Newport Beach is a hotbed of surf culture going back 100 years when Duke Kahanamoku would hit the lineup during his day trips from Hollywood. Later, the area would spawn the birth of the new wave Echo Beach movement in the ’80s as well as incubate brands like Volcom shortly thereafter. Today it’s one of the most crowded zones in surfing.

This week news broke that city officials are moving forward with an impact study for a surf park development. The plan is to revamp part of one of Newport’s four golf courses with a state-of-the-art wave pool. 

Laylan Connelly of the OC Register reported that Back Bay Barrels LLC will fund an environmental review for the proposed “surf farm” at the Newport Beach Golf Course adjacent Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve.

The environmental report will evaluate potential impacts—such as traffic, pollution, and water consumption—related to the proposed transformation of a 15-acre section of the existing golf course into a 7-acre surf lagoon and other amenities.

Whether developers decide to use an Endless Surf, Wavegarden Cove, Surf Lakes or AllWaves surf system remains to be seen as no sketches or architectural renderings have been released. 

The information released did mention that as part of the project two new buildings are planned, with the main structure not exceeding a maximum height of 50 feet. It will include health and fitness facilities, a surf-shop, locker rooms, storage lockers, and food service.

On the lookout for pushback, officials reiterated that this is only a precursory exploration into building a surf park at the location. Along with the environmental review (which could take a year to complete) there is a period open for public comment. 

In online documents, area residents did say the golf course is valued as one of the few affordable greens in the area. Development, they said, would further degrade their access to affordable public golf. The surf park plans would eliminate three holes on the course and the driving range and putting green as well as amenities like the restaurant. 

One obstacle is that the area will have to be rezoned, which can be a huge hurdle in some communities. The failed Coral Mountain development in La Quinta needed rezoning and was sunk by area residents due to concerns over noise, lighting and water use. The city council quickly withdrew support from that project after national media attention and instead, to the confusion of many residents, approved a water-intensive golf resort project.

For wave pools, getting approval varies with each community council. In development-friendly places like Orange County California it should work in surfers’ favor. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and we’ll keep you posted.