Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne

The windy conditions made it a very challenging round of golf for each of us. The greens were exceptionally fast. We look forward to returning.

This has been one of the most beautiful yet difficult tracks I've ever played on. There's almost water hazards on every hole. The course is also pretty long, so the driver has to be spot on in order to have decent chances at greens in regulation. There's a ton of wildlife, especially iguanas and racoons. Don't leave any out, because the racoons will climb up on your cart and steal it while you're putting. I recommend this course to anyone, maybe except to high handicappers. I'll definitely come back.

Call clubhouse if you choose to play on Tuesdays, they seem to have a weekly local group, I was stuck behind & as a single rider...made for a slow pace. Overall- course conditions are good, back 9 was kinda dry fairways. Iguanas all over course, but they dont bother you. Raccoons on back9, not too crazy about that (hence, 3 stars) was told they do not bother you, but I did have one try to snag a snack from my cart, although my snacks were not out in the open. Very local for the locals, awesome views of the bay & of Miami.

Always heard about the course and decided to give it a try this past weekend with my golf buddies.

Course is in good shape. Nothing was brown. Few patches of rough has St Augustine grass, but nothing much.

The issue is the mangroves and scenery they promote. rarely did I see Biscayne Bay or downtown Miami.....I was surrounded by mangroves everywhere. Due to the mangroves it is VERY HOT out there. A few holes that are more open have a nice breeze.

Pace of play was pathetic. We were a 4 some, but we golf fast. We can finish easily in 3:15. 2 some in front of us were fast......BUT the 4some in front of them sucked. Never saw a started letting people pass /pick up pace of play.

As for going back, I don't know. The stagnant heat due to mangroves and the lack of pace of play kind of ruins a drive down there again. I could only imagine how slow the pace of play is during the winter when the Canadians come down.

Good to go once. Nice drive into the park.....but the golf left something to be desired.

Publicly-owned golf is not always the cheapest. Bethpage Black, Torrey Pines and New Orleans' reworked Bayou Oaks course are proof that the term "muni" doesn't have strong connotations as to cost.

Crandon is in that conversation as well. Peak green fees top out above $170, but at shoulder times of year, the twilight rates are a major value ($60 in April). The course is a quintessential 70s layout: long, mostly straightforward with big greens and ornate bunkering. The setting - tranquil South Florida tropical - inside Crandon Park is wonderful, affording peeks across Biscayne Bay through breaks in the protected mangroves at water's edge. With the mostly-controlled chaos of Miami a few miles north, Crandon feels like another world by comparison. It's a must-play Miami course.

The peak of the holidays hasn’t even started and the pace was extremely slow. It didn’t help that I was paired up with a super slow guy. We started at 1:30pm and we ran out of daylight at the 16 hole.

The course is very challenging, has a lot of hazards: water, sand and mangroves. The course also plays pretty long. I will return when my game is in better shape.

Course was nothing out of the ordinary. Was supposed to have nice views only view was on 18. Nothing spectacular. No ice machine it’s S Fla. need cold water. Greens were not bad and fairways were nice. Overall good course but just a plain Jane Florida course.

Crandon was the best of three courses we played in a recent trip to Miami.

The fairways were quick, the rough was low, and the course design was always interesting. The best part of the course was how it was carved from the natural terrain of the Key Biscayne mangroves. The front 9 stood out for how it flowed through natural areas. The back nine was more of a traditional florida layout, but it featured views across the bay to Miami.

The wildlife was everywhere - iguanas on virtually every hole. We saw a crocodile, several raccoons, and innumerable seabirds.

They make you take a forecaddie, which we thought would be excessive, but he was great- really helpful in finding our balls and directing us around the course.

If I lived in Miami, I'd play here every weekend.

I moved down to South Florida around 4 months ago and this is probably my new favorite course when considering the value you get for the price. Skyline on the 18th hole was great. Pace of play was average, but it was a weekend. Conditions were good. Definitely going to be returning soon.

I had so much expectation for this course to be great. The hurricane and sea water have damaged the fairways greatly. It wasn’t as scenic as I’d expected either. The cafe staff were pathetically nonchalant. You are REQUIRED to take and pay for a caddie. I’ve never heard this at a public course. Overall my experience at this course very disappointing.

On the positive side, the course is very long and challenging to play.

I will start off by saying that I had my best round on my Miami golf trip here, so my view of the course is inevitably a bit biased by memories of the long putts and chip-ins for birdies and the par I made on the 610 yards (into the wind!) par 5. Make no mistakes, Crandon has teeth, with plenty of water and some tough carries. I played the blue tees at over 6800 (choose your tees wisely) and there was some wind as well, which made it even more challenging. Bring your A game and I suggest an 18 handicap or better to get the most out of it. Having said that, no matter the state of your game, you cannot fail to enjoy the majestic scenery of this lush green course set in a state park, with distant views across the water of the Miami skyline. The full price green fee is a bit steep, but luckily I played with a local and got a good deal. Every golfer who comes to Miami should seek out this course - you can keep Doral, I am a Crandon devotee.

I'll start off by saying this is by no means a bad course, as far as public courses go this is well above average. The layout felt like a true championship course and boy does it show it's teeth. The fairways reward good shots but no matter how rewarded you get, good luck hitting the microscopic greens! It's an extremely scenic course being set within a park. There are no houses or roads in sight, just nature and a whole lot of wildlife. However, upon arriving I couldn't find any staff at all to direct me to the pro shop. The lady working the desk wasn't unfriendly but she certainly could've been more outgoing. I rented clubs and on the website I was told they had Taylormade or Nike clubs for $70 a round. Turns out they didn't have either and all they had was a mixed set for $90. The driver and 3 wood were old Cobras and the irons were low quality tour edge ones with only a pitching wedge. On the first tee I hit a clean drive and watched my clubhead sail into the water. On the second hole the same thing happened to the 3 wood. They must have given me senior or regular flex because I requested stiff flex and when the pro came out to replace them I was fine the rest of the round. The club pro was very helpful and in good spirits. After a very challenging front 9 the drink cart came around and the women spoke no English which isn't a big deal but definitely something that stood out after mostly subpar service to begin with. Anyways to sum it up, the course itself is fantastic. Beautiful layout and truly one of the most scenic and difficult courses I have ever played on. The service however was extremely disappointing. The club pro was great but even after my round at 6 PM on a Saturday the bar was closed and I couldn't even find staff to help with my clubs. For the money they charge for non residents (up to $200 a round during peak season) you would expect much better service and could easily experience a great course at Doral or the Biltmore with excellent service.

I loved this course so much, I had to change my travel plans to make sure and play again before I left. A little rough around the edges, as you would expect with any public course, but this is a real treat and a tremendous value to anyone visiting the area. Incredible views, wildlife, and a true test of your golf game.

I played both days from the black tees (tips) and was fortunate to play some of my best golf. I didn't find the course as challenging as it is on paper (152 slope), greens were soft, receptive and slow. However, if they firmed/quickened the greens, grew up the rough, this could be a beast.

Most tee shots have a side you can favor for a miss, which made this less intimidating off the tee. It's long and definitely tailored for someone who can drive the golf ball and hit long irons well.

With a little money and more crew, this course could easily be on the PGA tour schedule. Don't miss out on the chance to experience Crandon Golf.

Let me start off by being extremely surprised at the offering of a public course of this quality.

I could only rate conditions with four stars due to recent aeration of the greens. They were still pretty good. The layout is beautiful, fairways and bunkers in great shape and the addition of GPS to the cart was a plus, although it was CPO due to rain overnight.

Fairly challenging layout, fun to play and the winds can become a real factor.

There is also the circus... hundreds of Iguanas in all sizes, ducks, geese hawks, herons and egrets are right there with you on the course.

Since it is surrounded by mangroves the course has no outside distractions, no traffic, no houses, it is just a beautiful golf course. Bucket list!

A MUST play if visiting Miami. Course is in mint condition. A lot of incredible holes. Really nice layout with lots of variety. Perfect tee boxes, fairways and greens. Very tough course.

Good layout. Very good green complexes. Lots of water holes but mostly you have safe areas to play away. Must take a cart as the routing doesn't lend to walking. No yard markers and the GPS on the carts is spotty.

The course was right on the ocean with great views of the Miami landscape. The layout was fairly tight with lots of water throughout the course. The fairways and greens were in great condition. If you hit the ball straight, the course is fairly straightforward forward. If you hit erratic tee shots, you're in for a long day. I played twilight, so couldn't start until 2:00. We played in 4 hours, so pace of play was good, but it was getting dark at the end. At the end of the round, the bar and restaurant, we're closing. Grabbed a couple of bars and sat in a beautiful outdoor seating area viewing the sunset. I would definitely recommend this course to friends.

Great course and conditions. Golf staff very knowledgeable and helpful. Our caddy, Preston, was tremendous. Pace of play a bit slow, got clogged up a bit. Bad timing on our part. Good pro shop. Average restaurant. Can't beat the golf, though.

I was in the area and wanted to play a nice course while I had the chance. I had read numerous reviews before booking and this seemed to fit the price and calibre I was looking to play. We got there early to grab some lunch. Food was decent, but not great. Pro shop staff was friendly. Usually, at a nice course like this was supposed to be, range balls are supplied for free. Not at this one. I can handle paying for the range, so that's not the issue. I just think it should be part of the package at a nice course.

Moving onto the course. It was a great layout. Not particularly difficult compared to other nice courses I've played. The course rating and slope seemed high, even though I know they do it the same for every course. The course conditions were ok for the winter. I'm guessing summer would be really nice. We saw the beverage cart twice throughout the round, but decided we'd stop in the clubhouse in between nines. It took us ten minutes to get two sodas and there were four people working and two customers. We were going to get a hot dog or some type of food, but we were already going to be way behind schedule by the time we got to the 10th tee. As expected, the group behind us was now waiting on the 10th tee for us to arrive. The caddie helping the pair we were playing with told us we'd need to hurry our game a little to get back in position. All because we wanted to do a routine clubhouse stop.

I would recommend this course, but never for the normal green fees. Luckily, GolfNow had a Hot Deal for $100, so it was much cheaper and reasonable based on area prices during the winter.