West at Jacaranda Golf Club

A moins de 60$ par partie c'est un bon deal. Le terrain est très bien manucuré et les verts sont ultra rapides, 13 sur l'échelle stempmeter.

Thursday is the best day to play - fab course - west is a little easier - more open - end the morning round with Buffett lunch in the dining room

My wife and I played four rounds while recently in Florida. I dearly wish I could take two of them back as the price/conditions/pace was bad. But the other two rounds that we liked? They had one thing in common; Jacaranda Golf Club.

Public golfing options in the Ft Lauderdale region leave much to be desired. Most are municipal tracks are run down by the volume of business they get from the locals. For visitors, most private courses are off-limits, so into the abyss you go and you read reviews and hope for the best.

Not so fast. Jacaranda Golf Club was an oasis for us. Both the East & West courses are far superior experiences to Palm Aire (Cypress) and Heron Bay that we regrettably played. I'll compare Jacaranda with both the subpar facilities during this review in the hope others will not waste their time and money.

The bag drop was very convenient. Jacaranda had it staffed with three guys to handle the expected weekend volume. At Palm Aire, we carried our bags and had to stop a maintenance guy to ask where we should check in. Heron Bay had one old guy out front who directed us (large advantage Jacaranda). We used Golfnow for all four the rounds, so each was prepaid. All of them had efficient check in but only Jacaranda asked if we had any questions about the course. Only Jacaranda had a starter who also inquired about any previous visits and our golfing ability (Heron Bay was very confusing).

Course Conditioning. Jacaranda East & West. Closely mown fairways that are plenty wide before getting to Bermuda rough. Tee boxes in average shape. Fairways in good shape. Greens in very good shape and running about 10. Bunkers well attended and the sand is consistent. Palm Aire (Cypress) and Heron Bay? Very much below average conditioning and if I hadn't prepaid for golf at a huge discount, I would feel I got ripped off. Those types of conditions would be totally unacceptable up north and even the shaggiest municipal course in your hometown is better presented. Can I be more clear here?

Course layout. Jacaranda West is shorter that East. West has many more raised greens (ala Donald Ross) with deep-faced bunkers adjacent to the greens. The East course has more openings in front and less bunkers because they have some closely shaved areas around the greens used as runouts. West has more doglegs and more water in play to account for the shorter length. Architecturally, the West is a better design, but can only be played 6800 from the tips vs 7200 for the East, so I imagine the best players have to play East more. Yet, for the vast majority of golfers who do not play the tips, both courses work well. There are five sets of tees on each course. I played #2 on the West (6500 yds) and #3 on East (6396 yds). I would have liked to move back one set on the East, but it would have played 6900 and I thought that may be too far (I shot 82 on West and 75 on East and am a 8 handicap). Both course have an out-and-back routing so you return after nine holes.

Pace of Play. West course in 3.5 hours as a foursome! Teed off at 1:23pm and was paired with two local members. A great pace and much fun. East course exactly 4 hours as a twosome. We were chasing a foursome all day and I knew we would have to wait. Heron Bay was 5 hours and a death march (10am tee time). Palm Aire (Cypress) was an afternoon tee time and we played in slightly under 4 hours.

Other Tips. If you flight your ball lower you will get plenty of roll on the fairways.........plus it helps on windy days (we had a 20mph wind on Sat). Remember to bring your cart rake to the bunkers as they do not provide bunker rakes at any of the four Florida courses we played. The 19th hole is the grill and bar very conveniently located between the nines. Close to where they store carts is a free water station (and ice).

Jacaranda had it all as far as we were concerned. We stayed for lunch and drinks after our 7:51am round. The following day we booked again and stayed for drinks in the grill. I'm sure Plantation Preserve down the street would also be a wise golfing choice, but for the price we paid, Jacaranda far outkicked their coverage and blew the competition away.

Pricing. Golf Now for all rounds. Palm Aire $39.99 (afternoon special). $20 would be too much for this pasture. Stay away. Heron Bay $42.00 (mid-morning). This was once where they played the Honda Classic? Honestly? Well, the bones are there, but the body has gone to pieces. $30-40 is about right if you can play in 4 hours. Jacaranda West $62.50 (1:23pm) and Jacaranda East $56 (7:51am). Both outstanding rates given the course layout, conditioning, and the stated green fee of $99.99 each.

Finally, I prefer the West course by a slight margin, perhaps 60/40 out of 100 plays. I liked the challenge presented at the elevated greens and green complexes. The East was wonderful but unless you need the 7200 yds, all other options could be accomplished on the West. Interestingly, my wife went the opposite, with a70/30 favorable rating for the East. The flatter greens allowed her to run her ball up more and avoid more bunkers. I think what this says is both courses will meet with your expectations.

Course was in excellent shape. Greens were fast and true. Friendly staff. A little slow on the pace of play but def would play it again!

Top of the line. One of the best in the area. Greens were top notch and course layout was superb.

I'm a 7 handicap. Fairways were generous, tight lies, and the ball rolled an extra 15 yards. Greens were firm and fast. I would play it again.

I played this course last year and enjoyed it. The round was even more enjoyable this year. Play the course it's fun.

The course fairways and tee boxes were immaculate but the greens were a little pockmarked in areas. Too expensive for round.

Jacaranda charges 50% more than similar courses in the area, however they spend it on beautification and course conditions. The fairways and greens were in awesome shape. It's worth it as a treat, or if your only down here for a couple of rounds, but most days I play at similar courses for half the price. This course should be commended they have a business plan and they are executing it. Book it through golf now, and save about $20 over the rack rate. For a good golfer it's a must do.

......but challenging......keep it on the fairway....and you'll be fine.

A challenging course with some different looks off the tee. I had a 7 AM tee time and the greens were pretty bad that early in the AM. They had a good deal of sand on them, and a few had water that was pooling on the greens. (Mind you, it didn't rain at all. So it was either from the dew, or watering the greens). By the time we reached the 17th hole the greens seemed to be fine though.

The greens were running fast and true (except for the sand that would accumulate on your ball after each putt), and the course was in good condition otherwise. It'd be good for a starter to be near the tee box instead of his booth, as there is no order for getting off on the tee.

Based upon the reviews I read and 4.5 star rating, I expected much more. While the course was in good condition it didn't compare to high quality private courses. If you're looking for a good public course, Jacaranda qualifies as one; but it's not a 4.5 out of 5 stars course.

Fantastic! Beverage service even better. Course in phenomenal shape!

The layout is player friendly, conditions were excellent, no reason the pace of play should ever be over 4 , really enjoyed it.
One exception : the grumpy starter put me in time out when I asked to use the putting green while waiting for other golfers to show up, which makes no sense because it is right next to the 1st tee . Come on Pops , it's supposed to be fun .

Prefered the west to the east course. More challenging & need more shot making. More ondulation & more water. Narrow fairways compared with the east. Greens were very fast & in great conditions. Played early morning with golfnow for $55.00. Great deal & would recommend to everyone. Did not use food or breverages, so cannot comment but staff were courteous.

Course in excellent conditions, green fairly fast, fairways & bunkers excellent. Discount with golfnow at $62.00. Playing the west next week.

Best course in south Florida! Well kept and great facility!

The course was in excellent condition but needs more work in the range's turf condition. I would also suggest course Rangers really drill down on divot repairs in the greens. Perhaps a warning and then kicking players out of the course would help instill in golfers the common courtesy of repairing green divots at least! Finally, it would be very helpful if GPS shows distance to bunkers/hazards during play, currently only shows these when standing at the tee box

We waited out a freakish rainstorm and then agreed to play a full round after looking at the radar and discussing the weather forecast with the staff. According to the staff we should have no trouble getting in a round of 18. We were prepared to move quickly but no sooner did we get on the first tee and the skies opened up. We were drenched but there was no lightning so we played on. Unfortunately the groups in front of us stopped play instead of playing through the rain. Then we got stuck behind the slowest twosome to ever hold golf clubs. They would not let us play through ... and when I asked the Ranger for assistance he did nothing to speed up their play. By the 15th hole we were in total darkness. I'm sure the course is lovely when it is not subject to "cart path only" rules, muddy fairway shots and soggy greens with standing water - but in this case the slow play and horrible course conditions were unbearable. We had lunch while we waited to tee off and the 19th hole tavern was full of loud, obnoxious, drunken men that were slamming golf balls down on the table while shouting obscenities. The food was average. I've golfed all over Florida and have been on some pretty strange courses - but Jacaranda West was by far the worst experience I've ever had. So, after spending over $160 on fees, food and tips -- I can assure you that we will never set foot on this course again and I will not recommend it.

Good course conditions. Bunkers need better sand and maintenance.