Miami Lakes has one golf course inside town limits, Miami Lakes Golf Club, and after a full redesign that reopened in November 2025 it’s the one a lot of Miami golfers now name first. Everything else on any honest list of the best golf courses in Miami Lakes, FL sits in a ring that starts about 15 minutes away and ends at the causeway to Key Biscayne. This guide covers nine courses, sorted by drive time, with what each one asks of your game and whether a visitor can actually get on.
How Golf Around Miami Lakes Is Laid Out
Miami Lakes is a 6.51-square-mile town about 15 miles northwest of downtown Miami (Wikipedia), which is why one course inside the limits is all the geography allows. The upside is position. The town sits between Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, so a golfer based here can reach public golf across Miami-Dade and Broward without fighting downtown traffic.
Access is the part visitors get wrong. Almost every course in this guide takes public play, including the big-name resort, so you don’t need a member to get a tee time. What varies is price and pace. The county and municipal courses run friendlier rates and slower rounds, the resort runs championship conditions at the top of the market, and weekend mornings everywhere go first.
Drive times below are normal-traffic estimates from the Main Street area. Allow extra time for anything south or east of the Palmetto Expressway during the weekday morning rush.
Miami Lakes Golf Club: The Only Course Inside Town Limits
Miami Lakes Golf Club at 7601 Miami Lakes Drive is an 18-hole, par-72 course originally laid out by Bill Watts in 1962 and completely redesigned by architect Bruce Hepner (Miami Lakes Hotel). Work broke ground in November 2024, and the course reopened for public play in November 2025, according to The Fried Egg. It has a driving range, practice area, pro shop and a 19th hole called The Deck, and it’s home to the First Tee of Miami.
Water is in play on a lot of holes and homes line a few of them, so the tee-shot decision matters more than raw length. Miami photographer and golfer Dwayne Tucker, writing in March 2026, calls it one of the best public setups in Miami, with healthy turf, clean lies and greens that "have real personality."
One practical note: this is a semi-private club, and booking through the club is close to mandatory on weekend mornings. Rates are tiered, with separate member, guest, South Florida resident and military pricing, so it’s worth checking which one you qualify for before you book.
Courses Within a 25-Minute Drive
Miami Springs Golf & Country Club
Miami Springs Golf & Country Club is an 18-hole public course about 15 to 20 minutes south toward the airport. It opened in 1923 as the Miami-Hialeah Golf Club and hosted the Miami Open from 1925 to 1955 (Miami Springs Golf Course). Tucker notes that recent renovations improved the greens, calls the layout fair and approachable and says it’s an easy walk, which matters if you’d rather not pay for a cart. Book the early slot; the afternoon sun on an open municipal layout is punishing from May onward.
Costa del Sol Golf Club
Costa del Sol Golf Club in Doral is an 18-hole, par-72 Robert E. Cupp design from 1974 that’s open to the public (Costa del Sol), about 20 minutes down the Palmetto. It’s a good fallback on a weekend when Miami Lakes has nothing left before noon.
Pembroke Lakes Golf & Racquet Club
Pembroke Lakes Golf & Racquet Club is an 18-hole course in Pembroke Pines, around 20 minutes from Miami Lakes, that opened to the public in 1969. The same property has nine hard and five clay tennis courts, with pickleball at the Pembroke Lakes Tennis Center (City of Pembroke Pines). That combination solves a specific problem: half the group plays golf and half plays tennis or pickleball, and everyone finishes around the same time. Book the tee time and the court separately rather than assuming both will be available.
Flamingo Lakes Country Club
Flamingo Lakes Country Club is an 18-hole course that opened in 1984 at 701 SW Flamingo West Drive in Pembroke Pines, roughly 25 minutes north over the Broward County line. It’s the sensible second round for a foursome playing twice in a weekend, and crossing into Broward also means a different weekend crowd, so tee times can open up here when Miami-Dade courses are full.
Miami Shores Country Club
Miami Shores Country Club is an 18-hole, par-71 public course east of Miami Lakes, roughly 20 to 25 minutes away, laid out by Red Lawrence and opened in December 1939 (Florida Historic Golf Trail). Tucker describes turtle-shell greens and heavy St. Augustine rough, with a tough par 3 at 17. The range stays open late, which makes this the practical choice for a golfer who finishes work at 6 p.m. and wants to hit balls rather than play.
Trump National Doral
Trump National Doral is the marquee resort property within reach of Miami Lakes, about 20 minutes down the Palmetto, with 72 holes across four courses: the Blue Monster, Red Tiger, Golden Palm and Silver Fox (Trump National Doral). Tucker singles out the practice facility, with unlimited balls, large putting areas and strong short-game space. Public play is available but priced at the top of the market, so treat it as the one round of the trip rather than the daily rotation.
Courses Worth a Longer Drive
Granada Golf Course
Granada Golf Course in Coral Gables is a city-owned, par-36 nine-hole course designed and opened in 1923 (City of Coral Gables), about 30 to 35 minutes from Miami Lakes. The city pitches it to veterans and beginners alike, and the nine-hole loop makes it the right call for a beginner, a junior or anyone with two hours instead of five.
Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne
Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne is one of the toughest public courses in Miami, in Tucker’s words, 45 to 55 minutes away across the Rickenbacker Causeway, whose toll is $3.25 with SunPass or $6.50 by plate. Wind, heat and exposure do most of the damage before the layout even gets involved. Fairways can still be inconsistent in spots, and king tides occasionally affect holes, so keep the pace moving and don’t expect resort-perfect turf.
Tee Times, Heat and Playing Through the Wet Season
Book weekend mornings several days out and treat afternoons in summer as a different sport. The normal high at Miami International is 91°F in August, the rain tends to arrive as a heavy late-afternoon thunderstorm rather than all-day drizzle, and June averages 10.51 inches (NOAA climate normals). A 7 a.m. tee time in July is pleasant. A 2 p.m. one in July often ends with a horn and a sprint to the cart barn.
The dry months from November through April are the season worth planning around, and they’re also when tee sheets fill with visitors, so book further ahead then than you’d need to in September. If you’re timing a trip, the best time to visit Miami Lakes breaks the calendar down month by month.
Humidity is the quieter problem. Leather grips, gloves and bags that sit in a hot Florida garage from June to October go tacky and then go moldy, which is why some local players keep a spare set and the off-season gear in a climate-controlled storage unit in Miami Lakes instead. Seasonal residents who only play here from November to April do the same thing with a 5×5 storage unit, about the size of a small closet, which holds a bag and a couple of bins of seasonal gear so the clubs never get checked onto a plane again.
Charity and corporate tournaments run all season on these courses. Organizers who run the same event every year need somewhere to keep banners, tee signs, tents and prize stock between editions, and a 10×10 unit, about half a one-car garage, is the usual size for that kind of inventory.
Where to Stay for a Golf Weekend in Miami Lakes
Miami Lakes Hotel on Main at 6842 Main Street is the obvious base, because it runs stay-and-play packages with the golf club and sits inside the walkable Main Street district. Golf is booked through those packages rather than included, but guests get complimentary access to the 45,000-square-foot Miami Lakes Athletic Club and complimentary parking outside the hotel, across 300 self-parking spaces (Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau), so the car stays put between the course and dinner. Other options are covered in the guide to hotels in Miami Lakes.
Non-golfers in the group are well served here. Main Street holds roughly two dozen restaurants, a 13-screen cinema and a theater company within a few blocks, which the wider guide to things to do in Miami Lakes covers properly. If half the group would rather see the Everglades or Key Biscayne while the other half plays, the day trips from Miami Lakes guide has the drive times.
Golfers relocating to the area often land in a rental or a townhouse before they buy, and the clubs, bikes and boxes rarely fit at once. A 5×10 unit holds the contents of one room and covers that gap without renting a second garage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to play at Miami Lakes Golf Club?
Miami Lakes Golf Club uses tiered pricing rather than one green fee. The club’s rate sheet runs from $110 on a weekday and $130 on a weekend for a Town of Miami Lakes resident to $125 and $155 for other South Florida residents, with separate member, guest and military rates. Because the course only reopened in November 2025 after its redesign, check the current sheet before you book.
What are some golf courses located in Miami Lakes?
Miami Lakes Golf Club at 7601 Miami Lakes Drive is the only golf course inside the town limits. Search results that list several courses "in Miami Lakes" are really listing the surrounding area: Miami Springs, Costa del Sol, Pembroke Lakes, Flamingo Lakes, Miami Shores and Trump National Doral all fall inside a 25-minute drive.
What’s the nicest golf course in Miami?
For resort facilities, Trump National Doral is the answer most golfers give, with 72 holes and a practice facility to match. For the best public experience you can book without a resort budget, Tucker’s March 2026 local guide rates the redesigned Miami Lakes Golf Club among the best, and for pure difficulty Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne is one of the sternest public tests in the city.
What changed in the Miami Lakes Golf Club renovation?
Bruce Hepner completely redesigned the course, working from the Bill Watts routing that opened in 1962. Construction started in November 2024 and the course reopened for public play in November 2025. Tucker reports healthy turf and greens with real personality, and says a good number of staff from the Melreese course made the move.
Which courses near Miami Lakes are walkable?
Miami Springs Golf & Country Club and Granada Golf Course in Coral Gables are the two best bets. Tucker calls Miami Springs an easy walk, and Granada is a par-36 nine that rents handcarts. Most other courses in this ring are built around cart paths and South Florida heat, so walking is simply unwise at midday from May through September.
Storing Clubs and Gear Near the Course
Golf gear multiplies faster than closet space, and few Miami Lakes homes have a spare garage bay for it. Value Store It in Miami Lakes rents month-to-month with no long-term contract, which suits a seasonal player or anyone waiting on a closing date. Beyond the sizes already mentioned, the lineup runs through a 10×5 for the contents of one room and a 5×15 for a studio apartment, then up to a 10×15 for a two-bedroom apartment and a 10×20 for a three-bedroom home, with a 10×30 at the top for a four-bedroom home or a business. If you’re not sure which one you need, the storage unit size guide walks through what fits where.
