The Hunt: The Story Behind The Founders Club’s Fall Tradition

Every October at Founders, members start checking schedules and golf shop conversations turn to handicaps and match pairings.

It can only mean one thing: The Hunt is coming.

2026 marks The Hunt’s fourth year, and it’s quickly carved out a place among Founders' signature events.

Head Golf Pro Joel Rasho explains the story behind the tournament and why the 2026 Hunt carries extra meaning.

The History

The Hunt was born out of too much demand.

Founders' spring invitational, the Scotsman, grew so popular that it had to be limited to Signature Golf members, leaving other members without a full-scale member-guest option.

"We talked about it, and there was definitely an appetite for something upscale, but slightly more casual, and trending a little bit younger," Joel explained.

The Hunt opened to every category of golf membership at the club. "It's 60 members with 60 friends, playing a Thursday practice round and then two days of full competition," Joel said.

Even the name has a story behind it. The tournament committee chose a late-October date to line up with the hunter's moon—the full moon that follows the harvest moon each fall.

The name dates back to a time when the bright moonlight made it easier to spot game across cleared fields after the harvest. It's stuck around as a marker of the season.

"All of the flight names are based on animals that are hunted," Joel said. "We wanted to base it all around that theme."

What to Expect on the Course

"The majority of golf, especially in the United States nowadays, is played in what we call stroke play, where you're just adding up your score at the end of the day," Joel said. For The Hunt, Joel and his team instead created “a fun, round-robin match play event."

Players compete in flights of six, facing off in five separate nine-hole matches against two different opponents over the weekend, with flight winners advancing to a Sunday shootout.

"You're going to play with 10 different people throughout the weekend," Joel said. "It's a great way to meet people, as well as just have the fun of competition."

The Moments That Make It Special

Every Founders tradition has its stories, and The Hunt already has a few.

In its first year, a player made a hole-in-one during the practice round, and the whole field stopped to celebrate with him.

In 2024, Sarasota was still recovering from a historic storm, with parts of the course underwater and trees down across the property. Still, support for The Hunt remained strong.

"We were able to get 55 out of the 60 teams to still come out and support it," Joel said. "The staff really pulled together in the weeks leading up to it, pulling debris off the golf course, just trying to get it ready for the event."

For Joel, the feeling of Hunt weekend is something the club works hard to deliver every single year.

"The biggest overriding feeling is an extremely high level of service," he said. "Every need will be met. If there's any unique request, it will be handled without question."

For guests experiencing Founders for the first time, that kind of treatment tends to leave a lasting impression.

Why This Year's Hunt Is One to Remember

The 2026 Hunt will be the last one on Founders’ current greens and golf course structure.

The Andrew Green course renovation is set to begin in early 2027. While the routing and sight lines aren't changing, the greens and bunkering will look considerably different once the renovation is complete.

Players will also notice something underfoot this year. In preparation for the renovation, the club is overseeding with rye grass instead of the usual Bermuda.

"It'll probably be the only time in the next 30 years that we'll play it with a different type of grass," Joel said, adding that the change will likely feel familiar to members who grew up playing on northern courses.

The Hunt is a clear example of what membership at Founders feels like: spending the weekend with people who know you by name, long after the trophies are put away.