CLOVIS, Calif. – Professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, the two-time U.S. Open champion from Clovis, is taking a swing at real estate development in his hometown.
DeChambeau this week revealed more details about his planned golf and housing “mega-project,” the term he used in a 2025 interview.
The Orchard Golf Club will include an 18-hole course and world-class practice facilities, as well as residential housing, a farmers market and community amenities designed to expand access to golf for local kids and schools. Every hole will be surrounded by a different variety of fruit or nut tree, according to a press release.
If it gets built, The Orchard Golf Club would become Clovis’ first golf course.
DeChambeau is partnering with Cook Land Company of Fresno to develop the project. It will encompass roughly 450 acres in the Loma Vista growth area of the city across the street from Clovis East High School, according to Clovis Economic Development Director Chad McCollum. Fresno’s Woodward Park is 300 acres, by comparison.
“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 press release. “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.”
DeChambeau’s press release indicated he has acquired the McFarlane Ranch as the site for development. In September 2022, the Clovis City Council approved a housing development with 1,000 residential lots on part of the land now planned for the mixed-use golf project.
The previously approved housing development encompasses roughly 35 acres north of Ashlan Avenue between Leonard and Thompson avenues, according to city documents. So unless Clovis annexes additional land, the bulk of DeChambeau’s development will be outside of city limits in Fresno County.
McCollum said DeChambeau and Cook Land Company have yet to file any applications for the planned project.
Clovis East High sits directly west of McFarlane Ranch, and housing subdivisions have been built to the north and south. City-owned Pump House Park is the only new development on the property. The rest is currently open fields and orange orchards.
In his press release, DeChambeau said he expects city and county approval within 18 months with some amenities such as a driving range to come sooner.
“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,” DeChambeau said.
DeChambeau ranks among the most-accomplished – and highest-earning – professional golfers. Known for his analytical approach to the game, the 33-year-old has amassed 16 pro victories, including nine on the PGA Tour and five in the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf.
DeChambeau received a reported $125 million to defect from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf in 2022 and has earned roughly $65 million in prize money. Following LIV Golf’s recent bankruptcy filing, his career is at a pivot point.
