Best Public Golf in Miami to Jupiter
The Park West Palm in West Palm Beach is the best public golf course from Miami to Jupiter, ranked 90.5 on BogeyMap LooperScore. It is an Australian sandbelt style links course, walking is encouraged and caddies are available. It is the best new public course in South Florida, and it is not close.
Ask anyone who has played public golf in South Florida and you will hear the same three complaints, in the same order. It is too expensive for what you get. It is flat, with water on every hole and houses on the rest.
And it is slow, five hours if you are lucky, six if you are not, with tee times packed so tight the ranger cannot fix it.
Most of that is true. A lot of the public golf between Miami and Jupiter is resort golf at resort prices, or muni golf that has not kept up with the price. The good architecture is mostly behind a gate.
Seminole, Jupiter Hills, the rest of it, you are not getting on without a member. And Florida golf does have a ceiling. There is only so much you can do on dead flat ground with a lake on the left and a canal on the right.
So this is not a list that pretends South Florida is the second best golf region in America. It is a sorting job. Ten courses, ranked by BogeyMap LooperScore, that are actually worth your day if you are visiting and you only have a few rounds.
Some are public, some are resort courses you can still book without staying there, one is semi private, because if I left the resort courses out there would not be much of a list left. The Park is the reason the list works at all. It is the one course down here that golfers talk about the way they talk about a great course anywhere else, firm, walkable, hard to lose a ball on and still hard to score on, with a lit par 3 next door that stays open after dark.
The rest of the guide follows that same filter. The premier ten first, then the oddballs that are worth a visit for a different reason, the short courses and the 9 holer in the historic park.
Premier Public Destinations
Yes. You do not have to be a resort guest to play the Blue Monster at Doral, or the other Doral courses. Public tee times are available.
1. The Park West Palm, West Palm Beach, 90.5
Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner opened this in 2023 on the site of the old West Palm Beach muni, which had closed and fallen apart. A nonprofit funded it to bring public golf back to the city. It is an Australian sandbelt style links course, built on flat sandy ground, so the golf comes from shaping.
Wide fairways, sandy waste areas instead of rough in places, and greens with enough contour that your angle off the tee matters. Par 71, 7,145 yards. Walking is encouraged, and caddies are available.
The place is built around city residents and junior golf, with a lit short course and a public restaurant on site. This is the best new public course in South Florida, and it is not close.
2. Trump National Doral, Blue Monster, Miami, 90.2
Dick Wilson built it in 1962, and it hosted a PGA Tour event every year from 1962 to 2016. Hanse and Wagner redid it in 2014, added lakes at the par 3 15th and the drivable par 4 16th, and left the 18th alone. It still finishes along water.
Par 72, 7,125 yards. You do not have to be a resort guest to play it, public tee times are available. The tees, greens and fairways are as well manicured as any course in South Florida, and the back 9 is spectacular.
Water is in play on nearly every hole, and the greens sit up for drainage. It is a proper championship test, and it plays like one.
3. North Palm Beach Country Club, North Palm Beach, 86.7
Do not let the name fool you. The Village of North Palm Beach owns it. Seth Raynor built the original in 1926, and Jack Nicklaus redid it as a Nicklaus Signature in 2006, with an upgrade in 2019.
It sits on a natural sand dune, which is rare down here, and that gives it elevation you do not get on most South Florida courses. Par 71, 6,991 yards. The finish is the Bear's Lair, holes 14 through 18, and it asks real questions.
Generous fairways, well bunkered greens, water where it should be. One of only two municipal Nicklaus courses in the country.
4. Turnberry Isle, Soffer Course, Aventura, 86.6
Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed the courses at Turnberry, and Raymond Floyd later reworked them. Soffer is one of the resort's two 18-hole layouts in Aventura.
Creeks cross the fairways and lagoons border the landing areas. Those features put placement off the tee at the center of the round, rather than simply hitting as far as possible.
The closing par 4 finishes at a peninsula green, with water shaping the final approach. The resort posts a peak-season 18-hole rate of $375 from November 1 through April 30, including the mandatory forecaddie before 2 p.m.
5. Osprey Point, Boca Raton, 86.1
Palm Beach County owns this one, 27 holes by Karl Litten, opened in November 2010. Three nines through natural wetlands, no houses on the course. Par 72 for an 18 hole loop.
It is quiet out there, alligators and herons and all of it, and the golf is better than the county price would suggest. Book ahead. It is popular, and for good reason.
This is the best pure public value in the top 10.
6. PGA National, Champion, Palm Beach Gardens, 84.8
Tom and George Fazio built it for tournament play, Jack Nicklaus redid it in 2014. Par 72, 7,045 yards. The Bear Trap is 15, 16 and 17, and it is exactly what you think it is.
Water and wind, in that order. It hosts the Cognizant Classic every spring. Generous landing areas, TifEagle greens, five sets of tees.
You do not have to stay at the resort to play it, public tee times are available. Play it from a tee you can actually hit it from, and the Bear Trap is fun instead of punishment.
7. Abacoa, Jupiter, 84.7
Joe Lee's last design, opened in 1999, with Chip Powell. It is privately owned but it has to stay open to the public under the deal that built the Abacoa neighborhood. Par 72.
Water borders about 14 holes, and there is real elevation change here, sloping fairways and uneven lies, which you do not get on most flat Florida courses. TifEagle greens. It is right by Roger Dean Stadium, in Jupiter.
A good, honest test, and a good place to finish a trip north.
Abacoa posts a winter rate of $215 from December 21, 2026 through March 7, 2027, or $105 after 3 p.m. A cart is included; 6.5% sales tax is extra.
8. Jacaranda, West Course, Plantation, 83.6
The West shares Jacaranda's Plantation facility with the East Course. Its lagoons, doglegs and bunkers narrow the landing areas, so the route into a hole matters as much as the length of the drive.
The outward nine has more receptive greens. That is the more forgiving part of the round, with less demanding putting surfaces than the inward nine.
The back nine changes the test with more strongly contoured greens and their surroundings. It is not simply the easy alternative to the East: the landing areas still ask for placement, and the inward greens add a second layer to the round.
9. Biltmore, Coral Gables, 83.4
Donald Ross, 1925, at the Biltmore Hotel. Brian Silva restored it in 2007 from Ross's plans and aerials, and 84 of the 85 original bunkers are still there. Par 71, more than 7,000 yards from the back tees.
Bermuda fairways, rebuilt greens. It is a resort and municipal course, open to hotel guests and the public. Ross is boss here, and the bunkering tells you that on about every hole.
A proper piece of Florida golf history, in the middle of Coral Gables.
10. Trump National Doral, Red Tiger, Miami, 82.7
Hanse redid the old Red Course and reopened it as Red Tiger in 2015. Par 72, 6,395 yards, 71.8 rating, 136 slope. Compact, 120 acres, medium greens, and a very different feel from the Blue Monster next door.
Water on 14 holes, with island greens at the 6th and 14th. You do not have to be a resort guest to play it, public tee times are available. This is the shotmaker's course at Doral.
Position matters more than distance, and the island greens demand a full commitment.
The Next 10
- The Breakers, Rees Jones Course, Palm Beach - 82.4
- Jacaranda, East Course, Plantation - 82.0
- Plantation Preserve, Plantation - 80.5
- Trump National Doral, Golden Palm, Miami - 80.4
- Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne - 80.0
Robert von Hagge and Bruce Devlin designed Crandon in 1972, and von Hagge returned for a redesign in 1993. Seven saltwater lakes and mangrove thickets shape the par-72 barrier-island routing, with several holes overlooking Biscayne Bay. The county-owned course offers a different setting from the inland resort layouts in this list.
- Trump National Doral, Silver Fox, Miami - 79.9
- Okeeheelee, West Palm Beach - 79.8
- Sandhill Crane, West Palm Beach - 79.2
- Miami Beach Golf Club - 78.8
- Palm Beach National, West Palm Beach - 77.4
Hidden Gem Bonus
Eagle Trace, Coral Springs
Arthur Hills built it in 1983 as the second TPC course in the country, and it hosted the Honda Classic from 1984 to 1991, then again in 1996. It lost the TPC branding in 2018, and ClubLink runs it now. Par 72, 7,032 yards, semi private, with public tee times available.
It is a shotmakers course, long par 4s, water in play on a lot of holes, and fast greens that do not hold a ball that comes in soft. The layout is the draw here, not the polish. Golfers who like it call it the best value in South Florida, a former tour course you can actually get on.
Golfers who do not like it say the conditions have slipped since the TPC days. Both are true on different days. It is in Coral Springs, north of Fort Lauderdale, and it is worth the drive if you want a real test without a resort setup.
Note: BogeyMap now lists Eagle Trace at a LooperScore of 81.4. It remains a bonus, not a ranked pick in this dated list. Address: 1111 Eagle Trace Blvd W, Coral Springs, FL 33071.
The Miami Experiences
The Lit 9 at The Park West Palm, West Palm Beach, 80.3
This is the fun one. Hanse, Wagner and Dirk Ziff built a lit 9 hole par 3 on the same property as The Park, and it stays open to 9 pm. Walk up only, no tee times.
Holes run 60 to 100 yards, about 45 minutes for the loop, music from speakers across the course. The 9th is a putt that can stretch over 150 feet. It gets busy in winter when it gets dark at 5, and that is the point.
Bring a wedge and a putter, bring a group, and play it after dinner. It is not a championship test. It is golf the way it should feel after dark.
Palm Beach Par 3, Palm Beach, 80.2
Dick Wilson and Joe Lee built it in 1961, Raymond Floyd redid it in 2009. Eighteen par 3s, 81 to 211 yards, 2,572 yards total, on a narrow strip between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal. Six holes run along the ocean now.
The Town of Palm Beach bought it in 1973, and it has stayed public since. Par 54. It is a daytime course, not lit, and it is the best short course setting in the corridor.
Play it in the wind and the short holes get very real, very fast.
Greynolds Park, North Miami Beach, 61.0
BogeyMap tags this one Hidden Gem, and it is the only Hidden Gem tag in the whole Miami to Jupiter corridor. Nine holes, par 36, about 3,100 yards, Mark Mahannah, opened in 1964. The park itself dates to 1936, on land donated by a quarry owner, with a lot of the early work built by the CCC.
It is not in the top 10, LooperScore 61.0, and it does not pretend to be. It is a quiet 9 hole loop in a historic park, and a good place to play if you want the old Florida muni feel without the resort setup.
How We Ranked
This list is ranked strictly by BogeyMap LooperScore as of 6 Nov 2026. LooperAI was used for the why behind each pick, and cross-checked against BogeyMap course pages and public reviews. Two LooperAI errors were corrected in this guide: the Bear Trap at PGA National Champion is holes 15, 16 and 17, and the Blue Monster is open to public tee times.
Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne scores 80.0 on BogeyMap, 15th in this corridor. That is lower than its standing in published Florida rankings. This guide ranks by LooperScore anyway. BogeyMap also retains a retired duplicate of Okeeheelee under the misspelled name Okaheelee, with a different score. This guide uses the active West Palm Beach listing at 79.8.
BogeyMap methodologyFrequently Asked Questions
What is the best public golf course from Miami to Jupiter?
The Park West Palm in West Palm Beach is the best public golf course from Miami to Jupiter, ranked 90.5 on BogeyMap LooperScore. It is an Australian sandbelt style links course, walking is encouraged and caddies are available. It is the best new public course in South Florida, and it is not close.
What is the best public golf course in Miami itself?
The Blue Monster at Trump National Doral is the best in Miami itself, ranked 90.2 on BogeyMap LooperScore. It is a Dick Wilson championship course, redone by Gil Hanse, with water in play on nearly every hole. You do not have to stay at the resort to play it, public tee times are available.
Can you play the Blue Monster without staying at the resort?
Yes. You do not have to be a resort guest to play the Blue Monster at Doral, or the other Doral courses. Public tee times are available, with no resort stay required.
What is the best public golf course in West Palm Beach?
The Park West Palm is the best public golf course in West Palm Beach, ranked 90.5 on BogeyMap LooperScore. It opened in 2023 on the site of the old city muni, designed by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. Walking is encouraged, caddies are available, and there is a lit par 3 on site.
Where can I play night golf in South Florida?
The Lit 9 at The Park West Palm in West Palm Beach. It is a lit 9 hole par 3, open to 9 pm, walk up only, no tee times. Holes run 60 to 100 yards, about 45 minutes for the loop, with music across the course.
What is the best short course in Palm Beach?
Palm Beach Par 3 in Palm Beach. Eighteen par 3s, 81 to 211 yards, on a narrow strip between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal, with six holes along the ocean. It is public, par 54, and it is the best short course setting in the corridor.
What is the best value public golf course in the Miami to Jupiter area?
Osprey Point in Boca Raton. It is owned by Palm Beach County, 27 holes by Karl Litten through natural wetlands, with no houses on the course. It is ranked 86.1 on BogeyMap LooperScore, 5th in the corridor, and it is the best pure public value in the top 10.
Can you walk The Park West Palm, and are caddies available?
Yes. Walking is encouraged at The Park West Palm, and caddies are available. It is an Australian sandbelt style links course, firm and walkable, with wide fairways and sandy waste areas instead of rough in places.