What city in Florida has the best golf?

The city in Florida which has the best golf is Jupiter. It is a town in the north of Palm Beach County just brimming with quality golf courses. To the south is Juno Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. Whilst to the north Tequesta and Hobe Sound, all of which contribute top-class golf courses to the mix.

Other cities ranked highly in terms of offering the best golf in Florida are Orlando, Jacksonville and West Palm Beach.

Best cities in Florida for golf

Over the years, some of the finest and most respected golf publications have released their ‘best golf courses in Florida’ lists. 

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

By consolidating those lists and giving each golf course a score, I was able to compile an authoritative ranking for which cities in Florida have the best golf. 

Each golf course was given a ‘score’ based on where in each list it was positioned. Those scores were also weighted based on how high or how low it was positioned. The last part was looking at where each golf course is located and adding up the scores.

Why is Jupiter and Hobe Sound good for golf?

For starters, the quality of golf is simply top-drawer. There aren’t hundreds of golf courses like in Naples and Orlando. But what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality.

The likes of Jack Nicklaus’ Bear’s Club and the Donald Ross designed Seminole, considered the best golf course in Florida. The immensely exclusive 36-hole Jupiter Hills and Pete Dye’s outstanding Old Marsh Golf Club….the list goes on. 

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

In Hobe Sound, a mere 10 miles north, you have the likes of Medalist, McArthur and Loblolly. You can also now add to this list Michael Jordan’s phenomenal Grove XXIII.

So good is the golf, and so desirable is the location, this is where many of the game’s best golfers reside. Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, Ricky Fowler and Dustin Johnson all count Jupiter as home. 

Which other cities in Florida have the best golf?

After Jupiter and Hobe Sound, Orlando comes up next in the list. Maybe this is unsurprising considering the pure depth and quality of golf courses in Orlando, one of Florida’s largest cities.

Aside from the uber-exclusive Lake Nona in the south east, most courses are found to the west and south west of the city. Nick Faldo and Steve Smyers Bella Collina, the superb Isleworth and Arnold Palmer’s cherished Bay Hill. The Champion & Challenger nines host the PGA Tour’s annual Arnold Palmer’s Invitational.

Read more: What are the best golf courses in Orlando, Florida?

Jacksonville is another city in Florida with the best golf. To the east of the city along the Atlantic coastline you’ll discover a treasure trove of iconic golf courses. 

First up is the beast that is the Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass. Host venue to the Players Championship and home to the notorious 17th par-3 signature hole. Pablo Creek and Timuquana are two fine layouts adding to the quota of golf courses in Jacksonville. 

See more: What are the best golf courses in Jacksonville, Florida?

Is Florida good for golfing?

With the most golf courses of any state with many considered the best in the world, without a doubt Florida is good for golfing. 

Unlike many states which may have some great golf courses, golf in Florida has so many different epicenters. It doesn’t really matter where you are, you’ll inevitably be close to a number of high quality courses. 

As the list compiled above shows, the top 3 cities for golf in Florida are Jupiter and Hobe Sound on the south-east coastline. Orlando in the heart of the state and Jacksonville in the north east. But add to this Tampa, Miami and Naples, you have a huge geographical spread.

More importantly, you have a really credible and appealing split between both private and public golf courses. Some of the best public golf courses in Florida are also some of the finest in the country. For example the Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass and any of the three courses at Streamsong Resort. 

See more: What are the best golf resorts in Florida?

What part of Florida is best for golf?

Based on the above chart, the east coast clearly trumps the west coast as the part of Florida best for golf. 

From Jacksonville in the north all the way down to Miami, you pass through some outstanding golfing hubs. Places like Daytona Beach and Melbourne, Jupiter and Hobe Sound, West Palm Beach, this really is the part of Florida best for golf.

That is certainly the case for private golf courses. But when it comes to public golf courses, these are largely more spread out across the state. 

On the east coast you have TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville and Trump International Doral in Miami. In the center of the state, the three outstanding courses at Streamsong Resort and in Orlando’s outskirts, Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill. Then on the Gulf of Mexico, Innisbrook near Tampa right up to Camp Creek along the coastline from Panama City Beach.

The city of Naples in the south west, is the self-proclaimed ‘golfing capital of the world’ (alongside Myrtle Beach in South Carolina). Yes it may have a vast number of courses, but again, based on the above data, I would suggest this is a little self-aggrandizing. 

See more: What are the best golf courses in Naples, Florida?

It really depends on what the criteria is. Concentration of Top 100 golf courses? Best public golf courses? Highest number of golf courses? Regardless of which you choose, I would happily argue places like Jupiter and Hobe Sound, Orlando and Jacksonville should be considered instead.