Bryson DeChambeau announces 'mega' plans to design course for new residential community in his California hometown

Oddly, Bryson DeChambeau’s California hometown of Clovis, 10 miles east of Fresno, doesn’t have a golf course. It will have one and a much larger population if the two-time U.S. Open champion and his development partners have their way on what DeChambeau has called a “mega” project.

DeChambeau has announced that he and real estate developer Cook Land Company have plans to build an 18-hole championship course, The Orchard Golf Club, that would be the golfer’s first design, and a residential community on the land they’ve acquired at historic McFarlane Ranch, which has existed for three generations while growing crops such as citrus and almonds.

“The Central Valley has always been a community built on hard work, character, and discipline. Having grown up here and attended Clovis East High School, I feel a deep responsibility to give back to the region that provided me with so much,” DeChambeau said in a statement.

“This is a profound opportunity for my team and I to work with the Cook family to help revitalize the area by investing in a project that uses golf to truly serve the community.”

In a nod to the Central Valley’s primary industry of farming, every hole on the course will be surrounded by a different variety of fruit or nut tree. Clovis is a city of about 120,000, and DeChambeau said on a podcast interview with Joe Pompliano that the development is so large that it could bring up to 30 percent more residents to the city.

DeChambeau noted in his statement on Friday that plans for the development have been discussed since 2022 and that the project still needs approval from the City of Clovis and Fresno County. He estimated that the process could take about 18 months. “The development regulations in California are complex but the City of Clovis and Fresno County has been and will continue to work hand in hand to bring this important project to the region,” he said.

In his statement, DeChambeau did not name an architect who would potentially work with him on the course design elements.