Winter Golf: Affordable Golf Options in South Florida

"Oh yeah, which courses you got lined up down there?" I asked.

 

"No golf," he said. "Too expensive."

 

Funny how these myths hang around. Yes, the cost of living, including green fees, in South Florida is more expensive that other parts of Florida, but rates are still much more reasonable there than in other parts of the country.

 

Also, there are many, many affordable—and by "affordable" I mean "cheap"—golf courses down south. So here are some suggestions for this fall and winter of South Florida courses that give you a great bang for the buck.

 

 

You can't go wrong with Crandon Golf on Key Biscayne. It's one of the country's premier, municipal courses, where everybody from governors to plumbers play. Aside from the very reasonable green fees, you get an excellent, challenging course and stunning views of the Miami Beach skyline.

 

Also consider the Country Club of Miami. Traveling north to the Boca Raton-West Palm Beach-Port St. Lucie corridor, there are several excellent options: Cypress Creek Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens Golf Course and the Boca Raton municipal course.

 

 

On the other, southern side of the state, Deep Creek Golf Club is a short, cheap and fun muni in Charlotte County that is revered by the regular gang who shows up.

 

Riverwood in Punta Gorda is a beautifully designed track with a handful of spectacular holes. Also try Eagle Ridge in Fort Myers and the Rotonda Golf and Country Club courses on the Cape Haze peninsula.

 

In the Sarasota-Bradenton area, Capri Isles, Sabal Trace and Long Marsh are all fun and easy on the wallet.