Bryson DeChambeau, the two-time U.S. Open champion and Clovis native, has announced plans for The Orchard Golf Club, a golf and residential development he wants to build on the historic McFarlane Ranch site across from his old high school. The project would pair an 18-hole championship course with homes, practice facilities, a public farmers market, and other community amenities, all designed to lean into the Central Valley's agricultural roots.
DeChambeau is working with real estate developer Cook Land Company on the project, which is planned for the McFarlane Ranch property in Clovis, directly across from Clovis East High School, according to San Joaquin Valley Sun. The outlet reports that every hole on the course is intended to be surrounded by a different variety of fruit or nut tree, a nod to the farmland that still defines much of the region. DeChambeau has said the development would span roughly 200 acres, though that figure has not gone unchallenged elsewhere in local reporting.
A Hometown Project Years in the Making
DeChambeau told San Joaquin Valley Sun he has been working on the project with the city of Clovis and Fresno County since 2022, long before Thursday's announcement went public. As KMPH Fox 26 reported, DeChambeau described the effort on the Joe Pompliano podcast as encompassing a multi-sports complex, a driving range, a golf course, and a residential community center — “the whole thing,” in his words. He also told the outlet he anticipates approval within 18 months and that a driving range could open even before the broader project wins sign-off.
The golfer has framed the project as a form of hometown repayment. “Having grown up here and attended Clovis East High School, I feel a deep responsibility to give back,” he said, per the same report from San Joaquin Valley Sun. He has also said the Central Valley community is built on hard work, character, and discipline, and that the project will focus on increasing local children's and schools' access to golf.
Permits and Paperwork Still a Question Mark
How far the project has actually progressed through the approval pipeline remains murky. As of a September 2025 report from Fresnoland, Clovis officials said flatly that no applications had been submitted for the larger development. “Currently there are no applications, and as a result, no timeline to share,” the city told the outlet at the time.
Fresno County offered a similar picture that same month, telling Fresnoland that aside from an application for a 22-acre golf training facility at Nees and Thompson Avenues east of Clovis — filed that June — no permits had been submitted for the larger development. The outlet also noted that DeChambeau had estimated permits would take 12 to 15 months, an estimate that predates his more recent 18-month projection and is not confirmation that any formal clock has started.
Wildly Different Numbers on the Project's True Size
Just how big The Orchard Golf Club will ultimately be is far from settled. DeChambeau has pointed to a development spanning roughly 200 acres, but Fresnoland's reporting flagged a separate estimate from the golfer suggesting the project could expand Clovis by 30 percent — a figure that, by the outlet's calculation, would amount to about 5,000 acres, far beyond the 200-acre figure mentioned elsewhere. The two numbers have not been reconciled publicly.
For scale, Fresnoland pointed to Vista Ranch, a comparable 507-acre, 3,330-home development whose approval process began back in 2016 and didn't release its draft environmental impact report for public comment until July 2024 — a reminder that large Central Valley developments can take the better part of a decade to work through the pipeline.
Mixed Reactions From Clovis and Beyond
News of the project has stirred some debate among locals online. In a Reddit thread discussing the development, one commenter wrote, “I think it's great that someone is investing in the community,” while another argued, “Kids out golfing and learning the sport doesn't seem like an evil.” Other commenters were less enthusiastic, with one questioning the region's water supply amid new development and another asking, “Why is this kind of thing being approved by this city when what we actually need is housing??” Those reactions, found on the r/fresno subreddit, reflect individual opinions rather than any official survey of community sentiment.
For now, The Orchard Golf Club remains a vision rather than a groundbreaking — one DeChambeau has spent years shaping with local officials, built around the idea of blending a championship golf course with the orchards and agricultural identity of the place he once called home.
