|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Miami is known for its stunning weather, spectacular beaches, and non-stop nightlife. It’s not called Magic City for nothing! If you’ve recently moved here, you can expect a wonderland right at your fingertips.
If you’re more interested in hitting the golf course than the nightclub, you’re in luck! We’ve compiled an expat’s guide to the best golf courses in Miami, so you can haul out those clubs and start working on your golf swing again.
And let’s be honest—with Miami’s amazing weather, the golf course is always a great place to spend a few hours. So grab those drivers and irons and let’s check out the courses you should consider playing.
Miami Beach Golf Club
Known as one of the must-play courses in the area, Miami Beach Golf Club is pristine and beautiful. Don’t let its sleek layout fool you, though—it starts off with a cracker of a par-5 that includes both a dogleg and multiple water hazards, requiring concentration and precision from your very first shot.
The course layout is creative and you can expect to find palm trees lining the fairways, giving it a tropical feel. Water hazards are common, as are doglegs. Don’t get complacent about the greens—they’re trickier than they first appear!
While the gameplay may ease up after the first hole, it picks back up again in the last three, the most notable cluster of the course. The 17th is the signature hole, a par-3 spanning 169 yards, played to an island green. Exciting but challenging!
Trump National Doral, Blue Monster Course
Trump National Doral Miami has four spectacular courses, but the Blue Monster is the most well-known and the most dramatic. It might be a little bit of a stretch for newbies—although there are 5 tee boxes—but experienced golfers will enjoy the trickiness and be pleased to tick this one off their bucket list!
One of the most notable features of the Blue Monster is its notoriously long fairways. You’ll need some power behind your drive, but the course design also requires strategic thinking and precision if you want to get a good score. It’s peppered with water hazards and deep sand traps and has lovely views, although there’s very little elevation change.
The final hole is the signature, a 473-yard par-4 from the back tees. Featuring a serious water hazard all down the left side of the fairway, you need patience and accuracy here!
International Links Miami, Melreese Golf Course
This course has the distinction of being the place where Tiger Woods made his very first professional appearance in South Florida! Aside from that and the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, it’s a beautiful course, with wide open spaces dotted with palm trees and close to 100 white sand bunkers.
There’s something for every kind of golfer here, with 6 sets of tees to play from. The fairways are rolling and more challenging than they appear, followed by curvy greens that will trip you up if you aren’t careful.
Water hazards are present on 14 holes, making this course a tight one despite the open feeling. Be careful of the signature 14th hole, named the Heartbreak Ridge. Water runs all along the right side of the hole, and the island green requires a tricky approach shot.
Turnberry Isle Miami, Soffer Golf Course
Of the two courses at Turnberry Isle Country Club, if you can only pick one we recommend the Soffer Course. Despite its luxurious features, the club is open to guests and it’s a great play from start to finish.
The Soffer course is the longer and more challenging of the two, playing to over 7,000 yards from the back tees. Despite that, the holes are narrow and winding, meandering their way through lakes, palm trees, and natural vegetation.
With somewhat more rolling terrain than most Miami courses, you can expect a bit of challenge on this course. Strategically-placed bunkers and water hazards, plus multiple doglegs come into play across the layout.
The finishing hole is memorable, with a small green island backed by a beautiful waterfall.
Palmetto Golf Course
This Miami-Dade county-owned 18-hole course features water hazards on 10 holes and smartly-placed bunkers to add to the challenge. It’s named for the palmetto trees that line the fairways, keeping up that tropical holiday feeling that Miami is known for.
A canal system runs through the course, accounting for most of the water hazards. The signature 3rd hole features carry-over water to a small, bunker-guarded green.
You’ll also find excellent practice facilities for your driving, putting, and iron game, and a mini golf course which is fun for the whole family and includes a waterfall and a lagoon.
Normandy Shores Golf Course
This golf club is situated in a residential community in Biscayne Bay, and it’s quite tranquil. You might spot some wildlife as you make your way through your round, and the breezy course is flat but not without challenge.
There’s not a lot of room for error on these fairways. Some of them play alongside houses and cars, so you need to be extra careful not to hit a wayward shot and damage someone’s property.
Water hazards come into play on all but three holes, although they’re mostly out of the way and simply add to the ambiance of the course. Holes 11 to 14 in particular are tricky, beginning with the longest par-4 on the course going directly into the wind, and ending with a tricky par-3.
Conclusion
Moving to Miami is exciting! There’s so much to see and do, and depending on where you’ve come from, it might be an entirely new experience. But if you’re looking for good golf, you don’t have to go far! Our expat’s guide to the best golf courses in Miami should have given you some ideas of where to go to get in a good round.
Whether you’re looking for a new home course or aiming to play everywhere, these are the ones you should sample first. Each one has its own unique feeling and is a different experience from the others, so you won’t get bored if you do decide to play all of them!
About the Author
Jordan Fuller is a retired golfer and businessman. When he’s not on the course working on his own game or mentoring others, he’s researching and writing value-packed articles for his website, Golf Influence.
