Where Does Ernie Els Live in Florida? From the Bear's Club to Old Palm Golf Club
September 21, 2026 · 8 min read · By Onias Derilus, Broker
Ernie Els sold his Bear's Club estate in Jupiter to Rory McIlroy in 2017 and moved to Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens. Here is what is reported about both homes, the autism campus he built in Jupiter, and what houses nearby cost now.
Where does Ernie Els live? The four-time major champion lives in Old Palm Golf Club, a private golf community in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He moved there in 2017. That year he sold his Bear's Club estate in Jupiter to Rory McIlroy for a reported $11 million. Els has lived in northern Palm Beach County for well over a decade. His family's autism foundation runs a 26-acre campus in Jupiter. Here is what public reporting says about his homes, his reasons for staying, and the market around him.
Key takeaways
- Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens has been his reported home since 2017, in a community popular with South African players.
- He sold his Bear's Club estate to Rory McIlroy for a reported $11 million; the price of his Old Palm home has not been reported.
- The Els Center of Excellence, a 26-acre autism campus in Jupiter, opened in 2015 and anchors the family to the area.
- He has long kept ties to England and South Africa, but Florida has been the family's base since the late 2000s.
Where does Ernie Els live in Florida?
Ernie Els lives in Palm Beach Gardens, inside Old Palm Golf Club. Golf News Net reported in 2017 that Els had sold his Bear's Club home and was preparing to move to Old Palm. A number of fellow South Africans already lived there. Old Palm sits on PGA Boulevard, west of the Intracoastal. It has a Raymond Floyd course, a large practice park and estate homes behind a gate.
Before that, his address was the Bear's Club in Jupiter. That is the Jack Nicklaus enclave that later became home to McIlroy, Michael Jordan and a long list of tour players. Els was one of the club's early star residents. He built a large house there. Its recording studio and tennis court became part of McIlroy's story once the sale went through.
Pure Equity does not publish private addresses. We name the club and the town and leave the street out. The Els family also keeps a low profile on the new house, which is why the reporting on it is thin.
Inside the reported homes
The Bear's Club estate is the one with a paper trail, because the sale to McIlroy drew wide coverage. Golf News Net described a roughly 9,000-square-foot Spanish Colonial house with nine bedrooms and 10.5 bathrooms. It listed a home theater, a recording studio and a game room. Other outlets put the size higher, from 12,800 to 17,000 square feet, and mention 2.4 acres with a guesthouse and a full tennis court. The price was reported at $11 million, and McIlroy moved in during August 2017.
The Old Palm home is another matter. No outlet has reported its price, size or date of purchase. Old Palm estate homes have generally sold from the mid single-digit millions to well above $10 million. Greg Norman paid $12.2 million for a double-lot house there in 2021. We do not know where the Els home sits in that range, and we will not guess.
What is public is the community itself. Old Palm opened in the mid 2000s with a Raymond Floyd design, a 33-acre practice facility and a limited number of homes. It draws touring pros who want practice space without a crowd. That practice park is likely a big part of why a player like Els, who still competes on the senior tour, chose it.
Why Ernie Els chose northern Palm Beach County
The family reason comes first. Els and his wife, Liezl, learned that their son Ben had autism when he was young. According to the foundation's own history, the family moved to South Florida. That move sparked the plan for a campus devoted to autism services. They founded Els for Autism in 2009 and opened the Els Center of Excellence in Jupiter in August 2015. The 26-acre campus holds a tuition-free public charter school, an adult services building, a sensory garden and a three-hole par-3 course.
The golf reason is the same one every tour player gives. Palm Beach County lets a professional practice year round beside other professionals. The Bear's Club, Old Palm, Seminole, McArthur and the Medalist are all within a short drive. Els for Autism holds its annual pro-am at Old Palm, and Cigar Aficionado has reported that the event raises more than $1 million a year.
Business fits too. Els runs a wine label, a course design firm and a golf equipment interest. South Florida gives him airport access to South Africa, Europe and the rest of the United States. He also has a large circle of fellow South Africans nearby, which reporting on the Old Palm move made a point of noting.
Where else does Ernie Els live?
For years before Florida, Els lived on the Wentworth estate in Surrey, England. He won the World Match Play there seven times. Reports have long described a home in that area, though we could not confirm whether he still owns it. He also keeps ties to South Africa, where he grew up near Johannesburg and where his design work includes courses on the Garden Route.
Even so, every recent report of his daily life points to Palm Beach Gardens. The foundation campus is in Jupiter, the pro-am is at his home club and his senior tour schedule runs from Florida. As far as public reporting shows, Old Palm is his primary residence.
One more point on timing. Els turned 50 in 2019 and joined the PGA Tour Champions, where he has won several times. That schedule is lighter than the regular tour, with more weeks at home. So the Old Palm practice park sees more of him now than the Bear's Club did during his prime years.
What homes near Ernie Els cost
Old Palm is near the top of the Palm Beach Gardens market. Estate homes inside the gate have sold from the mid single-digit millions to more than $20 million in recent years. Club membership is a separate cost. Our Old Palm page shows what is active on the MLS this week.
The city as a whole runs much wider. Our MLS feed as of September 2026 shows about 760 active listings in Palm Beach Gardens, a median list price near $898,000 and an average of about 107 days on market. That median blends condos, golf villas at PGA National and estates at Mirasol and Frenchman's Creek.
Jupiter, where Els lived before, shows about 730 active listings at a median near $875,000. The Bear's Club sits far above that at the top end. Buyers who want a golf address in either town can start with our golf and country club homes hub, the gated communities hub and the Palm Beach County page.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Ernie Els live now?
He lives in Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Reports say he moved there in 2017 after selling his Bear's Club home in Jupiter to Rory McIlroy.
Where in Palm Beach Gardens does Ernie Els live?
His home is inside Old Palm Golf Club, the private community on PGA Boulevard. The price and size of the house have not been reported, and we do not publish the street.
Where does Ernie Els live full time?
Palm Beach Gardens is his primary home. When people ask where does Ernie Els live between senior tour events, the answer is Old Palm, close to the autism campus his foundation runs in Jupiter.
How much did Ernie Els sell his Bear's Club home for?
Reports put the sale to Rory McIlroy at $11 million in 2017. The house had a recording studio, a tennis court and a guesthouse. Outlets disagree on its size, from about 9,000 to 17,000 square feet.
Does Ernie Els still own a home in Jupiter?
No home in his name has been reported in Jupiter since the 2017 sale. His foundation's campus is in Jupiter, but that is a school and services center rather than a residence.
Can you buy a home in Old Palm Golf Club?
Yes. Homes and homesites list on the open market through the year, and the club offers an equity membership with its own fees. Our Palm Beach Gardens listings show what is available now.
Own a home in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter or anywhere in Palm Beach County? Ask Pure Equity for a free valuation and find out what it would sell for today. Buyers can browse Palm Beach Gardens listings or explore luxury homes across South Florida. Related reading: where Rory McIlroy lives and where Greg Norman lives.
Sources
- Golf News Net, Rory McIlroy's Florida house, bought from Ernie Els
- Els for Autism, About us and the Els Center of Excellence
- Cigar Aficionado, $1.2 million raised by Els for Autism Pro-Am at Old Palm
Based on publicly reported information; details may change and are not independently verified by Pure Equity. We do not publish private addresses.
