North Lauderdale has no golf course inside its own limits, so the best golf courses in North Lauderdale, FL are the ones a short drive outside it. The closest is Colony West Golf Club in Tamarac, roughly ten minutes west and fully public. Push the circle out to twenty five minutes and you pick up two former Honda Classic hosts, a Greg Norman signature course near the ocean, and two Plantation layouts built for groups of mixed ability. This guide sorts every course by drive time and says plainly which ones you can get onto without a membership.
Golf Geography Around North Lauderdale
North Lauderdale covers 4.7 square miles of housing, parks and shopping plazas in north-central Broward County, with 44,794 residents at the 2020 census (U.S. Census figures via Wikipedia). There isn't a fairway in any of it. That's normal for a city laid out in the 1960s as a residential suburb, and it means golf here works in rings rather than neighborhoods.
The rings are short. Tamarac sits about ten minutes west, Coral Springs and Parkland fifteen to twenty five minutes northwest, Plantation about twenty minutes south, and Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach twenty to twenty five minutes northeast. Every course below is a same-morning drive, and none of them requires getting on I-95 if you plan the route around US 441 and the Sawgrass Expressway.
Access matters more than distance. Ten of the twelve courses in this guide take public or daily fee play, and only two are genuinely closed to outsiders. If you want the wider picture of the area beyond the tee box, the guide to things to do in North Lauderdale covers the parks and the food.
Tamarac: The Ten Minute Ring
Colony West Golf Club: Two Public Courses, One Hard and One Fast
Colony West Golf Club on NW 88th Avenue is the closest golf of any kind to North Lauderdale and it's fully public, so no membership is involved. The Championship course runs 7,387 yards at par 71 and was judged too difficult at its original 7,553 yards when it opened in 1971. The Glades course is a 4,207 yard par 65 that moves quickly, which is the one to play if you have half a morning instead of a whole one. The pro shop runs 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and an annual Colony Card exists for regulars.
Woodmont Country Club: Twenty Seven Holes With a 2026 Caveat
Woodmont Country Club on NW 80th Avenue offers twenty seven holes with a mix of public play and private membership, including eighteen fully renovated holes. Call before you plan anything here this year: the Pines course closed in May 2026 for renovation and is expected to reopen in October 2026 with new greens. The club itself stayed open through the work, so a round is still possible, just not the one you may have in mind.
Coral Springs and Parkland: Fifteen to Twenty Five Minutes Northwest
Country Club of Coral Springs: Renovated Greens and Easy Weekday Times
The Country Club of Coral Springs is a newly renovated eighteen hole championship course that's open to the public, with some of the better greens in this part of Broward. What sets it apart is that it's genuinely walk-on friendly, which most Broward country clubs are not. Weekday afternoons are the easiest tee times to get, and about eighteen minutes northwest puts it well inside a morning's reach.
Broken Woods Country Club: The Short, Forgiving Round
Broken Woods Country Club on West Sample Road is semi-private and open to public play, and it's short and walkable rather than a championship test. That makes it the right call for a high handicap, a rusty visitor or anyone who wants a round finished before lunch. It's the least intimidating course on this list, and there's no shame in choosing it after six months away from the game.
Eagle Trace Golf Club: An Island Green and Open Wind
Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs used to host the PGA Tour's Honda Classic, and it still plays like a tournament course, with an island green and water in play on every par three. The wind coming off the open western Broward flats makes the scorecard misleading, so the number you shoot here will usually be worse than the number you expect. Book a morning time before the breeze picks up. It takes daily fee play, so no membership is needed.
Heron Bay Golf Club: Tournament Pedigree You Can Actually Play
Heron Bay Golf Club, straddling Parkland and Coral Springs, is the other former Honda Classic host in the area, and it runs on a pay as you play basis. That combination of tournament history and open access makes it the most pedigreed layout a visitor near North Lauderdale can realistically get onto. Call ahead for a tee time rather than walking on, since twenty five minutes is a long drive to be turned away.
Plantation: Twenty Minutes South
Jacaranda Golf Club: Five Tee Sets for Mixed Groups
Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation is semi-private with two courses weaving through ponds and canals, and you don't need a membership to play either one. Every hole has five sets of tees, which is the practical reason to bring a beginner, a junior or a parent who hasn't swung a club since the 1990s. A foursome spanning a 5 handicap and a first-timer can play the same round here without anyone having a miserable morning.
Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club: The Public Course Locals Book First
Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club is a public course with five sets of tee boxes on every hole and a standing reputation as one of the better public facilities in South Florida. No membership is required. Book online in season, because from mid-December through mid-April this is one of the first tee sheets in west Broward to fill.
Fort Lauderdale Country Club: Private, and Honest About It
Fort Lauderdale Country Club in Plantation is the oldest private club in Broward County, established close to a century ago, with 36 holes across two courses. It's members and guests only, so a one-off visitor round isn't on offer. Seasonal memberships are the practical route in, which makes this a snowbird's option rather than a vacationer's.
Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach: Twenty to Twenty Five Minutes Northeast
Pompano Beach Golf Course: Two Eighteens and the Sea Breeze
Pompano Beach Golf Course runs two eighteen hole courses, including the Greg Norman Signature Pines Course, and sits close enough to the Atlantic to catch the sea breeze. That breeze is the real selling point in summer, when an afternoon round inland is punishing and an afternoon round here is merely warm. A municipal facility with a signature design attached is unusual value in this county, and Visit Lauderdale lists it among the area's public options.
Deer Creek Golf Club: An Arthur Hills Design in Deerfield Beach
Deer Creek Golf Club in Deerfield Beach is an eighteen hole Arthur Hills design open to the public, with lessons, a pro shop and a restaurant on site. Rates move with the season here, so the same round costs meaningfully less in summer than it does in February. Memberships exist but aren't required, and at about twenty five minutes northeast it's the furthest course on this list still worth a weekday morning.
Palm-Aire Country Club: Three Courses Behind One Door
Palm-Aire Country Club in Pompano Beach is private, with three championship courses, and it deserves a straight answer: you can't just book a tee time. The club runs a Day with a Professional program that lets non-members onto the property, and that has to be arranged in advance. Treat it as a planned outing rather than a Saturday impulse.
Planning a Round: Season, Storms and Drive Times
Peak golf season here runs mid-December through mid-April, when snowbirds arrive, tee sheets tighten and rates climb across the county. Summer is the opposite in every respect: cheaper, emptier and hotter. The best time to visit North Lauderdale covers the wider calendar, but for golf specifically, November and early December give you the best combination of comfortable air and open tee sheets.
From June through September, a morning tee time isn't a preference, it's the whole plan. Afternoon thunderstorms are close to daily, and they arrive fast enough to end a round on the back nine. Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 with peak activity in September and October, according to the NOAA National Hurricane Center, so a round booked in those two months is worth keeping flexible.
Nothing on this list is walkable from North Lauderdale, so every round starts with a drive. US 441 and the I-95 corridor slow badly at rush hour, and the Sawgrass Expressway is the faster line to the Coral Springs and Parkland courses even when it looks longer on a map. If a storm washes out the day entirely, Monster Mini Golf in Coral Springs is indoors and air conditioned, which is a better answer than sitting in a clubhouse waiting for radar to clear.
Snowbirds and seasonal residents run into a different problem: the car and the gear that only get used four months a year. A second vehicle left idle from May to November does better under cover than in a driveway, which is why car storage at North Lauderdale II exists, and anyone who tows their winter setup down can park it with RV storage in North Lauderdale instead of on the street.
Clubs themselves don't love a South Florida garage. Grips, leather bags and shoes all age faster in eight months of high humidity, so climate controlled storage in North Lauderdale is the sensible place for a set you only play seasonally, and a 5×5 locker holds a bag, a pull cart and the beach chairs in the same footprint.
Plan the food before you finish the round, because the good options near the courses close earlier than you'd expect on a weeknight. La Brasa Grill on West McNab Road does charcoal rotisserie chicken built for a hungry foursome, and Tabanka on State Road 7 is the destination Trinidadian kitchen inside the city, where the doubles sell out on busy days. The full North Lauderdale restaurant scene goes deeper. If golf is one piece of a longer weekend, the day trips from North Lauderdale guide covers what's within an hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best public golf courses in Broward County, Florida?
Near North Lauderdale, the strongest public options are Colony West Golf Club in Tamarac, Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club, Pompano Beach Golf Course and the Country Club of Coral Springs. All four take public play with no membership. Eagle Trace and Heron Bay add former PGA Tour tournament pedigree on a daily fee basis, and Broken Woods is the easiest of the group for a rusty player.
What are the best golf courses in Fort Lauderdale?
The courses most Fort Lauderdale golf lists name sit west and north of the city rather than downtown, which puts them closer to North Lauderdale than to the beach. Jacaranda Golf Club and Plantation Preserve in Plantation, Deer Creek in Deerfield Beach and Colony West in Tamarac all appear regularly. Fort Lauderdale Country Club is the historic private club, closed to non-members.
What is the #1 golf course in Florida?
Rankings shift by publisher, and the Florida courses that top national lists are private and nowhere near Broward County. The honest local answer is that no course near North Lauderdale claims that title. The two with genuine tour credentials you can actually play are Eagle Trace Golf Club and Heron Bay Golf Club, both former hosts of the Honda Classic.
Do you need a membership to play Jacaranda Golf Club?
No. Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation is semi-private, and non-members can book and play both of its courses. The five sets of tees on every hole make it the most flexible option nearby for a group with mixed handicaps. It sits about twenty minutes south of North Lauderdale, which makes it an easy morning even in season.
What is hurricane season in Fort Lauderdale?
Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, with September and October the peak months. North Lauderdale is about twelve miles inland, which limits storm surge risk but not wind, rain or power outages. For golf, the bigger day-to-day factor is the ordinary summer pattern of near-daily afternoon thunderstorms, which is why locals book early tee times from June onward.
Where Value Store It Fits Into a Golf Season Here
Two Value Store It facilities sit in North Lauderdale, and both rent month to month with no long term contract, which suits a season that only lasts part of the year. Our North Lauderdale facility carries the widest size range in town: 5×10 units and 5×15 units for gear and boxes, 10×5 units for a narrower load, a 10×10 for a one bedroom's worth of furniture, and 10×15 space, 10×20 units and a 10×30 drive-up space when a whole household or a small business is involved.
The North Lauderdale II location runs a similar lineup with a vehicle yard attached. It has 5×5 lockers at the second site, 5×10 units there, 10×5 spaces, 10×10 units at North Lauderdale II, 10×15 units on that side and 10×20 spaces, plus climate controlled units at North Lauderdale II and boat storage for anyone whose weekends split between the course and the water. If you're not sure which footprint you need, the storage size guide walks through it before you book, and either front desk will talk it through with you in person.
