The best golf courses in Miami, FL sort themselves by one question: can you actually get on? Miami-Dade County runs its own public golf destinations that anyone can book, Miami Beach and Coral Gables own municipal courses of their own, and the marquee names out at Doral and Aventura are resort courses that sell outside play at resort prices. This guide covers 11 courses grouped by how you get a tee time, then gets into heat, hurricane season and the rest of what decides whether a round in Miami turns out to be any fun.
The Geography of Golf in Greater Miami
Almost none of Miami’s golf sits inside the City of Miami. The city held 442,241 people at the 2020 Census on about 36 square miles of land, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the courses are scattered across the separate municipalities around it: Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Miami Shores, Doral, Aventura and unincorporated south Miami-Dade.
Think in five pockets. The barrier island carries Miami Beach Golf Club and Normandy Shores. Coral Gables has the Biltmore and Granada within a couple of miles of each other. Key Biscayne has Crandon, out past the Rickenbacker Causeway. The north end of the county holds Greynolds, Miami Shores and, in Aventura, Turnberry. South Miami-Dade has Palmetto and Briar Bay, and Doral sits west of everything, near the airport.
Nothing on that list is more than about 45 minutes from downtown outside rush hour. The causeways to the beach and Key Biscayne do back up in the morning rush, which is exactly when your tee time is. Miami-Dade County lists its public golf facilities in one place at Golf Miami-Dade. Its Country Club of Miami has been closed for a full course and clubhouse renovation since April 6, 2026, with no reopening date set, according to Miami-Dade County, so it isn’t in this guide. If golf is one part of a longer stay, the wider guide to things to do in Miami covers the rest of the city.
Public Courses Anyone Can Book
The public tier is where most visitors and most locals play. These courses are county or city owned, they take outside bookings without a member sponsor, and they sit at the value end of the market. Rates move with the season and with resident status, so check the course’s own booking page rather than trusting a number printed in an article.
Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne: The Only Public Course on Biscayne Bay
Crandon bills itself as the only public golf course on Biscayne Bay, an 18-hole, par 72 county layout surrounded by water, mangroves and tropical foliage (Crandon Golf). Its par 4 seventh doglegs right over water, and the first hole asks for a drive over water and mangroves before you’ve warmed up. Budget for the Rickenbacker Causeway toll and leave early, because the same causeway carries every cyclist and beachgoer headed to the island. Key Biscayne is a boating community as much as a golf one, and the trailer that won’t fit beside a house usually ends up in boat storage in Miami instead.
Miami Beach Golf Club: The Closest Real Round to South Beach
Miami Beach Golf Club is a par 72 that opened in 1923 as Bayshore Golf Course and got a $10 million Arthur Hills redesign in 2002, according to the club, and it’s the closest full course to the South Beach hotels. The Jim McLean Golf School operates on site if you’d rather take a lesson than a round. January through March is peak season in Miami, so book this tee sheet weeks out in winter.
Normandy Shores Golf Club: The Easier Tee Time in Miami Beach
Normandy Shores is 18 holes, par 71 and 6,805 yards at 2401 Biarritz Drive in North Beach, and it’s usually easier to get on than its sibling to the south. Regulars use a membership card program for repeat play (Normandy Shores Golf Club). Treat it as the sensible weekday round when the beach course is full.
The Biltmore Golf Course: Donald Ross in Coral Gables
The Biltmore Golf Course is an 18-hole, par 71 Donald Ross layout from 1925 running in front of the hotel of the same name. The City of Coral Gables owns it, and the public books tee times directly, per the City of Coral Gables, so you don’t need a sponsor or a room. The Biltmore Hotel opened January 15, 1926, is a National Historic Landmark and is marking its centennial in 2026 (Biltmore Hotel), and Fairways sits alongside the course for lunch afterward. Picking one Miami round on character alone, this is it. The Miami hotels guide covers where to stay nearby.
Palmetto Golf Course: The Best Value Full Round in the County
Palmetto is an 18-hole, par 70 Dick Wilson design from 1959 across 121 acres in south Miami-Dade (Palmetto Golf Course), and it’s the strongest full round in the county system for what it costs. Palmetto Mini Golf, a separate county facility, sits beside it, which makes it one of the very few places where the non-golfers in the car have something to do for 2 hours. It’s a long drive south if you’re staying on the beach, so pair it with an afternoon in Homestead or the Redland rather than driving back and forth twice.
Granada Golf Course: 9 Holes in the Middle of Coral Gables
Granada is a nine-hole, par 36 municipal course inside residential Coral Gables that opened in 1923, and the city calls it the oldest operating nine-hole course in Florida (City of Coral Gables). It’s the right answer for a quick nine before dinner rather than a destination round. First-timers should know the course really is in a neighborhood, with streets and houses close enough to matter on a wayward tee shot.
Greynolds Golf Course: A Park Nine Built for Beginners
Greynolds is nine holes, par 36, laid out by Mark Mahannah in 1964 inside Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach (Greynolds Golf Course). County-run and inexpensive, it’s one of the better places in the metro to put a beginner or a junior on a real course without committing to a 5-hour round. Because it sits inside a public park, expect walkers and a lot of birdlife around the corridors. Nobody comes here for a championship test, and that’s precisely the appeal.
Briar Bay Golf Course: A Fast Executive Nine in South Miami-Dade
Briar Bay is a nine-hole, par 31 executive course on 30 acres (Briar Bay Golf Course), short and quick enough to finish before lunch. It’s the sensible first course for a child or an adult beginner who isn’t ready for a full-length card. Junior sets get outgrown fast, and the overflow tends to land in a 5×10 storage unit in Miami alongside the bikes and the beach gear. Stronger players should treat Briar Bay as a warm-up, not a round.
Membership and Resort Courses That Take Outside Play
The second tier costs more and asks for either a phone call or a room reservation, but it holds the best-known golf in the market. None of these three is truly private, so a visitor with a plan can play all of them.
Miami Shores Country Club: A Village Course That Takes Visitors
Miami Shores Country Club is an 18-hole, par 71 course owned by the Village of Miami Shores and managed by KemperSports, run as a public course with memberships, with a driving range and dining on site (Miami Shores Country Club). Visitors can get on, but this is a call-ahead course rather than a walk-up, and its memberships serve the regulars. It lands in a useful middle ground between county pricing and resort pricing.
Trump National Doral Miami: Four Courses and the Blue Monster
Trump National Doral carries four courses, and the Blue Monster is the name everyone knows, finishing on a long par 4 with water down the left side. Golden Palm, Red Tiger and Silver Fox round out the property. The PGA Tour brought tournament golf back to the Blue Monster with the Cadillac Championship, and the PGA Tour’s 2027 schedule puts the next edition on the Blue Monster in the week of March 1 to 7, 2027. This is resort golf, so hotel guests get the tee sheet first and public rates run among the highest in the market. It’s also the closest big-name course to Miami International Airport, which makes it the standard last-morning round before a flight home.
JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa: Golf That Survives Bringing the Kids
Turnberry in Aventura runs the Soffer and Miller courses on a resort property with a spa and the Tidal Cove water park. Package rates are the normal way on. The water park is why this is the one golf trip in the metro that works with children along, and non-guests can buy Tidal Cove day passes, though it’s worth confirming availability before you promise anything at breakfast (Tidal Cove). Aventura puts you about 30 minutes north of downtown. Parents can pull an afternoon plan from the things to do in Miami with kids list.
Private Clubs and What They Mean for a Visitor
Greater Miami’s most exclusive courses are private member clubs, and they don’t sell public tee times at any price. Getting on means a member invitation, full stop, and no concierge changes that. It matters less than it sounds: the Biltmore’s Ross layout, Crandon’s bay holes and Doral’s Blue Monster cover the range of what a visiting golfer actually wants, and all three take outside play.
Tee Times, Heat and Hurricane Season
Miami has two seasons rather than four, and they change the golf completely. The dry season, roughly November through April, brings highs from the mid-70s to the mid-80s and much less rain, according to NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals, along with the highest rates and the fullest tee sheets of the year. January through March is the peak, with hotel occupancy above 80% in January 2026 (WLRN), and March is the hardest month to book, with the Miami Open (March 14 to 28, 2027, in Miami Gardens), Calle Ocho and Ultra all landing that month.
The wet season runs May through October, with highs from the mid-80s to about 91°F, heavy humidity and near-daily afternoon thunderstorms. Take the first tee time of the day rather than the twilight one, because lightning holds are the rule and not the exception in summer. The National Weather Service office in Miami publishes the local climate data (weather.gov).
Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30 and peaks on September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October (NOAA National Hurricane Center). Most rounds booked inside that window play fine, but a September booking should be refundable. September is also the emptiest and cheapest month for Miami hotels, with late August close behind, per the bureau’s September data. For timing a whole trip rather than one round, the best time to visit Miami guide goes month by month.
Two practical notes on gear. South Florida humidity is hard on leather grips, gloves and cart bags left in a hot garage, which is why a lot of seasonal players keep their equipment in a climate-controlled unit in Miami instead. Snowbirds who fly home in May often leave a second vehicle behind too, and car storage in Miami beats six months on a neighbor’s driveway.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the nicest golf course in Miami?
The Blue Monster at Trump National Doral is the market’s marquee course and the one tournament golf built its reputation on, but "nicest" depends on what you’re after. For history and setting, the Biltmore Golf Course’s 1925 Donald Ross layout in Coral Gables is hard to beat. For pure scenery, Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne plays along Biscayne Bay. All three take outside play.
What are the best public golf courses around Miami?
Miami-Dade County’s public golf facilities are Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne, Palmetto, Palmetto Mini Golf, Greynolds and Briar Bay. Add the two Miami Beach municipal courses, Miami Beach Golf Club and Normandy Shores, plus the Biltmore and Granada in Coral Gables. Crandon is the most scenic, Palmetto is the best full round for the money, and Normandy Shores is usually the easier booking on the beach.
What’s the most exclusive golf course in Miami?
The most exclusive courses in Greater Miami are private member clubs that don’t sell tee times to the public at all, so no budget gets you on without an invitation. The closest a visitor comes to that experience is Trump National Doral, where the Blue Monster takes resort guests and public play, or the Biltmore in Coral Gables, a city-owned course where the public books tee times directly.
What are the best public golf courses in Miami Beach?
Miami Beach has two municipal courses, and both take public bookings. Miami Beach Golf Club is the bigger test, a par 72 from 1923 redesigned by Arthur Hills, and it’s the closest course to the South Beach hotels. Normandy Shores, an 18-hole, par 71 in North Beach, is usually easier to book and quieter. Reserve the beach course several weeks ahead in winter.
Where the Clubs, the Cart Bag and Everything Else Can Live
Value Store It keeps three facilities around Miami, and the useful question is which one sits on your side of the county. The Miami storage facility is the mainland option. A 5×5 locker, about the size of a small closet, takes boxes and seasonal gear, including a bag, shoes and a cooler. 10×10 units hold a one-bedroom apartment. A 10×15 space holds a two-bedroom apartment. 10×20 units take a three-bedroom home, and 10×30 units take a four-bedroom home, with RV parking in Miami on the same property.
South of the city, the Cutler Bay location is the closest one to Palmetto and Briar Bay. It carries the same ladder, from a 5×5 unit in Cutler Bay, 5×10 unit in Cutler Bay and 10×5 unit in Cutler Bay through 10×10 storage in Cutler Bay, 10×15 storage in Cutler Bay, 10×20 storage in Cutler Bay and 10×30 storage in Cutler Bay, plus climate-controlled units in Cutler Bay, boat storage in Cutler Bay, RV storage in Cutler Bay and car storage in Cutler Bay.
For anyone flying in and out for golf, the Miami Airport storage facility sits close to the terminals and to Doral. Sizes there run from a 5×5 near the airport, 5×10 near the airport and 10×5 near the airport up through 10×10 near Miami International, 10×15 near the airport, 10×20 near Miami International and 10×30 near the airport, with climate-controlled storage near Miami International Airport for anything the humidity would ruin.
Every unit rents month-to-month with no long-term contract, and the storage size guide is the quickest way to work out which one you need. If a season of Miami golf leaves you with more gear than garage, Value Store It can help.
