any community in the county. John D. MacArthur developed it with the PGA of America in 1963 and 1964 as PGA National Golf Club, with courses by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee. The association ran its championships and its qualifying school here, hosted the 1971 PGA Championship, and staged the first PGA Merchandise Show on the grounds.
The PGA later moved a mile west, the community became JDM Country Club and then BallenIsles in 1988, and the reinvestment never stopped. All three courses have been rebuilt in the modern era, most recently the East by Nicklaus Design in 2023.
| Setting | Gated country club community on PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens |
|---|---|
| Residences | About 1,575, across 33 neighborhoods |
| Origins | Built 1963 to 1964 by John D. MacArthur with the PGA of America |
| Golf | Three courses: East, renovated by Nicklaus Design 2023, South, redesigned by Rees Jones 2020, North, renovated 2013 |
| History | Original PGA of America home, 1971 PGA Championship host |
| Membership | Mandatory with ownership, equity, in tiers from golf to social |
| How It Trades | Thirty three neighborhoods spanning condos to estates, one of the widest ranges in the Gardens |
For a decade this was the PGA of America's home course. The association staged its Seniors Championships here, ran the original Tour Qualifying School on these fairways, and hosted the 1971 PGA Championship. When the MacArthur agreement expired in 1973, the association moved to today's PGA National a mile west.
The MacArthur Foundation sold the property in the 1980s, the BallenIsles name arrived in 1988, and the club has spent the decades since converting history into standards.
All three courses have been rebuilt in the modern era. Rees Jones redesigned the South in 2020, Nicklaus Design rebuilt the East with new practice grounds in 2023, and the North was renovated in 2013 over Joe Lee's original routing. Few clubs anywhere carry 54 holes this current.
The membership structure is equity and mandatory with ownership, in tiers from full golf to sports and social. We walk buyers through the categories before contract, and terms come from the club.
Thirty three neighborhoods give BallenIsles the widest product range in the Gardens' club world, from condominiums and villas to custom estates on the water and the fairways. Renovation activity runs constant as buyers modernize the original stock.
The range shows in the record: closings from 2024 through mid 2026 carried a median just under $1.8M, and a February 2025 sale reached $5.6M.
Side by side
Market data is pulled live from the MLS on a trailing twelve-month basis, across all property types. Community details below are reference.
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In-depth coverage of membership pathways, equity structures, and on-market opportunities at BallenIsles - the context every serious buyer needs before approaching this club community.
The club that began as PGA National in 1964, where Nicklaus won the 1971 PGA Championship, is today the Gardens corridor's least expensive entry point: 54 renovated holes, mandatory equity membership from $135,000, and homes from $670K to $5.6M.
Read More : BallenIsles: Three Courses and the Value Entry to the Gardens CorridorCommon Questions
The range is the point: condominiums open the market and waterfront estates top it. Closings from 2024 through mid 2026 carried a median just under $1.8M, with a February 2025 sale reaching $5.6M. Current medians by tier are in the market table on this page, which updates automatically.
Yes. Membership is mandatory with ownership and structured as equity, offered in tiers from full golf to sports and social categories. Terms and admission come from the club directly, and we confirm the current structure in every transaction.
It was the PGA of America’s original home course, built by John D. MacArthur with the association in the early 1960s as PGA National Golf Club. It hosted the 1971 PGA Championship, the PGA Seniors Championships and the original Tour Qualifying School before the PGA moved a mile west in the 1970s.
Fifty four holes, all current. Nicklaus Design renovated the East Course and practice grounds in 2023, Rees Jones redesigned the South in 2020, and the North was rebuilt in 2013 over Joe Lee’s original nine.
Thirty three neighborhoods covering condominiums, villas, single family homes and custom estates on water and fairways. No other Gardens club community spans that full range inside one gate.
On PGA Boulevard in the heart of Palm Beach Gardens, minutes from the Gardens Mall, the hospitals and I-95. The beaches and the airport are each about twenty minutes away.
We'd welcome the conversation.
