What are the best private golf courses in Fort Lauderdale?

An introduction to Fort Lauderdale

In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at the best private golf courses in Fort Lauderdale, this vibrant coastal city. It is located on Florida’s east coast and renowned for its beaches and boating canals.

In a way, Fort Lauderdale feels far more undiscovered than some of its more high profile neighbors. Places like Miami, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach seem to get more attention.

Yet Fort Lauderdale is well worth visiting as apart from the golf here, there is an array of experiences. 

Looking for nightlife and buzzing energy? Las Olas Boulevard is the place to come. Yummy food joints and cocktail bars make this a popular detour.

Diplomat Beach is arguably one of the most scenic spots. This is where most people will come to take in the waves, use the pools and chill out in a beachside cabana.

See also: What are the best golf courses in Florida?

The best private golf courses in Fort Lauderdale

1. Fort Lauderdale Country Club

Topping off the list of best private golf courses, is Fort Lauderdale Country Club.

This private club is just a ten minute ride from downtown and Fort Lauderdale International Airport. In the heart of Broward County, the club is positioned just off Broward Boulevard.

Across the 288 acres of forested parkland are 36-holes of championship golf. There is also a vast practice area to be enjoyed. 

In fact, not only is Fort Lauderdale Country Club, in my opinion, the best golf course in Fort Lauderdale. It is also the oldest private country club in Broward County.

The club was established in 1926 and has been a mainstay in this area ever since. Whilst Broward County has grown, so has Fort Lauderdale Country Club.

The two courses are the North and South. Both are fine examples of championship parkland. Traditional layouts with mature landscaping free of encroaching houses. 

The South was built in 1926 whilst the newer North course opened in 1951. Funnily enough, there is no real standout track, both are great. 

They feature pristine fairways, there are limited water hazards and the greens are sensational. With great drainage and a large clubhouse, this is a wonderful golf club.

2. Coral Ridge Country Club

In the Oakland Park neighborhood south of Pompano Beach, is the superb Coral Ridge Country Club. This is one of the finest private country clubs in the area. 

Designed in 1954 by Robert Trent Jones Sr, this is a fine layout. The routing is relatively back and forth, but the conditioning is simply superb. 

There are large undulating greens, classic runaway style tee-boxes and beautifully contoured greens. Many holes are simply picture perfect. This may also explain why Robert Trent Jones Sr and his wife Ione purchased the club, making it their ‘home’ course.

Rees Jones, the famed ‘Open Doctor’, was commissioned to renovate the course in 2020. Part of the project was to enhance some of his father’s design features. But in a similar vein, he was tasked with modernizing the layout, improving the drainage and irrigation.

Today Coral Ridge is rightly described as one of the ‘jewels’ of Fort Lauderdale. Assuming you get an invite here, you can be sure to enjoy the experience. The saying ‘east bogey and hard par’ very much applies!

See also: What are the best public golf courses in Broward County, Florida?

3. Jacaranda Golf Club

Tucked away in Plantation, a city 8 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, is the superb Jacaranda Golf Club.

This is a semi-private golf club with a buoyant and engaged membership. But it also offers the option to book tee times for non-members.

There are two 18-hole championship courses onsite, the East and the West. Immaculate maintenance and on-point design, you can see why both were awarded 4-stars by Golf Digest.

The location is bliss, secluded and carefully landscaped. There are many ponds, lagoons and canals all flanked by a stunning array of different varieties of trees.

The West course is the more challenging of the two. Not overly long, this is the ‘shot-maker’s’ course, with doglegs, ample bunkers, plenty of water hazards and generally tighter landing areas.

The East course on the other hand is more open, with wider fairways to encourage more aggressive driver play. Greens are well defended whilst across the board you will find far more risk-reward opportunities. 

The PGA Tour is a regular visitor here, with the East course hosting a number of PGA and USGA tournaments and qualifying events. 

4. Grande Oaks Golf Club

Many people may remember Bushwood Country Club in Illinois, the fictional golf club in the film Caddyshack. Well Grande Oaks Golf Club is in fact Bushwood Country Club! 

It was here in 1979 that Caddyshack was filmed, although back then it was known as Rolling Hills Country Club.

Back in the day, Grande Oaks was open to the public. Yet today the club is private and purely for the enjoyment of the membership. Which is a shame as it is widely recognised as being one of the finest golf courses in Fort Lauderdale.

The par-71 course, which stretches to 6,680 yards, was designed by the legendary golfer Raymond Floyd. Not the longest by any means, but well proportioned. The undulating fairways do require accuracy from the tee and there is enough water in play to keep you constantly on-guard. 

The routing occupies 190 acres of the original 360 acre property and there are plenty of eye-catching features. One of the main ones is a grove of century-old oak trees which give the club its name. 

See also: What are the best public golf courses in West Palm Beach, Florida?

5. Lago Mar Country Club

In Plantation, twenty minutes from downtown Fort Lauderdale, is Lago Mar Country Club. 

This is a fine 18-hole championship layout at one of South Florida’s finest family-friendly private clubs.

The course was originally designed by Bill Watts. But in 2009 it enjoyed a multi-million dollar renovation led by the talented Kipp Schulties. Schulties has a fantastic portfolio of courses, especially in Florida. 

The redesign was a complete overhaul with no part left untouched. Today, we now have an elegant and first-class layout which is bound to climb these rankings of best golf courses in Fort Lauderdale. 

Aside from the impeccable course conditions, there is one dominating feature…water. And a hell of a lot of it. In fact there isn’t one hole which doesn’t have water in some way, shape of form coming into play. 

If you do get an invite here, take plenty of balls and hope for the best!

What is the best private golf course in Fort Lauderdale?

In my opinion the best private golf course near to Fort Lauderdale is Fort Lauderdale Country Club. It is one of the oldest golf clubs in Broward County having opened in 1926. There are two fantastic championship golf courses, the North and the South.