Rick Caruso Gilbert Flores/WWD/Getty Images Rick Caruso’s empire has expanded to the world of golf.
Caruso, founder and executive chairman of his namesake real estate development firm, has unveiled a first look at his new private golf and social club called Miramar Lake Club. The property — formerly known as Sherwood Lake Club and located behind the gates of the Sherwood community near Thousand Oaks at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains — is set to open later this year.
It features an 18-hole golf course designed by a legend of the sport, Jack Nicklaus, as well as an 18,000-square-foot clubhouse, a resort-style pool, a signature restaurant concept (under the direction of a yet-to-be-announced chef), fitness and training facilities, tennis courts, wellness amenities and a calendar of social events designed to build community.
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The sale, first reported by L.A. Material, came together earlier this year and followed the death of Sherwood Lake Club owner David H. Murdock, a billionaire businessman who propelled Dole Food Co. to become the world’s largest producer of fruits and vegetables. After taking ownership of the club, Caruso and his team “updated every element, from architecture to amenities” to give it an elevated lifestyle experience fitting for a private club backed by Caruso. It also carries the name of one of Caruso’s other properties, Rosewood Miramar Beach, in Montecito.
In a statement, Caruso said Miramar Lake Club represents his company’s vision for where golf is heading, “more welcoming, more dynamic and deeply rooted in experience.” Ahead of the July 4th holiday, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Caruso to expand on those thoughts about what he’s building at Miramar and share why he jumped at the chance to buy the property in a super-quick transaction. See below.
An exterior view of the driveway at Miramar Lake Club. 
A rendering of the bar at Miramar Lake Club. 
A view of the green at Miramar Lake Club. 
The patio at Miramar Lake Club. I read a line in some early press about this new Caruso development that said “from The Grove to the greens.” After all of your developments, why a golf course and social club?
It really starts with our passion for hospitality, service and experience. We want our customers to be able to have fun, and what we learned very quickly after opening Rosewood Miramar is how much we love the resort business. Then we opened a private club next door, the beach club, and it was a huge success with our members. But it’s also been a fun business for us to be in with the programming, the planning, the quality of the food. Clearly what is happening is that there is a wonderful intersection with what people want in experiences that includes health, wellness, fine food and activities that they can do with friends and family.
There’s also been such an explosion in popularity in the golf course business. We’ve been monitoring that and we’re excited to get into it with such a unique course. There’s only two 18-hole, 3-par Jack Nicklaus-designed courses out there. It’s a world-class course, and what we’re doing now is enhancing it and spending a lot of money enhancing the whole club experience. The course is in really great shape. We’ll give updates to the pool and we’ll have great programming. The uniqueness of this club is that you will be able to come in the morning, work out, have lunch, play a round of golf with friends or family, lie by the pool, relax, have dinner and a drink. It will be a really great place for all of that.
I read it was a really quick transaction. Can you share about that process and how it went down?
I got a cold call on a Friday from a broker. I was actually with my family that day at our home in Newport Beach. He called to say, “I have this opportunity for you.” He told me about it. I had not seen the club. I’ve certainly seen Sherwood as we have friends that live out there. But I hadn’t seen the Lake Club. We spent about 20 minutes on the call, and we made a deal. I called our head of development and general counsel. I said, “I hate to have you guys busy over the weekend but we got a deal here. Let’s get it closed as soon as possible.” It came together very quickly. I knew Dave Murdock well, and I knew the quality that he put into everything that he built. The whole development behind the gates out there, it’s really one of a kind. To own part of that with our own club, I thought it was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.
What else can people expect from a Caruso private golf club? I read that you’re planning to introduce a restaurant concept, maybe Italian?
We’re going to have fine but still fun dining. We’re building a really fun bar that will have entertainment every night. We have a very great grill that’s by the pool to serve more casual food for lunch. We’ll do a whole wellness center that will overlook the golf course. It’s going to be spectacular. We’ll do a full gym that’s fully equipped. Tennis courts. Frankly, it will be the kind of place that I wish I had in my neighborhood. That’s the way I look at everything that I build: I would love to have this in my neighborhood. I think it’s going to have a big draw. We are under construction at a property at the Commons of Calabasas, and we’ll be tying this project into that. Part of the expansion of the retail there will be an eight-story luxury high-rise apartment building. For the premium units, they will have a membership that will come with it. It’s part of our ecosystem; members of the Miramar Club, our beach club in Montecito, those members will also be able to use it. It’s a fairly quick drive from Montecito to Sherwood. It’s a nice tie-in for people to have more amenities.
How often do you get out on the golf course, and what kind of golfer are you?
We had a company event at the Miramar Lake Club course, and I was able to play. I have to tell you, I’m not a great golfer. In fact, it was Dave Murdock years and years ago — probably 40 years ago — who said to me, “You’ve got to make a choice, Ricky, you’re either going to build a great company or you’re going to have a great golf game.” I don’t know if that’s absolutely true but I am trying now to spend a little more time playing golf. I certainly want to become better. But one of the great things about playing a 3-par course is that it can be a quick play. One of the things I struggle with playing 18-holes is that it can be a four- or four-and-a-half-hour deal. It consumes such a big chunk of the day. So it was nice to be able to play 18-holes at Miramar Lake Club and we got it done in two and a half hours. It’s constant movement and you only need three or four clubs and you’re done. It’s a lot of exercise, too.
Last time I caught up with you, we were at Palisades Village for the unveiling of Spacca Tutto. You’re close to reopening Palisades Village. How’s it going?
It’s all going really well. I was out there yesterday with the team. I’m out there every week, and yesterday was a real turning point. It really, really hit me, and I got me a little bit choked up, to be honest. The flowers are going back in, the hanging pots off the street lights are going back up, buildings are getting painted. It was just a beehive of activity. Angelini is already built out on the inside, and it looks like it’s ready to take reservations. It’s miraculous, and I’m beside myself with my team. The retailers and restaurateurs are on a higher mission here and they’re all doing great work. We’re slating mid-August to be open. We’ll announce the official date soon. We’re 99 percent leased. It’s going to be great.
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