The best golf courses in Clearwater, FL sort themselves by one question: can you book the tee time yourself? Four courses inside the city take public play, led by Clearwater Country Club and Cove Cay Golf Club. The two largest clubs in town, Countryside and Feather Sound, are private. And the round most visitors remember, the Copperhead at Innisbrook, sits 25 minutes north in Palm Harbor. This guide covers all of them, grouped by how you get on.
Where Clearwater Golf Actually Sits on the Map
No golf course sits on Clearwater Beach. The barrier island is hotels, sand and Pier 60, so every course here is on the mainland east of the Memorial Causeway. Staying on the beach, add fifteen to twenty minutes to every drive time below in winter, when causeway traffic backs up long before your tee time.
Six courses sit inside the city limits: Clearwater Country Club north of downtown, The Landings behind the Clearwater Airpark, Cove Cay along Old Tampa Bay, Chi Chi Rodriguez on the east side, Countryside in the northeast suburbs and Feather Sound near the airport. The honest local answer crosses the city line, because the best known golf near Clearwater is in Palm Harbor, Belleair and Dunedin, all within 25 minutes, and Visit St. Pete-Clearwater counts dozens more across the county.
Public Courses You Can Book Inside Clearwater
Clearwater Country Club: A 1920 Herbert Strong Design Near Downtown
Clearwater Country Club is a semi-private 18 hole course built in 1920 to a Herbert Strong design, the oldest golf in the city. It's open to the public alongside members, with a driving range, pro shop and a clubhouse. Tee times open 14 days ahead, so winter weekend mornings go fast, and it's the only club here selling seasonal memberships.
The Landings Golf Club: A Par 63 That Fits in Half a Day
The Landings Golf Club of Clearwater is a public par 63 with nine par fours and nine par threes, designed by Ron Garl on land that was an airpark in the 1930s and run now by PGA Tour professional John Huston's family. Short, quick and walkable, it's the right call for half a day, a beginner, or a group with mixed abilities.
Cove Cay Golf Club: Bay Views and a Four Hour Round
Cove Cay Golf Club is an 18 hole public course along Old Tampa Bay, playing from 4,216 to 6,079 yards across four tee sets, with water views and the Bayview Grill afterwards. The club advertises that a round rarely runs past four hours, the real selling point in a market where February rounds stretch to five. Play is cashless and tee times are booked online.
Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club: The Value Round With an Academy Behind It
Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club is a public par 69 by Denis Griffiths, with more than 70 sand traps and water on twelve holes. Fees are set by time of day rather than one flat rate, juniors play at reduced rates and walking is allowed, which makes it the friendliest course in town for a visitor without a plan. A portion of every green fee funds the Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy and First Tee Clearwater.
Public Courses Within a Thirty Five Minute Drive
Dunedin Golf Club: Restored Donald Ross, Twenty Minutes North
Dunedin Golf Club opened on January 1, 1927 as a Donald Ross design, plays par 72 at 6,745 yards, and spent years as the home of the PGA of America. Architect Kris Spence restored it to Ross specifications in 2024, expanding greens and rebuilding bunkers. It stays open to the public, a rare chance to play revitalized Ross architecture without knowing a member.
Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club: Tournament Pedigree in Seminole
Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club is a par 72 in Seminole that has hosted thirteen PGA and LPGA tour events, was renovated by Gary Koch in 2003, and putts on TifEagle greens. A fourteen court tennis center and the Bardmoor Pizzeria and Grille share the property, so a mixed group still has a morning. Of the tournament courses in Pinellas, this is the one you can book.
East Bay Golf Club: The Largo Fallback for a Full Weekend
East Bay Golf Club in Largo is a public William F. Mitchell design from 1963, playing par 71 at 6,451 yards from the tips with water on fourteen holes, alongside a par 54 executive eighteen and a practice range. Fifteen minutes from downtown Clearwater, it's the course to call when the city's public sheets are full on a Saturday.
Mangrove Bay Golf Course: The Busiest Municipal in the Area
Mangrove Bay Golf Course is a par 72 municipal in northeast St. Petersburg, described by the county tourism board as the busiest course in the area, with well kept greens at a municipal rate. Busiest also means booking ahead is not optional between January and April, and it's 35 minutes each way, so it suits a day you're heading south anyway.
Resort Golf at Innisbrook and the Copperhead Course
The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook is the best round within forty minutes of Clearwater. Larry Packard designed it, the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship is played on it, and the closing three holes, the Snake Pit, are what everyone talks about afterwards. The Palm Harbor resort also runs the Island, North and South courses.
Copperhead is resort play rather than daily fee, so the route on is a golf package with a room attached. That makes it an overnight, which fits neatly with day trips from Clearwater.
The Private Clubs Worth Knowing by Name
Countryside Country Club is the largest golf facility inside Clearwater, with 27 holes across three nines, Bayhead, Lake and Pine, recombined so the round changes shape each time. It's private, in the Invited network, so playing takes a member or reciprocal access.
Feather Sound Country Club is the highest rated course inside Clearwater city limits on Golf Digest's local panel ratings. It sits in the Gateway corner near the airport, and it's private, so know the name before you waste a morning driving to the gate.
Belleair Country Club, fifteen minutes south, holds two 18 hole courses with roots at the turn of the last century, and Jason Straka and Dana Fry rebuilt the West Course from original Donald Ross sketches, taking out most of the trees to open views over Clearwater Harbor. Private again, but the architecture is why it comes up locally.
The Pelican Golf Club, also in Belleair, is a Beau Welling redesign on the site of the old Belleview Biltmore resort course, built around fairway bunkers and small elevated greens. It hosts the LPGA's ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge, which is how a non-member gets a look at it.
Tee Times, Heat and Storm Season on a Clearwater Golf Trip
Season decides everything about golf here. January through April the county fills with snowbirds and spring training crowds, public sheets at Clearwater Country Club and Chi Chi Rodriguez book out days ahead, and rounds run long. May is the quiet sweet spot, still warm and far less crowded. The best time to visit Clearwater covers the rest of the year.
Summer golf is an early morning sport. June through September brings highs near 90 and near daily afternoon thunderstorms, so a 7 a.m. tee time finishes before the sky turns and a 1 p.m. one often doesn't finish at all. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 and peaks on September 10, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center, which explains the cheap September rates.
Nothing here is walkable from a beach hotel, so plan on a car for every round. Leather bags and grips do not enjoy a Florida summer in a hot garage, which is why some local players park gear in climate controlled storage in Clearwater between seasons, and seasonal members who fly home in April use car storage in Clearwater for the vehicle they leave behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best public golf courses in Clearwater, FL?
Clearwater Country Club, Cove Cay Golf Club, The Landings Golf Club and Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club all take public play inside the city. Clearwater Country Club is the historic one, Cove Cay has bay views and fast rounds, The Landings is the short par 63, and Chi Chi Rodriguez is the most beginner friendly. Dunedin Golf Club, twenty minutes north, is public too.
Are there cheap golf courses in Clearwater, Florida?
Yes. Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club prices by time of day, so a later round costs less than a prime morning slot, and juniors play at reduced rates. The Landings is short and priced accordingly, and Mangrove Bay in St. Petersburg is the value round of the wider group. Rates move with the season, so check each course directly.
How much is a round of golf at Clearwater Country Club?
Clearwater Country Club doesn't run one flat rate. Green fees move with the season, the day and the tee time, and winter mornings are the most expensive slots of the year here. The club posts current rates and opens its tee sheet 14 days out, so book there rather than trusting a number you read elsewhere.
What are the best public golf courses in Pinellas County?
The strongest public golf in Pinellas County runs up and down the coast rather than clustering in one city. Dunedin Golf Club stands out for its restored Donald Ross layout, Bardmoor in Seminole carries the tournament history, Mangrove Bay is the busy municipal favorite nearest St. Petersburg, and Clearwater Country Club, Cove Cay and East Bay in Largo hold the middle of the county.
Storing Clubs, Carts and Off Season Gear in Clearwater
Golf gear multiplies quietly and Pinellas garages are small. Value Store It runs two Clearwater facilities, month to month with no long term contract. Our Clearwater facility starts with a 5×5 locker for clubs and a push cart, adds a 5×10 unit or 5×15 unit for seasonal gear, a 10×5 space or 10×10 storage unit for a garage's worth, and a 10×15 unit or 10×20 unit for a household. A 10×30 unit takes a personal cart and trailer, and boat storage in Clearwater covers the days you'd rather be on the water.
The Clearwater II location covers the same ground across town, from a 5×5 unit at Clearwater II or 5×10 at Clearwater II through a 10×5 at Clearwater II, a 10×10 at Clearwater II, a 10×15 at Clearwater II and a 10×20 at Clearwater II, with climate controlled units at Clearwater II for anything holding leather or electronics. The storage unit size calculator settles the size question in a minute.
Once the clubs have a home, start on things to do in Clearwater and sort out where to stay in Clearwater if the golf trip is becoming a long weekend.
