Welcome Home: How Gulf Harbour's Ambassador Program Helps You Belong

You've made the decision. You're ready to join a private club, maybe even relocate to Southwest Florida. The amenities look perfect on paper. The golf course photographs beautifully. The marina gleams just as it does in the sunset images you've seen online.

But there's one question that keeps coming back to you: Will you actually fit in?

It's the concern that stays with every prospective member, especially those coming from out of state. You're not just investing in a membership. You're investing in a lifestyle, a community, potentially a whole new chapter of your life.

Martin Walters understands this concern intimately because he lived it himself.

From Louisville to Gulf Harbour

When Martin and his wife visited Southwest Florida from Louisville in 2018, they were shopping for their next home. They had built a successful business in Kentucky over decades, raised their family there and Martin had never lived anywhere else. The idea of starting over somewhere new, knowing absolutely no one, felt daunting.

Their real estate agent invited them to a Friday night cocktail party at Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club. Martin remembers walking in and immediately thinking, "Oh my gosh, these are cool people." By the end of the weekend, they had bought a house and joined the club.

The real test came later. In 2019, Martin and his wife sold their company and made the permanent move to Florida. Yet within a single season at Gulf Harbour, he knew more members than he had at clubs in Louisville where he'd been a fixture for years.

"Good stuff, good people," Martin says. "It's pretty cool having lots of things to do and we're always busy.”

The difference wasn't the place. It was the people and their welcome of newcomers.

Building a Bridge for Every New Member

That experience sparked an idea. What if Gulf Harbour could systematically provide what Martin had received informally? What if every new or prospective member had someone specifically assigned to help them navigate those crucial first weeks and months?

From that simple question, the Ambassador Program at Gulf Harbour was born.

Today, Martin serves as a key leader in the program, which matches ambassadors with new and prospective members based on shared interests and backgrounds. If you're passionate about tennis, you get paired with a tennis enthusiast. If you're coming from Michigan, you might connect with someone who made that same transition. If you're a boater, you'll meet someone who knows every inch of the marina.

The program works because it removes the guesswork from integration. Your ambassador walks you through everything: which golf games happen on which days, where the best sunset spots are, how to sign up for tournaments and even which staff members can help with specific requests.

Martin describes it as being a helpful guide through those first critical months. At clubs he belonged to in Kentucky, new members had to wiggle their way in and figure out the unwritten rules on their own. At Gulf Harbour, the obstacle course has been replaced with a red carpet.

The results speak for themselves. "We haven't lost one yet," Martin says of the Ambassador Program's perfect retention rate.

Creating Connection at Every Turn

What makes the Ambassador Program work extends beyond formal introductions. The club hosts frequent social events that create organic social opportunities. Friday night live music at the tiki bar draws hundreds of members. The House Band regularly packs in 400 people for casual evenings of music and camaraderie. Themed dining nights give members endless chances to connect over shared interests.

"It's like being on a cruise," Martin explains. "You can do as much as you want, or you can do nothing if you want.

The golf program exemplifies this welcoming culture. Instead of requiring new members to network their way into games, Gulf Harbour offers multiple organized groups every day of the week. Shotgun starts bring everyone together before and after rounds. The same structure is in place for tennis, with organized play at various skill levels and informal beer-and-tennis gatherings on Thursday nights.

Even the physical layout encourages connection. The clubhouse sits at the heart of everything, overlooking the pool, the marina and the tennis courts. Whether you're primarily a golfer, a tennis player, a boater, or a social member who loves dining and events, you're constantly crossing paths with the full spectrum of the community.

When Community Becomes Family

The true test of any community comes during a crisis. When Hurricane Ian devastated Southwest Florida in 2022, Gulf Harbour members rallied around their staff with extraordinary generosity. An initial email asking for donations to help employees who had lost homes raised just under $500,000 in a matter of days.

The response was so overwhelming that members transformed the temporary relief effort into a permanent support system for the Gulf Harbour team. Martin now chairs the foundation that grew from that moment.

He experienced that same community spirit on a personal level recently when his wife had back surgery just before Christmas. Within hours of the news spreading, their phones lit up with offers from neighbors and fellow members.

"It is amazing the amount of support we have from the people around here," Martin says. "We've just been blown up with, 'Can I bring you food? Can I get you something? I'm going to the grocery, do you want me to pick you up something?'"

This wasn't orchestrated through the club or the Ambassador Program. It was simply members looking out for each other the way neighbors should.

Martin's own journey illustrates how quickly Gulf Harbour can feel like home. He arrived knowing no one. Within months, he had a circle of friends. Within a couple of years, he was leading efforts to welcome others. He and his wife have now sold all their Kentucky property and made Gulf Harbour their permanent home.

When asked what he tells people who are considering Gulf Harbour but still hesitant, Martin's answer is simple: "Come see it for yourself," underscoring that you don't have to imagine fitting in. You immediately experience the warmth of the community.

For Martin, one of the unexpected joys has been watching members who worried about finding their place become the welcomers themselves. People who arrived nervous and uncertain are now the ones introducing new faces at the tiki bar, inviting prospective members to join their golf game, sharing insider tips.

That transformation happens fast at Gulf Harbour. Members who have been around for just a year come back for their second season ready to dive in completely. They're not newcomers anymore. They're ambassadors in spirit if not in title, living proof that finding your place at Gulf Harbour isn't a challenge.

It's inevitable.