Fort Lauderdale Golf Suggestions

[UCFKyle]

Jacaranda East is having problems with the green. In April, they are tearing them up and putting in new greens.

[Jungleland]

I was in this part of the world last Monday and drove up to Palm Beach to play North Palm Beach CC, the Jack redesigned muni. He did a great job with the course. While it’s still growing in the conditions were really solid and the green were firm and running true. What is interesting about the course is the elevation change, they must have move a lot of dirt, this course is a stones throw to the Atlantic Ocean and you would expect flat terrain, not the case and it really helps with the courses character.

[arobbins3]

Anyone want to play a round? I'm in the area Feb 27th - March 6th?

[arobbins3]

Update on Feb. 29th. Have played 18 each day so far.

 

Jacaranda (East) - definitely a challenging track. Course was in great shape from tee to green. The greens are not doing all that well in terms of growth, but they still rolled quick and true. Definitely happy to have played there.

Eagle Trace - former TPC Course. Tough track! Was in good shape. Greens were real good and ran real fast and true. Very pleased with the course for the fee I paid.

 

I would recommend both courses to people in the area!

[Wedgefromhere]

Thanks for the reviews. Glad to hear Eagle Trace is in good condition, I'll probably start playing there again.

[meb7]

Another bump for Jacaranda, though it's been a few years. Played the Blue at Doral too, which was great, but as noted, pricey.

[arobbins3]

As my week comes to a close.. I played six times in six days, LOL. So worth it - golf is so much better in Florida.

Emerald Hills - my goodness. Talk about a tough course and then add 15-20mph wind. It’s the longest course in Florida (7,900 yards from the tips - I did not play them). Course layout is beautiful and was in good shape. Highly recommend.

Weston Hills - WOW. It’s a private course and they allow public play sometimes on Monday’s. I played the course that used to host the Honda Classic. It did not disappoint! Greens were perfect and fairways well manicured. Awesome layout and the finishing holes are beautiful into a double green. My favorite course of the trip.

Bonaventure - I played with my father. It was his first 18 hole round in 15 years!! So that experience alone was special. The course has a real nice layout with a cool par three over a waterfall. However, the course was not maintained well and greens were spotty and patchy.

Coral Springs CC - very nice layout. The greens were outta this world fast. The starter told me they were around 13 on the stimp. He wasn’t wrong! By far the fastest and some of the more difficult greens I’ve been on. Those greens protect an overall shorter course - but it was very well manicured. Fairways were cut nicely and it was plenty green. My third favorite of the trip.

1.) Weston Hills CC

2.) Jacaranda

3.) Coral Springs CC

4.) Emerald Hills

5.) Eagle Trace

(Bonaventure not worthy of ranking 6th)

[DonRSD]

Next time you guys come down, shoot me a PM. I golf a lot and live in SouthFlorida.

 

Also a member of a golf course so during summer months have a healthy private club reciprocal list 🙂

[swingman24]

Happy Friday all!

 

Resurrecting this thread as I am hoping the local experts can chime in on the current state of the golf scene in Broward County. 
 

I will be moving into the area likely Fall of 2023 and contemplating private vs public.

 

I did get a guided tour of Weston Hills, had lunch and played the Players course back in May. Was impressed with all the improvements/investments they are making to attract new members. Any other private options worth considering? 
 

Based on this thread, there appears to be a bunch of great public options in the area, so maybe being a trunk slammer is the way to go?
 

I’d appreciate any and all feed back. 
 

Thanks and Happy Holidays! 
 

[mshills]

I lived in south Miami for three years and did not belong to a club. Jacaranda was by far my favorite place to play despite the drive up to Plantation from Miami-Dade. Both courses are good. There are some good mens groups there too — if you play with a group called The Bandits, look out, those guys can clean you out! 😱

 

Key Biscayne was much closer and I enjoyed that as well. If it’s windy, it is a very tough golf course. 
 

IMO, golf in South FL is either really good or absolutely awful…

[Bonneville85308]

3 hours ago, mshills said:

 

IMO, golf in South FL is either really good or absolutely awful…

 

That's for sure, and either way there is a lot less of it these days. I was visiting the Ft. Lauderdale area annually from the late 1990s until the late 2010s to visit family and I think probably half of the courses I used to play back in the late 1990s both public and private either don't even exist anymore in 2022 or are shadows of their former selves. First time I ever broke 80 for 18 holes was on a goat track called Sabal Palm that is now houses. One of my favorites I played the most was Carolina Club (gone), had a family member that belonged to Oak Tree (gone) then joined Woodlands CC (also now gone), Bonaventure used to be 36 instead of 18 holes, used to spend time at a nice grass tee driving range off Royal Palm Blvd where it dead ends into the Sawgrass expressway (think it's a school complex now), remember playing some goat track called Continental or something like that (gone), played Heron Bay once and hated it (gone), played both courses at Woodmont CC when they were in their prime and before they closed the Pines course for years, played Sunrise CC (gone).

Edited December 24, 2022 by Bonneville85308

[mshills]

I was a much better player when I moved down there in 2013 (before I got hurt) but did not play often.  I don’t love FL golf overall, and work never allowed much golf. My impression was private was the way to go, and Palm Beach County > Broward >>>>Miami-Dade. 
 

As far as daily fees go, I did really enjoy Jacaranda. Difficult and fun, and some sticks out there!

 

You are right about courses failing…much more money in housing. There was ongoing drama about Calusa, where O.J. used to hang, when I lived there, but I don’t know the specifics as I didn’t live over that way. 

[sratacik]

Turnberry Isle in Aventura is a good option...36 hole facility open to public.

[philsRHman]

On 12/24/2022 at 5:27 PM, Bonneville85308 said:

 

That's for sure, and either way there is a lot less of it these days. I was visiting the Ft. Lauderdale area annually from the late 1990s until the late 2010s to visit family and I think probably half of the courses I used to play back in the late 1990s both public and private either don't even exist anymore in 2022 or are shadows of their former selves. First time I ever broke 80 for 18 holes was on a goat track called Sabal Palm that is now houses. One of my favorites I played the most was Carolina Club (gone), had a family member that belonged to Oak Tree (gone) then joined Woodlands CC (also now gone), Bonaventure used to be 36 instead of 18 holes, used to spend time at a nice grass tee driving range off Royal Palm Blvd where it dead ends into the Sawgrass expressway (think it's a school complex now), remember playing some goat track called Continental or something like that (gone), played Heron Bay once and hated it (gone), played both courses at Woodmont CC when they were in their prime and before they closed the Pines course for years, played Sunrise CC (gone).

Shame to hear it, when a golf course closes, it’s like the memories, the soul of the place are erased. I wonder if people mourn the closing of a restaurant or a bowling alley the way we do with golf courses. 

[Juanbot]

On 7/17/2021 at 2:41 PM, DonRSD said:

Next time you guys come down, shoot me a PM. I golf a lot and live in SouthFlorida.

 

Also a member of a golf course so during summer months have a healthy private club reciprocal list 🙂

Is this offer still available? haha i've been wanting to try a private course to see how they are. Only play cheap muni courses because college budget 😞