Since 1981, Saddlebrook Resort has been a go-to-destination for golfers, located just 30 miles north of Tampa International Airport. The resort's two original Arnold Palmer designs are being redesigned in 2025 into a 27-hole combination by Rees Jones. This entirely new playing experience will pair with a new 13-acre practice facility, home to a…
Staying at one of the member-owned villas at Lake Jovita offers golfers a window into what it would be like to live at this 36-hole club, whose North and South golf courses feature a surprising amount of elevation change for Florida. Its central location puts it within reach of Orlando, Tampa and even Jacksonville.
Part of Tampa's Carrollwood Country Club, Emerald Greens offers a stay-and-play experience that grants guests access to a wonderful area private club. Its two-bedroom units are well suited to visiting buddies groups or traveling couples.
Southern Hills Plantation Club is a big, exciting Pete Dye design at the heart of a growing community in Brooksville, Florida. Its group of on-site villas allow visiting golfers a taste of the lifestyle here, as well as the opportunity to play a golf course that features considerable elevation change by Sunshine State standards.
Tampa Bay's sports teams -- the NFL's Buccaneers, the NHL's Lightning and MLB's Rays -- aren't always worth cheering for, but Tampa's golf scene is a proven winner with its 100-plus courses. The nearby Gulf of Mexico provides a haven for fishermen, boaters and beachgoers. All the best golf lies north of the Latin-inspired Ybor City, a downtown tourist hotspot.
Some of the most pleasant golf course experiences in the Tampa area come thanks to mature, mossy oaks shading the fairways. Pebble Creek Golf Club offers not only a preserve-like setting for golf but also a low-key, friendly environment that makes any golfer feel like they're at their home club.
Fall, of course, is for football. But it's also terrific for golf. So with that in mind, here's a look at the NFC South and where our readers are recommending that you play.
So you're facing that familiar travel dilemma: You're on a strict budget, but you still want to play some of Tampa's best golf courses, right? Fact is, the area has a great line-up of courses with green fees less than $45, and several are cheaper than that even during the busy winter.
The Tampa area has several golf-oriented communities and resorts that are perfect for a vacation. Renting a home or condo -- or even adjacent suites with kitchens in a resort -- makes sense, not only because of the comfort factor, but also because it's economical. But which ones make the "A" list? Katharine Dyson breaks it down.
Tampa stacks up with just about any city in the Sunshine State -- especially when you include courses within an hour's drive. Here are the top courses.
Towering pine trees that look more North Carolina than Florida and elevation changes that look more north Georgia than north Tampa are just a couple of elements that make some of Tampa's courses among the more unique in the Sunshine State. The combination of diverse topography and innovative course designers resulted in an engaging menu of special, one-of-a-kind layouts. The eclectic group of golf architects responsible for these courses include Tom Lehman, Bobby Weed, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Donald Ross, Tom Bendelow, Chip Powell, Larry Packard and John Sanford.
Blessed with natural features like marsh and wetlands, ancient oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, tall pine and palm trees, sometimes rolling terrain and pristine lakes, the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area is home to a sizeable menu of picturesque golf courses. You'll get some great shots with your clubs and your camera, Ed Schmidt writes.
Spas and golf make up a great combination, and there's no shortage of them in the Tampa, Florida and Scottsdale, Arizona areas. Mike Bailey offers a few suggestions for a golf/spa getaway.
If you play golf in the Tampa/St. Pete area, you're rewarded with amazing land diversity encompassing everything from abandoned rock quarries to pine-dotted, North Carolina-style terrain and quintessential palm and palmetto-studded terrain. For those who've never visited the area, however, it's sometimes befuddling to get around as you navigate long bridges over bays and state and county roads that lead to smaller towns with great golf courses.
Tampa doesn't have the weather and wealth of Naples, the theme parks and resorts of Orlando or the glitzy appeal of Miami and famed South Beach. But it's still one of Florida's biggest and best cities, and golfers will appreciate its 100-plus golf courses. Jason Scott Deegan offers up his top 10 reasons to tee it up in greater Tampa Bay.
No matter the level of your golf game, you'll enjoy testing your skills on the excellent lineup of golf courses in the Tampa, Fla. area that serve as sites for professional tournaments, U.S. Open qualifiers and collegiate matches. Ed Schmidt looks at Tampa's finest, which are superb designs with multiple tee placements and consistent maintenance standards.
Tampa has an impressive line-up of stay-and-play options with golf courses sporting designer labels such as Arnold Palmer, Tom Fazio and Tom Lehman. Veteran Florida golf writer Ed Schmidt offers up some of his favorites.
Looking for a diverse mix of the best golf in the Tampa area? Well, Brandon Tucker played 36 holes a day for four days in the Tampa area. What did he find out? Whether you play a world-class venue or a tiny municipal, you can find a great bargain in Tampa compared to other destinations.
Located in Wesley Chapel just north of Tampa, Saddlebrook Resort is home to 36 holes of golf including the newer Palmer Course. The course features a pleasant and quiet setting within this large tennis and golf retreat. The real difficulty in the Palmer Course is in the green complexes. While fairways are generous and feature lots of mounding, the greens are often raised and well protected.
Saddlebrook Resort, set on a scenic 480 acres just north of Tampa in Wesley Chapel, is home to two 18-hole golf courses. The original Saddlebrook Course, which opened in 1976, features gentler, flatter land compared to the more sculpted Palmer Course, and the result is a more traditional, old-Florida feel.
Located just north of Tampa, Pebble Creek Golf Club is a traditional, player-friendly, favorite area course. Opened in 1967, the course plays through mossy oaks and small ponds in a quiet, residential neighborhood. Some gentle doglegs and raised, well-guarded greens help keep the 6,500-yard course a challenge to the modern game.
TPC Tampa Bay in Lutz, Florida is one of the top public golf courses in this popular destination area. As you'd expect from a TPC facility, conditions are stellar.
There's only one championship-level course in the St. Petersburg municipal golf department, and it's very popular. Busy seven days a week, not only do locals and visitors flock to play Mangrove Bay Golf Course, but they love to take advantage of the extensive practice facilities as well. The course winds around natural mangroves just a few hundred yards from the bay.
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