The best golf courses in Fort Lauderdale, FL are mostly a short drive west of it. Golf inside the city limits is private, so the public rounds worth planning a morning around sit in Plantation, Tamarac, Pompano Beach and Hollywood, roughly 20 to 30 minutes from the beach. This guide sorts them by access: the courses anyone can book, the semi-private clubs that still take outside play, and the private clubs you need an invitation or a seasonal membership to see.
How Golf Is Laid Out Across Broward County
Broward County's golf sits west of Federal Highway because the eastern strip has no room for it. Fort Lauderdale holds 182,760 people in 34.59 square miles (U.S. Census Bureau), and most of the land near the water goes to beach, Intracoastal and canals. Fairways went where there was space, which means inland.
Greater Fort Lauderdale has more than 35 courses and plays year round, according to the county tourism bureau's golf pages. Broward is 31 municipalities packed edge to edge and the city lines are invisible from the car, so locals think in drive times. Plantation and Tamarac are 20 to 30 minutes west, Hollywood is about 20 minutes south, Pompano Beach about 25 minutes north. On a booked-out weekend, the same page lists Palm-Aire Country Club in Pompano Beach as a fallback.
Public Courses You Can Book Without a Membership
Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club
Plantation Preserve is the easiest good round to get in this area. The City of Plantation runs it as a fully public municipal course with five sets of tee boxes on every hole, so a foursome holding a scratch player and a beginner can play together instead of taking turns being miserable (City of Plantation). Tee times go through the pro shop by phone rather than a slick app, so call early in January and February.
Colony West Golf Club in Tamarac
Colony West gives you two very different rounds on one property, about 30 minutes northwest. The 18-hole Championship layout is described by the club as one of the more demanding rounds in South Florida, and the par-64 Glades course beside it is the friendlier option when you've got four hours instead of six. Book direct on the club's site and there's no booking fee. Children under 17 play free with a paying adult after 3pm.
Pompano Beach Golf Course
Pompano Beach Golf Course is the northern option, roughly 25 minutes up Federal Highway, and it's the rare 36-hole public complex in this half of the county. Visit Lauderdale points visiting golfers to its two 18-hole layouts and notes that the Pines Course carries a Greg Norman Signature redesign. The coastal position means more wind than the inland courses, which is either the appeal or the problem depending on your ball flight. Green fees across the area swing hard by season and tee time, so check the course's own booking page rather than a number in an article.
Semi-Private Clubs That Still Take Visitors
Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation
Jacaranda is the course South Florida golfers name first, and it's semi-private rather than closed, so you don't need a member to get on. There are 36 holes across the East and West courses, both rated four stars by Golf Digest, both with five sets of tees and Paspalum fairways. The East is longer and has hosted PGA Tour Q-School and US Open qualifying; the West trades length for strategy. The pro shop opens at 6:30am daily, which is when you want to be on the first tee from May through September.
The Club at Emerald Hills in Hollywood
The Club at Emerald Hills is the round to book when your flight is the problem. It sits less than a mile from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and tee times go through an online system or the pro shop by phone (The Club at Emerald Hills). It's a long-standing championship layout and prices like one, so treat it as the splurge round. Play it on an arrival or departure day and a wasted half-day turns into a real one.
Private Clubs and the Courses You Need to Call About
Fort Lauderdale Country Club
Fort Lauderdale Country Club is the private benchmark, and it's fair to say up front that you can't simply book it. The club has 36 holes across two courses and describes itself as the oldest private country club in Broward County, established almost a century ago. The route in for a part-time resident is the seasonal membership. Despite the name, its address is in Plantation.
Coral Ridge Country Club
Coral Ridge Country Club answers the question people actually ask, which is whether any golf sits inside Fort Lauderdale itself. It does, on Bayview Drive in the Coral Ridge neighborhood, and it's private. Treat it as the reason the good public options are all a drive west, not as a course to plan around.
Heron Bay and Eagle Trace, Two Honda Classic Hosts
Heron Bay Golf Club and Eagle Trace Golf Club both hosted the PGA Tour's Honda Classic and could not be less alike, per Visit Lauderdale. Heron Bay brings water into play on only three holes and relies on subtle contouring; Eagle Trace runs water alongside every par 3 and finishes with an island green. Access terms at tournament-pedigree clubs change often, so confirm directly before building a trip around either.
Playing in the Heat, the Rain and the Winter High Season
Golf here is a morning sport for half the year. From May through September, highs run 88 to 90 degrees with daily afternoon thunderstorms, which is why a 6:30am pro shop opening is a feature rather than a curiosity. Those storms usually pass in under an hour, so a soaked afternoon is a delay more often than a cancellation. If one takes the day, the things to do in Fort Lauderdale guide covers the indoor options.
Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30 and peaks on September 10 (National Hurricane Center), part of why September is the quietest month on the tee sheets. December through April is the opposite: dry, mid-70s to low 80s, crowded and priced accordingly, with weekend morning times gone days ahead. Our guide to the best time to visit Fort Lauderdale breaks the year down month by month.
Assume you're driving, because none of these courses is walkable from a beach hotel and I-95 crawls between 7:30 and 9am on weekdays. The Fort Lauderdale hotels guide covers which areas sit closest to the western courses. Humidity is the other tax: leather bags, gloves and grips break down fast in an unconditioned garage, which is why climate controlled storage in Fort Lauderdale gets rented by people who own more equipment than they play with.
Junior Golf and Family Rounds
Two courses here are built for kids rather than merely tolerant of them. Plantation Preserve runs a junior golf academy for ages 6 to 14, and Colony West's under-17 policy after 3pm turns a late tee time into a cheap family afternoon. Families who golf also accumulate gear at speed, from outgrown junior sets to bikes and beach chairs, and a 5×10 storage unit absorbs the lot between seasons. Our things to do in Fort Lauderdale with kids guide picks up where the golf stops.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best public golf courses near Fort Lauderdale?
Plantation Preserve, Colony West in Tamarac and Pompano Beach Golf Course are the three you can book without a membership, and Jacaranda in Plantation is semi-private and still takes outside play. Between them you get a municipal course with five tee sets, a championship layout with a short executive course beside it, a 36-hole complex on the coast and a four-star pair of 18s.
Are there any golf courses inside Fort Lauderdale city limits?
Yes, but they're private. Coral Ridge Country Club sits on Bayview Drive inside the city, and Fort Lauderdale Country Club, despite the name, is in Plantation. Public golf here means driving 20 to 30 minutes west or south, which is normal in a county of 31 municipalities pressed together.
What is the number one golf course in Florida?
State rankings are dominated by private clubs well outside Broward County, with Seminole Golf Club and TPC Sawgrass at or near the top of most Florida lists. Neither is playable on a Fort Lauderdale trip. Locally, Jacaranda's two courses carry the strongest public-access reputation, and both hold four stars from Golf Digest.
When is the best time of year to golf in Fort Lauderdale?
December through April gives you mid-70s to low-80s days, low humidity and little rain, and it's also when tee sheets fill and rates climb. May and November are the value windows, still comfortable with less competition for morning times. June through September, book the earliest time available and expect an afternoon thunderstorm.
Can a visitor play without a membership?
Yes, at most of the courses here. Plantation Preserve, Colony West and Pompano Beach Golf Course are open to the public, and Jacaranda and The Club at Emerald Hills take outside play as semi-private clubs. Only Fort Lauderdale Country Club and Coral Ridge require a member.
Storage for Clubs, Carts and Off-Season Gear
Golf equipment outgrows a South Florida closet faster than almost anything else, and snowbirds get the sharper version of the problem. Seasonal players who fly down for three months often leave the clubs behind rather than check a bag twice a year, and a 5×5 storage locker takes a bag, a pull cart and a couple of bins.
Value Store It's Fort Lauderdale facility rents month to month with no long-term contract. A 10×5 space handles clubs plus the beach and fishing gear, and a 5×15 unit does it in a longer footprint. Households in transition size up to a 10×10 storage unit for a one-bedroom's worth, a 10×15 unit for two bedrooms, and a 10×20 space or 10×30 unit when a whole house needs somewhere to go. The storage size guide settles it in two minutes.
If a season of golf, boating and beach days leaves you with more gear than garage, Value Store It can hold it until the next tee time.
