TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, the island green 17th at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ranked · 10 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in Florida

Florida has more golf courses than any state in America, but the very best run from Donald Ross's windswept Seminole on the Atlantic to Pete Dye's island green theatre at TPC Sawgrass and the sandy, links like dunescape of Streamsong, carved from old phosphate mines. Here are the ten we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play it.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, via Google

How we chose them

Florida golf has a reputation for flat, watery resort courses, and there is plenty of that, but the top of the state is as good as American golf gets. We weighed three strands. The classics come first, led by Donald Ross's Seminole, a 1929 design that plays firm and fast in the sea breeze and is revered by tour players. The modern destination golf of Streamsong, three contrasting courses built on dramatic sandy mounds, shows what Florida can be when the land has movement. And the tournament courses, from Pete Dye's Stadium at TPC Sawgrass to the Copperhead at Innisbrook, add championship pedigree you can test yourself against.

Every fact here, from designers and opening years to host events and restorations, was checked at the time of writing. Where a course is a private members club, such as Seminole, The Concession and Calusa Pines, we say so plainly, and we have favoured the many superb resort and public courses that make Florida such a rewarding trip. The verdicts and the order are ours, and reasonable people will reorder the top five. If you want any of these built into a costed Florida trip, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

01

Seminole Golf Club

Donald Ross, 1929 · Juno Beach · private

The finest course in Florida and one of the great courses in America, full stop. Donald Ross laid it out in 1929 on a narrow strip beside the Atlantic, and its genius is in the wind, the firm sandy turf and one of the boldest sets of bunkers Ross ever built, the long bunker around the par 3 sixth being the most famous. Ben Hogan tuned his game here every spring, and it remains the tour player's favourite. It is ultra private, so access runs through a member, but on pure design it is the unarguable number one.

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02

TPC Sawgrass, Stadium Course

Pete Dye, 1980 · Ponte Vedra Beach · resort, public

The most famous course you can play in Florida and the home of the Players Championship. Pete Dye built it in 1980 as the first true stadium course, with grass amphitheatres and his trademark railroad ties and water, and the island green par 3 seventeenth is the most recognised hole in golf. It is a relentless, exacting test that demands precise iron play, and the closing stretch has decided countless Players. Owned by the PGA Tour and fully bookable, it is the round every visiting golfer in north Florida wants to tick off.

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03

Streamsong Red

Coore and Crenshaw, 2012 · Streamsong · resort, public

The course that announced Streamsong and changed the idea of what Florida golf could be. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw routed the Red in 2012 across vast sand dunes left by old phosphate mining, an inland links of firm fairways, wild bunkering and huge, rolling greens with nothing in sight but golf. It is strategic, walkable and utterly natural, the kind of minimalist design the pair are celebrated for. As a destination resort course it is fully bookable, and it shares the site with two more top tier eighteens, the rarest of Florida golf treats.

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04

Streamsong Black

Gil Hanse, 2017 · Streamsong · resort, public

The boldest of the three Streamsong courses and the one with the biggest, most fearsome greens. Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner opened the Black in 2017 on a more open, exposed stretch of the property, with sprawling fairways, deep sandy hollows and putting surfaces so large and contoured they are an examination in themselves. It plays firmer and more brutal than its siblings when the wind is up, and it has its own clubhouse and putting course. Fully bookable as part of a Streamsong stay, it completes one of the best three course resorts in the country.

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05

The Concession

Jack Nicklaus with Tony Jacklin, 2006 · Bradenton · private

Named for Nicklaus's famous gesture to Jacklin at the 1969 Ryder Cup, this is one of the toughest and most admired modern courses in the state. Jack Nicklaus, in association with Tony Jacklin, opened it in 2006 on a wooded, wetland site near Bradenton, with generous tee to green corridors that give way to demanding approaches over water and waste. It has hosted college golf's national championship and a PGA Tour event, and it rewards the long, accurate ball striker. A private members club, so a round comes through a member, but a serious test for those who can arrange it.

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06

Streamsong Blue

Tom Doak, 2012 · Streamsong · resort, public

The third of the Streamsong eighteens and the most photogenic, with several holes playing along and over the resort's lakes. Tom Doak built the Blue in 2012 alongside the Coore and Crenshaw Red, sharing the same dramatic sand ridges but with a more open, wind exposed character and some of the most memorable individual holes on the property, including a downhill par 3 across water. Firm, fast and full of options, it is every bit a match for its neighbour, and playing the Red and Blue back to back is one of the great days in American resort golf.

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07

Calusa Pines

Hurdzan and Fry, 2001 · Naples · private

The great surprise of Florida golf, a course that conjures genuine elevation and rolling terrain where the map promises none. Opened in 2001 near Naples to a Mike Hurdzan and Dana Fry design, Calusa Pines was shaped with vast quantities of imported sand and soil into a tumbling, pine framed landscape that feels more Carolina sandhills than Gulf coast. It is immaculately conditioned, fiercely private and consistently rated among the very best in the state. Access is invitation only through a member, but on quality and originality it earns its place on any Florida list.

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08

Innisbrook, Copperhead Course

Larry Packard, 1972 · Palm Harbor · resort, public

The best tournament course on Florida's Gulf coast and the home of the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship. Larry Packard routed the Copperhead in 1972 over unusually rolling, pine and cypress framed land north of Tampa, and its closing three holes, the famous Snake Pit, are among the hardest finishing stretches the tour plays all year. It is a proper, strategic parkland test rather than a flat resort course, beautifully maintained and fully bookable as part of an Innisbrook stay. A standout for anyone who wants to test their game against a Tour layout.

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09

PGA National, Champion Course

George and Tom Fazio, 1981, Nicklaus redesign · Palm Beach Gardens · resort, public

The Palm Beach resort course every keen golfer knows for the Bear Trap, the brutal water guarded stretch of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth named for Jack Nicklaus, who reworked the course. Originally a George and Tom Fazio design from 1981, the Champion long hosted the Honda Classic and now anchors a multi course resort in Palm Beach Gardens. It is a stern, watery test that puts a premium on nerve and ball control down the stretch, and as a resort course it is fully bookable, the centrepiece of a comfortable south Florida golf base.

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10

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Dick Wilson, 1961, Arnold Palmer redesign · Orlando · lodge guests

Arnold Palmer's Orlando home and the host of the Arnold Palmer Invitational every March. Dick Wilson laid out the original in 1961, and Palmer bought and reshaped it into the demanding, water framed test the tour plays today, with a famously difficult lakeside par 4 eighteenth. It is a charismatic, championship parkland course steeped in Palmer's legacy, and it is open to guests of the on site lodge, which makes it a rare chance to play a regular Tour venue. A fitting tribute round to the King and a fine anchor for an Orlando golf trip.

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Designers, opening years and host events verified June 2026. Seminole, The Concession and Calusa Pines are private members clubs; Bay Hill is open to lodge guests. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Play the best of Florida

Tell us which of these are on your list, the Streamsong trio, the Stadium Course or a private introduction, and roughly when. One concierge arranges the access, the tee times and the base, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Florida golf questions

What is the best golf course in Florida?

Seminole Golf Club, Donald Ross's 1929 masterpiece near Juno Beach, is the clear number one and one of the great courses in American golf, a firm, breezy, perfectly bunkered links style layout on the Atlantic. It is an ultra private members club, so access runs through a member. For a course you can actually book, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass and the Streamsong resort trio lead the public list.

Can you play the best Florida courses as a visitor?

Many of the very best are resort or public courses you can book, including the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, all three Streamsong courses, the Copperhead at Innisbrook and the Champion at PGA National. Bay Hill is open to lodge guests. Seminole, The Concession and Calusa Pines are private and run through a member. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.

Where is the best golf in Florida?

It is spread across the state. Ponte Vedra Beach near Jacksonville has TPC Sawgrass, the Palm Beach coast has Seminole and PGA National, the Tampa area has Innisbrook, Orlando has Bay Hill, and the inland phosphate country between Tampa and Orlando hides the Streamsong resort. The Concession and Calusa Pines sit on the Gulf coast around Bradenton and Naples. There is no single hub, so a Florida golf trip is usually a short tour.

When is the best time to play golf in Florida?

The cooler, drier winter from November to April is the prime season, with the best weather, firm conditions and the highest green fees and busiest tee sheets. Late spring and autumn offer a balance of warmth and value. Summer is hot, humid and prone to afternoon thunderstorms, with the lowest rates and early tee times to beat the heat. Always check the forecast and confirm rates for your dates.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, opening years and host events verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.