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Osprey/Heron at Okeeheelee Golf Course
Rating Snapshot
About
With a name meaning 'quiet waters' in the Seminole language, Okeeheelee Golf Course is situated amidst lush, rolling hills that overlook the sparkling waters of Clear Lake. There are 27 championship holes that are divided into three nines and can be played in three different 18-hole combinations. The Osprey, Heron, and Eagle nines are named after the various wildlife that can be seen throughout. Each golf course offers a different set of challenges and scenery. Okeeheelee's Osprey/Heron Course features a variety of elevation changes. There are scenic views from the elevated greens but don't become too distracted since there are many elements to contend with including towering trees, strategically placed bunkers, and deep rough lining the fairways. There are also plenty of water hazards coming into play.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 6811 yards | 73.8 | 138 |
| Gold (W) | 72 | 6320 yards | 77.3 | 140 |
| Gold | 72 | 6320 yards | 71.6 | 132 |
| Blue (W) | 72 | 5827 yards | 74.5 | 135 |
| Blue | 72 | 5827 yards | 69.1 | 123 |
| White | 72 | 5376 yards | 67.1 | 118 |
| White (W) | 72 | 5376 yards | 72.0 | 130 |
| Green | 72 | 4724 yards | 64.4 | 113 |
| Green (W) | 72 | 4724 yards | 68.6 | 119 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 73.8/140 W: 73.8/140 | 518 | 166 | 359 | 406 | 527 | 207 | 397 | 182 | 539 | 3301 | 525 | 212 | 419 | 445 | 407 | 549 | 395 | 355 | 203 | 3510 | 6811 |
| Gold M: 72.2/138 W: 77.4/143 | 486 | 140 | 316 | 359 | 479 | 190 | 385 | 153 | 492 | 3000 | 504 | 155 | 400 | 418 | 392 | 532 | 386 | 345 | 188 | 3320 | 6320 |
| Blue M: 70.3/129 W: 74.6/135 | 476 | 135 | 275 | 311 | 471 | 177 | 302 | 143 | 482 | 2772 | 491 | 149 | 391 | 398 | 315 | 484 | 374 | 299 | 154 | 3055 | 5827 |
| White M: 67.8/126 W: 71.6/131 | 433 | 113 | 266 | 299 | 462 | 157 | 292 | 133 | 447 | 2602 | 448 | 134 | 327 | 368 | 295 | 430 | 351 | 275 | 146 | 2774 | 5376 |
| Red M: 65.1/118 W: 67.9/119 | 352 | 95 | 245 | 269 | 402 | 105 | 275 | 100 | 401 | 2244 | 413 | 96 | 295 | 311 | 265 | 391 | 331 | 250 | 128 | 2480 | 4724 |
| Handicap | 5 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 16 | |||
| Par | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 5 | 17 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 16 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
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Food & BeverageAvailable Sports
TennisAccolades
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Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2021 #21)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by montanamicki on 03/24/2022
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Photo submitted by MaryDale on 01/20/2022
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Photo submitted by MaryDale on 01/20/2022
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Photo submitted by tjw1029 on 01/27/2016
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Photo submitted by u000007445948 on 12/07/2014
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Photo submitted by u000005698119 on 04/10/2014
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Photo submitted by u000005698119 on 04/10/2014
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Photo submitted by Jerry3829035 on 11/14/2013
to many complaints to fit on this page
number one and what many golfers would not mention are the fairways änd greens.way to much play on this course,years of 4 wheel carts rolling over fairways ,you are peänilized for every shot in the fairway its complete hardpan.the greens are the most inconsistent i've ever played.putting is mostly luck if ball bounces left or right.
Not Your Average Florida Course
Great undulating layout with scenic views and wildlife. Many challenging holes and water hazards. Fairways and greens in good shape.
Bon défi
Excellent course. Qualité prix : difficile à battre. Terrain bien entretenu
Slooooow Play
Seems to be a new trend in golf courses in South Florida - overbooking!
We played the Eagle/Osprey course and waited on each shot on the front. When we made the turn, we found out that they had closed "Heron" and everyone was making the turn onto Osprey due to Junior Golf taking up Heron. our foursome though it would have been nice if they told us when we checked in and gave us the option of changing our minds.
Our round was supposed to be 4 hours 15 minutes and tuned into nearly 5 hours. If you don't mind slow play, go here on Sunday afternoons, otherwise skip it!
Thank you for reaching out to us about your round at Okeeheelee on February 28, 2016. We are sorry to hear that you had such an unenjoyable day at our course. We strive to maintain a 4 hours and 15 minutes pace of play at all times, but with the demand on golf courses in Florida at this time of the year, we understand the frustration when the pace falls behind this pace.
As part of our mission is to "Grow the Game of Golf", we reserve space for junior programming every weekend on one of our nine hole courses. Beginning at 4:00 p.m. on these days, we take this course out of our normal rotation, thus reducing the number of golfers on the course so as not to overcrowd the facility.
If there is anything further you would like to share with us, please contact our manager, Mac Hood, at (561) 629-8800 or via email at mhood@pbcgov.org.
Great day at the golf course
Played this course 3 times in the last 3 years and we enjoyed it then and enjoyed it on this occasion also. Pace of play was excellent, staff was friendly and course was in excellent shape especially the greens. As for value, we got a great rate through Golfnow and it was an early am tee time. We will be back.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are happy to hear that you enjoy the facility so much and had such a pleasant experience, especially in your interactions with our staff as we pride ourselves on providing excellent customer service. We look forward to your return to the facility.
Needs Work
Several things led me to be very disappointed in this course. The practice green was in excellent shape but the greens on the course {Heron/Osprey) were terrible and inconsistent. A lot of bare spots and areas of apparent fungus (we have had a lot of rain). Cart paths were poorly marked and several times we found ourselves at the wrong tee box. Most egregious, and ruined my day, was when the course ranger asked us to speed up play, when, in fact, we were waiting on almost every shot for the group ahead of us. Last, and the bane of all public courses, were the unraked traps, unrepaired ball marks, and uncared for divots.
Thank you for your comments regarding your round on February 17, 2016. Unfortunately, we must agree that several greens on the Osprey/Heron course were not up to our standards during the month of February. Record rain fall and cloud cover during the months of December and January created challenges maintaining golf courses during this period. Thankfully, the warm and sunny weather we have had the last several weeks has allowed our greens to recover substantially.
Our rangers are trained to speak to golfers when they are out of position. However, it sounds as if this occurred with a check of what was going on in front of you. We will speak with our rangers to re-enforce with them to maintain our pace of play standards with all groups on the course.
If there is anything further you would like to share with us, please contact our manager, Mac Hood, at (561) 629-8800 or via email at mhood@pbcgov.org.
Very challenging and fun
Excellent design for price. Would play frequently if in are.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are happy to hear that you enjoy the facility so much and found us to be good value. We look forward to you visiting us again the next time you are in the area.
Okeheelee
Nice course. Water comes into play on lots of tee shots. Don't try and over power driving game. It will lead to penalty strokes. Used all of the clubs.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed playing the course and found it to be challenge. We hope to see you at the course again soon.
Qualité,price :excellent
Qualité, prix c'est un excellent terrain . Aux Québécois qui séjournent en Floride , je recommende ce terrain.
6 hour + round...
Tee time was different from confirmed golf now time;
No gps; yardage poorly marked;
No ranger to keep an acceptable pace of play;
Left course after 4 hours and 45min, with 6holes left to play!!!
Way overbooked with tee times; often three groups/hole; waited every shot AND inbetween holes !!!
On complaint, told we should expect this from "public golf" (note i play many public courses in Palm Beach County which enforce 4-4.5 hour rounds)
Was given a $10 credit for a future round...
An Avid 16 hcp golfer; i won't be back...on a saturday, at least !!!
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We are aware of a problem that GolfNow has had recently in booking tee times with us and are working aggressively with them to rectify this situation. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused you.
We do have basic yardage markers on the golf course both on the cart paths and fairways indicating 200 yard, 150 yard and 100 yard distances to the middle of each green on the par fours and par fives. We are currently exploring GPS options for our golf carts and offer a course guide for sale at the counter in the golf shop for our first time customers. Additionally, each hole on the golf course has a granite marker with a map of the golf hole to help with your yardage questions.
Slow play is not acceptable and every effort is made to hold the rounds to 4-4.5 hours. Rangers are on duty and the staff is quick to assist if play gets slow. We ask our patrons to maintain an average of 14 minutes per hole.
Our golf course manager, Mac Hood, would like to learn more about your experience at Okeeheelee. At your earliest convenience, please reach out to him at 561-629-8800 or via email at mhood@pbcgov.org.
A real chalenge (Eagle & Osprey)
Was a real windy day, but it was worth it.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee Golf Course. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your round so much, despite the wind.
We value your comments, as well as those of all our golfers, as we strive to provide the best possible golfing experience possible. Please come visit us again soon.
golfers, rake the bunkers!
had a 12:30 eagle/osprey tee time yesterday and every trap (that was in play) was absolutely horrendous. it was like every single player landed in it and, walked all over the place and didn't rake it afterwards. This behavior is not acceptable from my fellow golfers, so please treat your golf courses like it's your own. other than that, course was in good shape, greens were true and fast. pace of play was terrible like every other course but that was to be expected. staff was great, had a players assistant tell us where to see a gator which was great! i'll be back
Thank you for your comments about Okeeheelee. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed the course so much and received great service from our staff.
That is a great picture of the alligator that you shared. Please come visit us again soon.
Fun challenge to practice shaping
Played Eagle/Osprey and the course was in great shape and provides a fun course with enough challenge for all levels. The lay out calls for you to move the ball enough in both directions that it is a great course to work on your game.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are pleased to hear that you had such an enjoyable round and found the course to be in great shape. We feel that all three of our nine hole layouts provides a challenge for any golfer, regardless of their level, and are happy that you agree.
Please come visit us again soon.
Bad value
I will look elsewhere in the area for better value.
We are sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your recent round at Okeeheelee. We pride ourselves on the value Palm Beach County golf facilities provides to the area's residents and guests.
We noticed you rated our staff friendliness as poor and are interested in learning more about your experience so we can speak with our staff about your experience. At your first opportunity, please reach out to Mac Hood, manager at Okeeheelee, at (561) 629-8800 or via email at mhood@pbcgov.org, so that he can learn more about your experience.
Thank you for your review and for visiting our facility.
Encore une belle journée à Okeeheelee!
Chaque fois un plaisir de jouer ce terrain. Très bel environnement, bonnes conditions de jeu.
Friendly Courteous Staff
Challenging but very playable. Beautiful grounds. The water hazard s may sneak up on you during rainy season. The day we played it rained hard the night before and the course was still very wet in places.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are happy to hear you enjoyed the course, despite the heavy rain we had the night before. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
The course was in excellent shape
The course was in excellent shape , greens were manicured fairways were in superb condition we played the course last year and it's in the best shape that I've seen in quite some time I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a great golf course at a reasonable price we will certainly go back and play it again .
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are happy to hear you found the course to be in excellent shape and are pleased that you are so willing to recommend our facility. We look forward to seeing you upon your return to the course.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are happy to hear that you found the course to be in such good condition as we take great pride in providing the best possible conditions at all times. We look forward to seeing you at the course again soon.
Happy New Year!
Needs a little TLC
I have mixed feelings about this course. One one hand, I really enjoyed the overall layout, as well as the design and placement of hazards. Nature abounds including a sleeping alligator, for good measure. The downside for me however, was the condition of the greens and tee boxes. Apparently, the majority of golfers playing Okeeheelee don't own a divot repair tool of understand what the sand mix is used for. Can't really blame the grounds crew for this. Perhaps the Starter could take a more active role in educating the public on the need to repair ball marks and divots.
This could be a great course with a little TLC but still a good value and worth playing.
Thank you for sharing your experience at Okeeheelee with us. We appreciate that you enjoyed the layout of the course as well as the flora and fauna that populate our facility. We also understand the frustration associated with finding tee boxes and greens that have not been repaired by golfers and are in the process of implementing a program that will help educate all golfers in ways to help our golf course maintenance crew keep the course in top condition. We hope to see you at Okeeheelee again soon.
Golf coarse in natural setting
Floridan coarse out of urban infra. Beautiful fairways lined by green colour plantation, lot of birds,racoon etc.
Demanding and good quality green areas.
Not an easy coarse to score but great enjoyment and suoerb value of money.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are happy to hear that you enjoy our natural setting and find the course to be demanding. We look forward to seeing you at the course again soon.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed our peaceful, park setting away from the hustle and bustle of city life. We strive to provide the best possible conditions at all time and are happy to hear you found the course to be in good condition. We look forward to seeing you at Okeeheelee again soon.
Worst Course I've Played in WPB
I usually do not leave reviews unless the course was either unbelievably good, or extremely bad. Unfortunately for Okeeheelee, this is not a review for something I enjoyed.
Our tee time was at 1:30pm and we had paid for 18 holes. Now I am no stranger to busy golf courses, being that I live in South Florida and all, but this was the most mismanaged golf club I have played at. As I stated before, we teed off at 1:30 pm. By 3:20pm we had just finished 5 holes. We did not finish the front 9 until 4:20pm.
After being stuck on the front 9 of this course for 3 hours, I was not about to play the back 9. When I asked the staff about this, the only excuse I got was, "Well season is starting and it's going to be busy. Friday we had 320 rounds through!" That is not something that I was wanting to hear. The management at this course is completely inept, and there should be a change.
You do not want to stack tee times so close together, because then people get upset and don't want to play there anymore. If you space the tee times out a little bit better, and allow for a better pace of play, then you will create what is called a "return customer". And I'm sure that is something that this course has never had.
Now onto the actual course. I really only have 3 short things to say, and I will say them in an "Inside out Compliment Sandwich".
1. The greens were unbelievably bouncy and not taken care of. The cut was long on some greens, and on others it looked like the mower blade hit the ground.
2. The wildlife and scenery there were awesome! There were a lot of Herons and different species of water birds. Kinda cool to watch! Also, they had a infestation, in a good way, of Godzilla sized Lizards. (The lizards were our form of entertainment while we waiting 5 - 8 minutes in between shots)
3. On a few of the tee boxes (the one that comes to mind immediately is the 9th tee box on Eagle), there seemed to be a Metropolis City built by ants. Right as my friend was teeing off on the 9th, I see him start freaking out and hitting himself in the legs with his driver. He had stepped into the "city center" of one of the ant piles. Lack of maintenance on the part of the grounds crew.
All in all, I would say that this course is not only one of the worst I've played in West Palm Beach, or even South Florida, or even in the whole State of Florida. A more accurate description is that this is one of the worst, if not the worst, course I've ever played anywhere in the world.
I would recommend taking a pass on this club, and driving 30 minutes North up to Stuart and play at one of the many awesome courses for the same price or less.
So to summarize: I will not play at Okeeheelee ever again.
Thank you for your review of Okeeheelee. We are sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your round of golf with us as we know first impressions are the most important impressions one can make. Slow play is not acceptable and every effort is made to hold round to the four to four-and-a-half hour range. Rangers are on duty and attempt to assist if play gets slow. We would value a call to our golf course manager, Mac Hood, so that he can further investigate the situation you encountered during your round. Mac can be reached at 561-629-8800.
Fire ants are an issue throughout South Florida and one that we try to control year around. The entire course is sprayed twice a year and any mounds that we see appear in between these applications are promptly dealt with, with an emphasis placed on tee boxes, greens and additional high traffic areas. Unfortunately, it appears you may have encountered a mound that we had not been able to address and are sorry for the inconvenience this caused.
We value all of our guests and appreciate any and all feedback about our facility. Again, we hope you will reach out to Mac if you have anything else you would like to share.
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Hello, I think that you're slightly harsh on the conditions of the course. I play there 2 times a week, and the course isn't as bad as you described. If anything, it's getting better. The fairways are actually getting decent. The traps are not great, but only 2-3 greens aren't great. I think you should play there again, also the u(Random numbers) is really bad so yeah. Thank you for reading.