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Beyond its vibrant nightlife and arts scene, West Palm Beach is also an excellent destination for golf. Palm Beach National is a classic, player-friendly layout that is a local favorite. West Palm Beach G.C. is another popular play. This public course stands out thanks to the abundance of palms, pines, and oak throughout its landscape. And just up the road is PGA National Resort & Spa, host of the Honda Classic. If those offerings aren't enough, the famed Breakers hotel is just across the bridge.
Atlantis Country Club has a central location in Palm Beach County that makes it conveniently accessible, but its unique setting will make you feel as though you're in North Carolina. Unlike many other golf courses in the area, Atlantis enjoys a lush landscape covered with enormous banyan trees, mature pines, and towering oaks.
A Robert Trent Jones Jr. design, the Eagle Golf Course at President Golf Club boasts championship Bermuda greens. Jones also lined the fairways with coquina and accented the course with pampas grass, both of which help bring out the beauty of the natural landscape.
The Hammock Creek Golf Club is the first golf course in Florida co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and his son, Jack Nicklaus II. It offers championship golf to players of all skill levels in a natural setting uncommon among semi-private clubs.
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The Daytona Beach area boasts miles of white-sandy beaches and hosts more than 8 million visitors each year. They come not only for NASCAR races and Speedweeks, but summertime concerts, Biketoberfest, the Halifax Art Festival and - of course, for some amazing golf courses.
Venetian Bay Golf Club is part of a unique residential community with a Mediterranean theme. Colorful buildings, mosaics, and Mediterranean vegetation surround the championship golf course. The biggest challenge for the designers was transforming what was formerly a cow pasture into a lush, challenging course.
Walkabout Golf Club was a collaboration between LPGA Tour champion Jan Stephenson and Perry Dye. The course is an homage to Stephenson's Australian heritage. It gets its name from a term signifying a rite-of-passage ritual of the Australian Aborigines. The layout wanders across a verdant, rolling landscape, abundant with native vegetation and wildlife.
Nestled in the gently rolling hills of Lake Mary Timacuan is a Ron Garl designed course. The front nine is reminiscent of a Scottish links-style course, with wide open fairways, rolling hills and deep bunkers. Watch the wind and keep it low!
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Miami's warm ocean breezes and colorful culture highlight the easygoing yet energy-filled atmosphere of this city where you can do everything from relax at the beach to exploring an ancient Spanish monastery all in one day. Naturally, the sandy coasts and marshy wetlands provided an excellent opportunity for some world-class golf courses.
Jacaranda Golf Club boasts two championship courses that are both four-star rated by Golf Digest. The courses, the East and the West, have a lush, tropical setting amongst towering palm trees and colorful vegetation. The West Course winds through a series of ponds, canals, and lagoons, which come into play throughout the course.
Bonaventure Country Club in Fort Lauderdale offers two championship courses, the East and the West. The East Course is the original layout at Bonaventure. Designed by Joe Lee, this classic layout has been ranked as one of Florida's top 10. The golf course weaves through swaying palms and towering hardwoods.
Opened in 1925, Biltmore Golf Course has a traditional layout designed by Donald Ross. The course has a timelessly challenging design that has made it one of Miami's most favored layouts.
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Tallahassee revolves around two things: Government business at the capital, and Florida State University. And while the capital city may not be the golf capital of the Sunshine State, it boasts a handful of top-notch courses with terrain reminiscent of the Carolinas.
The 18-hole Wildwood Country Club in Crawfordville, FL is a semi-private golf course that opened in 1995. Designed by Greg Diehl, Wildwood Country Club measures 6504 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 120 and a 70.
This Fred Couples-Gene Bates design meanders through high countries, low countries, secluded woods and open fields. The golf course is not revved up on gimmicks or architect steroids. SouthWood's routing flows seamlessly with the existing elements.
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To an outsider looking in, the Tampa Bay area has it all. The enormous, sugar-white beaches of St. Petersburg/Clearwater are some of the best in the world. The peaceful, warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay are a veritable maritime playground. The area is home to an intriguing collection of golf courses that will appeal to any skill level and income bracket.
The Saddlebrook Course is one of two Arnold Palmer championship designs at Saddlebrook Resort, located about 30 minutes north of Tampa. The 18-hole, par-70 layout is tighter and flatter than its sister course, the Palmer, so hitting it straight off the tee is key.
Pebble Creek Golf Club is one of Tampa's most well known courses. Once just a local favorite, it has since garnered a reputation among visiting golfers as well. The golf course exemplifies the beauty of the Florida landscape. The layout weaves through mature pines and 40-year-old grandfather oaks draped with Spanish moss.
Overlooking the scenic Long Bayou, Seminole Lake Country Club has a lush landscape that showcases the best of Florida golf. Calming views of the bayou are joined by refreshing coastal breezes, providing the perfect atmosphere for a casual round.
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Central Florida doesn't always mean Mickey and Orlando. Historic Sebring is a much-relished oasis of peace and quiet, full of charming, laid-back golf courses like Harder Hall Country Club and Highlands Ridge.
The 18-hole North Course at Highlands Ridge in Avon Park, FL is a public golf course that opened in 2002. North Course at Highlands Ridge measures 7234 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 140 and a 76 USGA rating.
The 18-hole South Course at Highlands Ridge in Avon Park, FL is a public golf course that opened in 1990. Designed by Steve Smyers, South Course at Highlands Ridge measures 6176 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 120 and a 70.
The 18-hole Sebring Golf Club in Sebring, FL is a municipal golf course that opened in 1941. Sebring Golf Club measures 6204 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 120 and a 69.
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As you might expect, the Space Coast of Florida got its name because that's where NASA launched its rockets and shuttles for the last half century or so. But the region has far more to offer than an education on America's space program. It's an area that stretches from Ormond Beach to Vero Beach with a coastline that offers great surfing and spring break locations, big-time auto racing, deep sea fishing and a pretty good golf scene.
Walkabout Golf Club was a collaboration between LPGA Tour champion Jan Stephenson and Perry Dye. The course is an homage to Stephenson's Australian heritage. It gets its name from a term signifying a rite-of-passage ritual of the Australian Aborigines. The layout wanders across a verdant, rolling landscape, abundant with native vegetation and wildlife.
Bordering the Indian River, Viera East Golf Club sprawls across a landscape of sparkling blue lakes and native marshland that is accented with towering pines and cypress trees. The well known layout is considered one of the best and most affordable public golf courses in Florida.
The 18-hole The Majors Golf Club at Bayside Lakes in Palm Bay, FL is a semi private golf course that opened in 1999. Designed by Arnold Palmer, The Majors Golf Club at Bayside Lakes measures 7352 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 140 and a 0 USGA rating.
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Why do so many of the world's best golfers call Orlando home? Well, there are 123 courses within a 45-minute drive of downtown, and many things to do off the course. Plus, the weather is always great for outdoor activities, with an average annual temperature of 72.4 degrees. In short, it's a great place to work on your game -- or forget about it altogether.
Orlando's Waldorf Astoria Golf Club is an outstanding 7,100-plus-yard Rees Jones design that meanders through a scenic central Florida wetland preserve; ancient cypress trees and stands of pines line the fairways. The golf course features five sets of tees to accommodate everyone from scratch golfers to high-handicap players
Osprey Ridge winds its way through pine, oak, and cypress tree hammock. Florida swamp and numerous backcountry duck ponds serve as stage settings and as framing for many of the holes. Fazio designed this course to be in unity with the environment, but this trek through nature is no walk in the park.
Styled in a classic country club setting, Disney's Lake Buena Vista Golf Course meanders through pastel villas, pine forests, palmettos, sparkling lakes and other wonders of nature. Lush fairways and well-protected greens make this course as challenging as it is beautiful. Add an island green on the 7th, and it all tots up to a great golfing experience.
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Florida's Emerald Coast, from Pensacola and Panama City across the panhandle to Destin and Tallahassee, has emerged as a golf destination and now features more than 1,000 holes to enjoy on its golf courses, not to mention sandy beaches and the sparkling Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of families visit the area each spring and summer to indulge in the powdery sand and consistently ideal weather.
Destin is recognized as a top golf destination, and no where is it better represented than at beautiful Emerald Bay. Designed by Bob Cupp, Emerald Bay is a 18 hole championship course believed by many to be one of northwest Florida's very best.
The golf course at Seascape Resort is routed through a network of freshwater and coastal dune lakes, offering stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico from nearly every hole. With so much water throughout, it is only natural that it comes into play on 15 holes.
Regatta Bay Golf & Country Club blends seamlessly into the carefully preserved wilderness along the Choctawhatchee Bay. The course is not only an Emerald Coast favorite, but also one of the top golf courses in Florida. The layout is defined by the abundant wetlands that cover the entire course.
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Anyone who's been there will tell you that Jacksonville is one of the best-kept secrets on the eastern seaboard. A vibrant, midsize city with an enviable waterfront setting and an NFL franchise, "J-ville" as locals call it, often plays second fiddle to Atlanta, Charlotte, and even instate rivals Tampa and Miami in the Southern city popularity contest.
Royal St. Augustine Golf & Country Club's beautiful course is located only minutes from St. Augustine, Florida’s oldest city which was established in 1565 - and like this great city, Royal St. Augustine is certain to stand the test of time.
Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club at Sawgrass is one of the finest golf courses located inside the Sawgrass community just minutes from the Marriott Sawgrass Resort. Nestled in beautiful Ponte Vedra, Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club at Sawgrass boasts an active membership and friendly, professional staff that make it an ideal setting to entertain family, friends or clients.
Amelia River Golf Club prides itself on being one of the best-conditioned golf courses in the area, boasting large, smooth TifEagle greens that are carefully sculpted around forested parkland. Due to the abundance of trees on the golf course, ball placement and accuracy are integral to doing well.
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Naples is known just as much for its golf as it is for its famous beaches. With more than 35 courses right in the city and over 50 more championship courses in the surrounding area, Naples is the state of Florida's self-proclaimed Golf Capital. The city claims to have the highest ratio of golf courses to golfers in the country.
TPC at Treviso Bay was a collaborative effort between Arthur Hills and PGA Tour player consultant Hal Sutton. Their mission was to create a golf course that will not only test your skills with your clubs but will also make you think.
Located in Ave Maria, Panther Run Golf Club is less than 30 minutes from Naples but it has a much more secluded feel. The course was built with a strong dedication to preserving the landscape's beautiful natural features and significant environmental resources, even as residences started being developed.
Carved from forests of towering oaks and pines, Old Corkscrew Golf Club exhibits all of the superior characteristics that define Nicklaus Signature courses. The absence of houses around the golf course adds to the secluded and peaceful feel that is provided by the dense thickets of trees that surround it.
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The Bradenton-Sarasota region of Florida fits the definition of overlooked and underrated by both tourists and golfers alike.
Designed by former PGA Tour player Bob Tway and Lee Singletary, Bobcat Trail G.C. has been ranked among the top public golf courses in Florida. "The Cat," as it is known, is a collection of risk-reward holes, utilizing a variety of water hazards and bunkers.
The 18-hole Stoneybrook Golf Club in Bradenton, FL is a public golf course that opened in 2002. Stoneybrook Golf Club measures 7131 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 142 and a 74 USGA rating. The course features 4 sets of tees for different skill levels. The greens are bermuda grass.
The 18-hole Oyster Creek Golf Club in Englewood, FL is a semi-private golf course that opened in 1992. Designed by Ted McAnlis, Oyster Creek Golf Club measures 3976 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 100 and a 59.3 USGA rating. The course features 3 sets of tees for different skill levels.
Jacksonville: Ten reasons to plan a golf vacation to Florida's First Coast
At Innisbrook Golf & Spa Resort near Tampa, the South Course rises to the challenge
