The managers and chairs of private clubs across the country have now ranked the Boca Grande Club eighth among American beach clubs. They cast that vote in the first year Platinum Clubs of America published a beach club list at all. Neither members nor guests had a ballot. For the 2027–2028 cycle, the north-end club scored 65.81 points. That puts it in a top-ten bracket made up mostly of Palm Beach, Southern California and New York names, and it sits just ahead of Santa Barbara's Coral Casino.
The Boca Beacon reported the news on November 5, working from the Club's press release, which called it "a historic milestone." The ranking itself and the way it was decided say a good deal about the club at the north end of the island.
A category that did not exist last cycle
Platinum Clubs of America has run its election in five categories: Country, Golf, City, Yacht and Athletic Clubs. Its own FAQ calls Beach Clubs "new for 2027–2028." The organization's lists for 2025–2026 and 2023–2024 have no beach club category. So the Boca Grande Club entered the first beach club ranking ever published, ahead of 12 other clubs on a 20-club list.
The new category also enlarged the whole program. The election now spans six categories with 320 Platinum places in total, where the previous cycle's five categories held 300. Ballots went to more than 4,100 private clubs, compared with 3,500 the cycle before.
The organization defines a beach club as a facility "centered around a beachfront or coastal lifestyle experience." In its words, such clubs emphasize "beach access, waterfront amenities, dining, social engagement, and recreational programming," and some add racquet sports, fitness, boating or aquatics. Anyone who has walked from the Gulf Deck down to the sand will recognize that description.
Who filled out the ballots
The vote is a peer review of club management, conducted inside the industry. According to Platinum Clubs of America's published election process, it works in four steps:
- A preliminary ballot goes to private club managers nationwide. It lists earlier Platinum Clubs and Honorable Mentions, and managers may nominate more clubs. Any nominee must be approved by the Advisory Board before it reaches the final ballot.
- A third-party election manager sends the final ballot electronically and confidentially. Each participating club gets two: one for the general manager, COO or CEO, and one for the chairman, president, commodore or owner.
- Voters list clubs in a specific order over a four-week period. In the Beach Club category, a club ranked in a voter's top three earns 100 points, places four through ten earn 70, eleven through fifteen earn 50, and sixteen through twenty earn 25.
- Each club's total points are divided by its number of voters to give an average. A beach club needs at least 50 votes to qualify.
That math gives the Club's 65.81 a scale. A club named in every voter's top three would average 100. A club placed in the four-through-ten band by every voter would average 70. The Boca Grande Club's average sits just below that second line.
The voters work from seven selection criteria. This cycle, the second criterion was reworded to "Excellence in Operations, Amenities, and Facilities," adding "Operations" to the earlier text. The full set reads like a management review:
- Universal Recognition
- Excellence in Operations, Amenities, and Facilities
- Caliber of Staff and Professional Service Levels
- Engagement and Commitment of Membership
- Governance and Prudent Fiscal Management
- Adapting to Changing Times
- Overall Experience
The people scoring a club on governance and fiscal management run clubs themselves, and they know from their own budgets and boards what those words cost.
Where the Club landed among the twenty
The top ten of the 2027–2028 Platinum Beach Clubs list, as published by Platinum Clubs of America:
| Rank | Club | Location | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beach Point Club | Mamaroneck, N.Y. | 80.33 |
| 2 | The Beach Club | Palm Beach, Fla. | 77.24 |
| 3 | The Beach Club | Santa Monica, Calif. | 76.40 |
| 4 | Bath and Tennis Club | Palm Beach, Fla. | 74.57 |
| 5 | Hideaway Beach Club | Marco Island, Fla. | 72.42 |
| 6 | Bel-Air Bay Club | Los Angeles, Calif. | 69.18 |
| 7 | Port Royal Club | Naples, Fla. | 69.11 |
| 8 | Boca Grande Club | Boca Grande, Fla. | 65.81 |
| 9 | Coral Casino Beach & Cabana Club | Santa Barbara, Calif. | 65.51 |
| 10 | Outrigger Canoe Club | Honolulu, Hawaii | 60.93 |
The middle of the table is tightly bunched. The Boca Grande Club finished 0.30 points ahead of Coral Casino and 3.30 points behind Port Royal Club. Below Outrigger Canoe Club, the gaps open up. The Kapalua Club in Hawaii sits 11th at 58.08, more than seven points behind Boca Grande.
Florida holds nine of the 20 places. Five of those are on the Gulf: Hideaway Beach Club on Marco Island, Port Royal Club in Naples, the Boca Grande Club, The Club at Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs at 17th, and Longboat Key Club at 20th. Among Gulf Coast beach clubs, Gasparilla Island's ranks third, behind only Marco Island and Naples. It is also the only club on the list between Longboat Key to the north and Bonita Springs to the south.
The leadership behind the vote
A peer vote that weighs staff caliber and governance is partly a vote on the people running the Club. The release named them.
Gap Kovach chairs both the Boca Grande Club and the Boca Grande Homeowners Association. In the Boca Beacon's report, he credited the whole operation:
"This national recognition represents far more than an industry ranking. ... It was achieved by the entire Boca Grande Club community: the vision and dedication of the Board of Governors, the continued support and confidence of the membership, and the extraordinary commitment of management and our entire staff."
Day-to-day leadership has changed recently. Robert Lesinger, the Club's CEO and President, replaced Yvonne Anderson, who served the Club for 31 years. The Beacon announced his appointment in October 2025. It reported that he had spent the previous three years as general manager of the Corpus Christi Yacht Club and had also worked at Pensacola Country Club, Greensboro Country Club and Indian River Country Club.
Lesinger came up through the same industry that casts these ballots. Within about a year of his arrival, his peers in that industry placed his new club eighth in the nation. The release credits his "unending enthusiasm and energy" with inspiring the Club to this level. It also has Lesinger thanking the many product and service providers who have supported the Club since it began in 1978.
What the voters were weighing on Gasparilla Road
The criterion "Adapting to Changing Times" has a clear answer at the beach end of the property. The Club describes its new zero-edge pool as sitting "just steps from the Gulf." It has a shallow sun shelf and a spa, and a redesigned Tiki Bar serves poolside. The Club's clubhouse pages list a renovated Clubhouse Restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining, plus Main Dining, the Upper Deck Lounge, the Gulf Deck and the Verandah. The Tiki Bar serves cocktails and lunch, and the Verandah serves a casual lunch and dinner.
The racquet side matches the "recreational programming" in the beach club definition. The Club has eight clay courts, and its tennis pros return each October. The program includes private and group lessons, adult singles, doubles and mixed matches, tournaments, junior programs, a ball machine and racquet stringing. The Club's tennis page links an Adult Tennis Programs flyer for the 2026–2027 season.
"Engagement and Commitment of Membership" also extends past the Club's own gate. In March 2026, the Boca Grande Club and the Boca Bay Pass Club held a joint tennis mixer, and the Beacon counted more than 60 participants playing on both clubs' courts.
Every item above is something an owner or member can see on any morning this month. The voters scored the same things from the outside, judged against the clubs they run themselves.
Melissa Csank has followed the Boca Grande Club from the island side for years: through the leadership change, the new pool deck, and the tennis seasons that open each October. If you own at the Club or are weighing a place at the north end, Melissa Csank would be glad to talk through what this recognition means for the community you know. Schedule a Private Consultation.
