Golf is an $11 billion industry in the state of Florida, with more than 1,100 golf courses hosting more than 48 million rounds each year. Visitors might consider Golf Digest’s rankings of the state’s top golf resorts when planning their next vacation.
The Biltmore resort in Coral Gables boasts nearly 100 years of history. Originally designed in 1925 by Donald Ross, the par-71 championship course features 419 Bermuda grass fairways, bunkers, and greens with Unites States Golf Association-compliant Tif-Eagle Bermuda turf.
Since 1964, The Biltmore Golf Course has hosted the annual Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship. Golfers at the Biltmore can expect a luxury lodging experience, complete with amenities including a fitness center, spa, and multiple fine dining options.
Visitors to Palm Coast might consider the Hammock Beach Golf Resort and Spa. There, they can play the Ocean Course designed by Jack Nicklaus, which winds through lakes and wetlands, or the Tom Watson-designed Conservatory Course, featuring brooks and waterfalls. The resort’s accommodations range from suites to condominiums, all featuring walk-in showers, large garden tubs, and covered balconies with golf course or ocean views.
The PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens might be familiar to golfers for hosting the annual Honda Classic on the PGA Tour. However, the resort is a stunning destination for year-round play, thanks to its remodeled Squire Course with quick rounds, short grass, and out-of-hole pick-ups. The $100 million resort-wide renovation also included a new nine-hole course called The Staple.
Golf travelers with interest in history might consider Jacksonville’s Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, which opened in 1928. Remodeled in 2020, the resort’s Ocean Course maintains historical authenticity while incorporating modern touches such as expanded practice facilities. The par-71 course has rebuilt bunkers that emphasize strategy and aesthetics, while the non-turf screening areas reduce irrigation needs and add visual diversity.
In Kissimmee, the Reunion Resort and Golf Club features courses designed by golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tom Watson, and all three are included in Golf Digest’s Top 75 Florida Courses. The Watson Course is perfect for golfers with a solid short game, while the Palmer Course offers 6,900 yards of play with 50 feet in elevation changes. Jack Nicklaus’s course features elevated tee boxes and greens that look over rolling fairways.
Along the coastal Northwest Florida highway 30A, visitors can enjoy views of the Gulf of Mexico and white sandy beaches. A 60-room boutique hotel in Santa Rosa Beach, the Watercolor Inn offers bright, airy rooms that open to sandy dunes and the Gulf Coast. Premier golf courses in the area include Camp Creek, designed by Tom Fazio to wind among lagoons and scrub vegetation, as well as Shark’s Tooth, the Greg Norman-designed course with several holes that border Powell Lake.
Finally, the Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida, features three of Golf Digest’s Top 100 courses. Guests can choose among courses designed by Tom Doak, Ben Crenshaw, or Bill Coore, all of which feature indigenous vegetation, dunes, and stunning contours. Widely regarded as a bucket list golf destination, Streamsong recently added an 18-hole short course.
