Best Golf Courses in Miami

Doral is the top golf resort of south Miami, but you'll pay to play!

Forelinksters has done the heavy lifting and gathered up the best rated public golf courses from Golf, Golf Digest, and Golfweek magazines, and created a guide to the best golf courses to play in America. Here’s our list on the best golf courses in Miami listed in order of cost of greens fees:

1. Doral  Doral is due west of Miami International Airport and is a full resort with 90 holes of golf, and home to one of the PGA Tour’s perennial stops in South Florida. The Blue Monster is the classic and tournament course.  Greg Norman redesigned the Great White Course in 2000 at 7174 yards, 134 slope.  The Red course was also designed by Dick Wilson, and is your more typical Florida course with water on 12 holes, sand throughout, and two island greens. The Silver Course was redesigned by Jim McLean and re-opened in 2009, and has had mixed reviews. The Gold Course was redesigned by Raymond Floyd, and is again a typical Florida type layout with significant bunkering, ponds, palm trees and wetlands, and is fairly narrow off the tee.

2. Turnberry Isle Golf Club and Resort Five star Fairmont resort, spa, and two 18 hole golf courses, between Miami and Hollywood. Both courses, the Soffer and the Miller, are RTJ Sr originals, and recently redesigned by Ray Floyd. The Soffer course is the more championship style of course at just over 7,000 yards, 149 slope, 74.9 course rating, par 71, while the Miller course is much shorter at around 6400 yards, par 70, 143 slope. You have to be a guest to play here, and it’s expensive.

3. The Biltmore  Classic course and hotel property, just west of Coconut Grove, between Bird and Coral Way, near southwest Miami, 15 minutes from downtown, or the airport. Donald Ross design from the 1920′s that’s been completely restored, 6800 yards, par 71, well conditioned, a little on the expensive side. Very forgiving layout, parkland style, but not heavy trees, allowing you a clear shot, but at least can punch out. Water in play on 1/3 of the holes, moderately bunkered, small to mid-sized greens, and housing bordering the perimeters of the course.

4. Crandon Park Golf Course  Located just across the bay from downtown Mami and Coconut Grove and was originally designed by Devlin/Von Hagge in 1972. It is constantly rated as one of the top public courses in the US, and was once the host course for the PGA Champions Tour. The course is laid out though mangrove thickets along Biscayne Bay with plenty of salt water lakes, bunkers, but fair landing areas. Stay out of the weeds here, since you could encounter one of the many giant iguanas that roam the course.

5. Miccosukee Golf Course  The Miccosukee Tribe Golf Club is the former Miami National Golf Club in Miami Lakes, which the Indians purchased in 2001 as a amenity to their casino operation. The course was designed by Mark Mahannah has 27 holes, the Dolphin, Barracuda, and Marlin, all fairly similar in design and playing roughly to 3,300 yards from the back tees.  The routing is not typical for a Florida layout in that it’s not surrounded by housing lining the fairways, but on a few holes.  Somewhat target golf with a lot of water in play, and well bunkered, yet fair off the tee. Interesting and straightforward layout, in good shape.

6. Miami International Melreese CC    Melreese is at the east end of the Miami International Airport, and can be quite noisy at times. Great course though, very typical of Florida golf courses with a lot of water and sand, but fortunately no houses lining the course. It’s a little pricey in season, but if you want to get in one last round before leaving town, it’s the most convenient course in the area.

7. Miami Beach Golf Club The most convenient to South Beach, well conditioned and expensive layout, a muni, but not your typical muni! The course has been around since the early 1920′s with redesigns by Von Hagge/Devlin and Art Hills over the years. Not quite the layout as Crandon, but if you’re on Miami Beach, it’s your best choice

If you’re looking for more courses in the general Miami area, check out our Miami Golf Map, or a little further north for the Fort Lauderdale Golf Map for the top rated and most recommended courses there.

Forelinksters is the web’s only golf course directory developed and maintained by regular golfers, much like Zagat for restaurants. The courses listed and rated in our directory have been published by the golfers who play the courses, and represents over 4,000 of the better public golf courses in the United States. The directory provides links to discount tee times with the Golf Channel’s GolfNow and discount hotel rates for the nearest hotels to each golf course through Priceline. If we’ve helped you find a great golf course to play, please use our services to assist us in supporting the website’s service to golfers.

Cheers!