Best golf resorts in Florida

Florida is the number one golf destination in North America and a firm favorite amongst Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR customers. In this article we look at the seven best golf resorts in Florida, starting around Jacksonville on the northeast Atlantic coast and working our way clockwise to Tampa on the Gulf side.

Many of them you will recognize as regular PGA TOUR stops, and we highly recommend that you tick these ALL off your bucket list over time…or perhaps in one go!

The Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa is a fantastic stay and play resort in Ponte Vedra Beach, just south east of Jacksonville. Accommodations are modern and comfortable, ranging from traditional guestrooms to luxurious suites and spacious villas. Multiple dining options, a full-service spa and private beach access with the Cabana Beach Club complete the high-end resort experience.

Adjacent to the Marriott resort is TPC Sawgrass, and the world-famous Stadium Course, which is home of THE PLAYERS Championship every year. No doubt one of the most famous golf courses in the world with the iconic par-3 17th island green part of a trio of nerve-wracking finishing holes. Be sure to also play Dye's Valley, the Stadium’s sister course that has hosted many elite professional and amateur tournaments. With large greens, water on nearly every hole and first-class conditions, it is the perfect complement to the Stadium Course.

Located just off I-95 between Jacksonville and St Augustine is the World Golf Village, which includes both hotel-style and condo accommodation options, the World Golf Hall of Fame, a PGA TOUR Golf Academy and two fantastic golf courses. Some would say it’s ‘Disney for Golfers’!

Onsite is the Slammer & Squire, a championship layout designed by Bobby Weed with design consultants Sam "The Slammer" Snead and Gene "The Squire" Sarazen. Set in a stunning natural landscape with numerous water hazards in play, this delightful course is characterized by unique par-3s and generous, rolling fairways.

A short drive away is the only course in the world co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. The King & Bear combines a links-style front nine with a more traditional Florida style back nine, featuring loblolly pines, old oak trees and lots of water.

As we continue down the Atlantic coast and turn inland to Orlando, we highly recommend a trip to the bucket-list Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge. On first appearance, it is a very understated ‘resort’ with a small 70-bedroom lodge. However, don’t be fooled as this is its charm, with all guests treated like members for their stay and guaranteed a most intimate and private experience.

There are multiple dining options with the ‘Members Lounge’, a great place to start and end your evening, as well as plenty of onsite activities. Arnie’s grace and charisma are woven throughout the property with images and great stories of ‘The King’ plentiful.

Open only to members and guests staying at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, the world-renowned Champion and Challenger nines make up the 18-hole Bay Hill Course played by the game's best at the PGA TOUR Arnold Palmer Invitational. The Charger, a third nine, offers a shorter, more open (but still challenging) experience.

Located in Palm Beach Gardens, where the PGA of America has been based since 1965, and an hour north of Miami is PGA National Resort. This is quite the complex with over 300 guest rooms and cottages, an abundance of dining options, full leisure and spa facilities, as well as five golf courses to choose from. Current extensive renovations are a little disruptive however the finished product will be a fantastic upgrade.

One of five courses at PGA National, the Champion Course hosts the PGA TOUR’s Honda Classic every year. Originally designed by Tom and George Fazio for tournament play, Jack Nicklaus redesigned the course in 2014, creating the infamous three-hole stretch aptly named "The Bear Trap."

The Palmer and Fazio courses both offer a nice resort experience and are very playable for all levels of golfer. The Squire, also a Fazio design, is the shortest of the five and requires accurate shot-making, whilst the Estate Course is located off the property and is perfect for higher handicappers.

Having been completely renovated as part of the switch from Fairmont to Marriott, the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa is one of South Florida’s premier destinations. Located near North Miami Beach in a 300-acre tropical oasis, this Mediterranean-inspired resort has it all, from high-end dining and a luxurious spa to numerous pools, slides and rides.

The two championship golf courses onsite, the Soffer and Miller, were originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr, and have been re-worked by famous golf icon Raymond Floyd. The more challenging Soffer Course has hosted several PGA and LPGA tournaments in its time. Beware of the numerous creeks that cut across the fairways and lagoons that eat into many of the landing areas for tee shots.

The Miller Course, though shorter at 6400 yards off the back tees, is a great warm-up with a premium on straight tee shots and accurate approach play. There is plenty of water to consider with two-thirds of the course playing alongside the resort’s lakes.

Doral is an iconic resort that has been around since the 1960s, with the Trump organization most recently taking it to a new level of excellence. There are close to 700 guest rooms, a fine array of dining options, a world-class spa, tennis courts and an expansive fitness center, along with the four championship golf courses onsite. Access is very easy too with Miami International Airport just 8 miles away.

The Blue Monster is the premier course, and has played host to the PGA TOUR for over half a century, most recently the WGC-Cadillac Championship. The Dick Wilson design was renovated by Gil Hanse and is one of Florida's best-known courses.

Golden Palm at Trump National Doral, like the Blue Monster, is a Gil Hanse design that requires length, strength and touch around the greens. With shaved fairway-side entrances and heavy rough on the backsides, the bunkering is reminiscent of those found on many of the Australian courses.

Doral's Red Tiger and Silver Fox are playable challenges for the weekend golfer.

Our final stop as we circumnavigate the coast of Florida is Innisbrook Resort, just outside of Tampa. Set amongst 900 acres of woodland with spacious accommodation lodges sprinkled throughout, the resort boasts 6 swimming pools including the Loch Ness Monster (complete with water slides), 11 clay tennis courts, a tranquil spa, a fully-equipped fitness center and 4 dining options. Also onsite are four fabulous golf courses designed by Lawrence Packard.

The Copperhead is the most recognizable of the four courses as it hosts the annual Valspar Championship, and is famous for three of the toughest finishing holes on the PGA TOUR known as the ‘Snake Pit’. Pine tree-lined fairways and rolling terrain define the course, which is a favorite amongst the world’s best players.

The other three championship layouts of the Island, North and South courses feature up to 70 feet of elevation change, and scenery more reminiscent of the Carolina sandhills and Georgia foothills than the typical Florida terrain.

With a golf course designed by Arnold Palmer, 45 tennis courts, basketball and grass/sand volleyball courts, Saddlebrook Resort is a sports enthusiast’s dream getaway. The rooms feature subtle tropical accents and offer private balconies or patios with scenic views of the courses or the resort.

Additionally, with a steakhouse, sports bar, and poolside café and bar, guests will never be short of dining options. The large spa and three outdoor swimming pools offer guests the perfect place to relax and unwind on their golf vacation.

Originally designed in 1976, the on-site Saddlebrook Golf Course received a full makeover by Arnold Palmer just ten years later while he was also creating the Palmer layout. Longer, tighter, and flatter than its sister course, the Saddlebrook is lined by towering moss-draped cypress with water hazards coming into play on 14 holes.

There are over 50 strategically placed bunkers guarding the greens and covering corners of several doglegs. The course plays just over 6500 yards from the back tees, but there are four tee boxes as close as 4672 yards to ensure golfers of all handicaps can enjoy a round on the original course at Saddlebrook Resort.

Sitting just a 45 minutes’ drive northwest of downtown Orlando, next to the small town of Howey-in-the-Hills, Mission Resort + Club offers over 1,100 acres of luxury. With two championship golf courses and a beautiful Spanish Colonial style hotel, set in picturesque rolling hills and orange groves, this resort is ideal for a golf trip and is one of Orlando's best resorts.

The onsite El Campeón and Las Colinas golf courses are simply two of the best courses in central Florida. Both feature stunning landscape and wildlife as well as topography changes atypical for Florida. Water is a prominent feature on both courses and despite being in a resort, there is a peaceful absence of houses along with the courses, a welcome surprise for many.

The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón is located in a stunning Naples location just five miles from the coast and its sister beachfront property. Guests can enjoy the extensive facilities at both locations, which include two excellent Greg Norman-designed golf courses, a fitness center, outdoor pools, tennis courts, multiple dining options and a world-class spa.

Conveniently located onsite is the Tiburon Golf Club which boasts two championship designed golf courses called the Gold and Black, and is home to the LPGA Tour’s CME Group Tour Championship and the PGA TOUR’s QBE Shootout. In the surrounding area, we also recommend playing Raptor Bay and Old Corkscrew.

Located in South Orlando is the 4-star Reunion Resort. This venue has three 18-hole golf courses and excellent practice facilities on site.

Guests can choose between spacious villas or stunning vacation homes, most of which feature a private pool. Outside of golf, guests have several different activities they can enjoy, including tennis, biking, a day at the spa, or a trip to the water park.

Reunion Resort is home to 54 holes of championship golf designed by three of the best to have ever played the game - Nicklaus, Palmer, and Watson.

The Nicklaus Course is widely regarded as the toughest at Reunion. This par-72 parkland-style layout has tight, tree-lined fairways and small greens. It is designed to tempt players into hitting high-risk / high-reward golf shots.

The Palmer Course has earned its reputation as one of the finest in Florida. With spectacular elevation changes, numerous water hazards and bunkering that comes into play throughout the round giving the course its teeth.

Watson’s design requires thought and decision-making on every shot. Characterized by its large fairways and greens, it is just as much about strategy as it is about power. This well-manicured layout is a favorite among all caliber players.

Orange County National Golf Center is located just outside of Orlando, Florida, around 10 minutes from Walt Disney World Resort and 30 minutes from International Boulevard. The property boasts two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are customer favorites in Orlando, and a 9-hole executive course.

Additionally, the largest driving range in the nation can be found here, with 42 acres of practice space, including the 22,000 square foot lighted putting green.

There are three courses onsite at Orange County National which guests can make use of throughout their stay.

The Panther Lake course was the first built at the resort, having opened in 1997. The layout seamlessly blends into the natural beauty of the area, with golfers enjoying natural elevation changes and native wildlife, wetlands, lakes and rolling meadows.

The second course, Crooked Cat, opened in 1999. With the same designers at the forefront, it also features natural elevation changes in addition to its use of native heather, rolling fairways and large contoured greens, all of which use Bermuda Dwarf Grass.

The Tooth course is the 9-hole executive course, which is kept to the same standards as the other two and is a great place to play in a more laid-back environment. Best of all, guests of the lodge enjoy complimentary access to this course.