With scores of golf courses across Palm Beach County, finding a place to take out the clubs and unleash the driver isn't a problem.
Finding a good, accessible course, especially during the busy winter and early spring months, can be, however. Keeping in mind any list of top courses or best places to play is subjective, these rank among the list of worthy spots to spend a picture-perfect South Florida day in what could be called golf's world capital.
PRIVATE COURSES
If you can land an invite, the exclusive Seminole Golf Course in Juno Beach snagged a high spot in Golf Digest's 100 greatest golf courses for 2016. The course, built in 1929, earned praise for its "clever routing" and, of course, its proximity to the ocean.
With 90 holes of golf across five championship courses, including the famed Champion course and its "Bear Trap" that hosts the PGA Tour's annual Honda Classic, PGA National Resort and Spa features a course to suit any golfer's ability, as well as plenty of places to play tennis, work out, eat and much more.
The Bear's Club in Jupiter is home to several tour pros, and comes with an hefty initiation fee, but if you can get on, you can play a championship course that measures more than 7,000 yards from the tips, a par-3 practice facility with three meals served per day.
If you reserve a room at The Breakers in Palm Beach, along with world-class amenities, including tennis and a spa, you'll have a choice of two championship courses, a par-70 layout along the Atlantic Ocean and a par-72 course that measures more than 7,100 yards. Golf lessons, however, are available to the public at the resort.
Looking for another course that has featured pro competition? Try The Fountains Country Club, which boasts three layouts, one of which hosted the Allianz Championship and Honda Classic pre-qualifier tournaments. Aside from a track that features challenging par-5s that require serious strategy, the club offers plenty of tennis and fitness options, as well.
SEMI-PRIVATE COURSES
North Palm Beach Country Club, featuring a Jack Nicklaus Signature-designed course, earned a distinction as the top local public course in a recent PalmBeachPost.com online poll. The 7,000-plus-yard course and all the amenities of the club, which boasts hundreds of members, are open to the public, as is the lighted driving range.
For a place that looks more like what you'd typically find in South Carolina, give Winston Trails Golf Club in Lake Worth a shot. The championship course uses types of grasses and undulations on the greens not normally seen in South Florida, according to the club.
Hoping to break out the big dog and let it fly? Binks Forest Golf Club in Wellington offers tees on its course ranging from 5,200 all the way to 7,303 yards, allowing golfers of all abilities to enjoy play. The course, originally designed by Johnny Miller in the 1990s, hosted a PGA Tour event, and was renovated in 2007 to modernize the layout.
Banyan Cay Resort & Golf Club, with seasonal membership open to the public, offers a Robert Trent Jones II signature design with six sets of tees ranging from 5,063 to 6,887 yards. The club, formerly called The President Country Club, used to be private, and features two courses.
PUBLIC COURSES
Budget-conscious golfers often find playing regularly, even in a golfing paradise such as Palm Beach County, can be too expensive. But plenty of affordable options with some challenging layouts exist, such as Okeeheelee Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Osprey Point Golf Course in Boca Raton, Park Ridge Golf Course in Lake Worth, and Southwinds Golf Course in Boca Raton.
Another option is West Palm Beach Golf Course, which offers rates under $20. The course doesn't have many water hazards but numerous natural soft sand areas provide plenty of trouble for wayward shots on the par-72 layout that plays at 7,002 yards from the tips.
Palm Beach National Golf & Country Club has a 6,734-yard track the course says was built in the early 1960s, redesigned in the late 1970s and boasts wide fairways, but trees, water and other hazards to penalize misses before reaching greens with TifEagle greens.
After a $1.5 million renovation, bringing in new landscaping, bunkers and grass, Abacoa Golf Club often looks more like a private club, but it's most certainly a public course. The course, popular among north county players, offers plenty of elevation changes, a rarity in Florida, and offers five sets of tees on the 7,200-yard layout.
Want to keep the driver in the bag and work more on your short game? The Jupiter Dunes Golf Club might be more your speed. The par-3 course has holes ranging from 70 to 178 yards, each hole has a different character, water comes into play on 11 holes and the back nine runs parallel to DuBois Park.
About the Author
