{"id":9295,"date":"2026-02-28T15:40:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T20:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golfday.us\/blog\/?p=9295"},"modified":"2026-03-13T16:28:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:28:56","slug":"top-40-public-courses-florida-2025-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golfday.us\/blog\/top-40-public-courses-florida-2025-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 40 Public Courses\u2014Florida 2025\/2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Park, West Palm Beach<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Most everyone has heard about great Florida golf resorts like Streamsong<\/span><\/a>, TPC Sawgrass<\/span><\/a> and PGA Village<\/span><\/a>, but there are a whole lot of terrific public courses that are not part of a resort property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for great Florida golf<\/span><\/a> without breaking the bank at a high-end resort, take a look at our Top Public courses Florida below, and start planning a get-away–keeping in mind that there are plenty of nice hotels and restaurants to choose from throughout Florida (and GolfDay course pages include a link to Google maps with directions to every course).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While each of the Top 40 has a GolfDay Rating above 90, Florida offers 146 independent public courses with a rating of 85 or higher (very good) and 239 with a rating of 80 or more (above average).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gil Hanse: The Park<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At the top of the list is The Park<\/mark><\/a> in West Palm Beach, originally a Dick Wilson course that was completely redesigned by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner<\/mark><\/a> in 2023, and has received universal acclaim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jack Nicklaus: 5 Designs in the Top 40<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jack Nicklaus<\/mark><\/a> <\/mark>leads with most premier public course designs in Florida, with original design or renovations at 5 of the Top 40, including Old Corkscrew (#6) and Webb\u2019s Reserve (#18), his latest design in Punta Gorda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ron Garl <\/mark><\/a>contributed 4 courses among the Top-40, including renovations at Sun \u2018n Lake Golf Club\u2019s Deer Run course in Sebring (#8), and original designs at Eaglebrooke (#23), Sandridge (#29) and Eagle Creek (#30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Lee<\/span><\/a> designs are included at 3 of the leading public courses in Florida, including Deer Island Country Club in Taveres (No. 9), Abacoa in Jupiter (No. 17) and Boca Raton Golf & Racquet Club (#27\u2014recently updated by Kipp Schulties<\/mark><\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fred Couples and Gene Bates<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gene Bates and Fred Couples<\/mark> <\/a>teamed up to deliver 2 original designs in the Top 40, including Kelly Plantation (#2) and Southwood (#15)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best of Florida public golf also includes design by eminent architects such as Donald Ross<\/mark><\/a> (New Smyrna Golf Club\/No. 13\u2014renovated by Bobby Weed<\/mark><\/a>),  Tom Fazio<\/mark><\/a> (Champions Club at Summerfield\/No. 37), Rees Jones<\/mark><\/a> (LPGA International\/No. 14) and <\/mark>Robert Trent Jones II<\/mark><\/a>. <\/mark>(Celebration Golf Club\/No. 32).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Click Top 40 Florida Public Courses<\/mark><\/a> for a map view of locations (click a flag for course name and details).<\/p>\n\n\n

Any time you are looking for great public golf, or planning a vacation, the\u00a0GolfDay Search Engine<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0makes it easy to find the best courses and a better bang for your buck.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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    The Park<\/strong><\/span>\/<\/strong><\/a>West Palm Beach
    Florida Historic Golf Trail\/City of West Palm Beach<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n