Golf in Oakland Park

The emerald alleyways of Forest Oaks Golf Club's 18-hole course tumble through towering trees and scenic streams for a round of lengthy, challenging play. Tight fairways supply the bulk of the difficulty throughout the round, which tests golfers' accuracy off the tee and golf carts' stamina with six par 5s. The club hosts frequent scrambles, beat-the-pro competitions, and other friendly competitions to unite linkspeople under the common cause of hunting pins and fending off mulligans. To prepare duffers for rounds on their scenic course, Forest Oaks' staff of resident aces offers onsite golf instruction, and the golf club fuels herculean drives and underfed 9-irons with refreshments and homemade snack-bar

Legendary course architect Donald Ross began design on the first nine holes of Delray Beach Golf Club in 1923, and when the course officially opened for play in 1926, players embraced the layout's variety of shot scenarios. When the course closed during World War II, the grounds sat idle, forcing the course carts to join the Allied forces as lightweight tanks.

Delray Beach Club reopened in 1945 and, five years later, the city sculpted a back nine to create a modern, championship course that stretches 6,907 yards for a par of 72. The original challenges still exist today, beckoning golfers to rely on every club in their bag as they take on par 4s that range from 347 to 451 yards, where treating the hole like a par 5 is often the best strategy. A stream enters play on five holes, running parallel to both the par 5 first hole and the par 3 sixth, forcing players to fight the urge to chip onto a passing lily pad and let it carry the ball downstream.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,907 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72 from the back tees
• Course slope of 123 from the back tees
• Four sets of tees available
• Scorecard

Lauded as the 18th best course in Florida by GolfLink, Madison Green Golf Club's 18-hole layout pairs the rugged feel of a Scottish links-style course with the dazzling palm trees and waterways of South Florida. Water hazards come into play on all but one hole throughout the round, challenging golfers with multiple forced-carries and attracting aviary guests including great blue herons, sandhill cranes, and thirsty weather balloons. In the absence of the thick heather grasses of Scotland, Madison Green ensnares errant orbs with 12 acres of brambly pine barrens, 250 oaks, and 500 palm trees. Golfers navigate the pristine par 72 in carts equipped with Visage Touchscreen GPS technology, which presents flyovers of each hole in 3-D images and tells golfers their exact yardage from upcoming targets, hazards, and charging linebackers.

The Club's 7,000-square-foot clubhouse provides convenient amenities including men's and women's locker and steam rooms, a well-stocked pro shop, and a full-service bar and grill. Clubbers can fine-tune their game at the driving range, where grass hitting areas mirror course conditions and low-handicap earthworms generously proffer swing advice.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 7,106 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 73.6 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 144 from the farthest tees
• Six tee options

Sculpted on a 28-acre estuary between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, Jupiter Dunes Golf Club presents a short par 3 course that features prominent water hazards that come into play on 12 holes. Coastal trade winds routinely knock approach shots off course on their way onto small paspalum greens, a challenge only mitigated by careful shot selection or digging wind-free fairway tunnels. Even with these obstacles, the course's truncated length lets beginners make an enjoyable foray into the game, and more experienced players can work on short game acumen.

Jupiter Dunes’ resident golf pro Jeff Leishman strives to make golf a pleasant pursuit for all players, including juniors. Jeff creates an instructional regimen that best fits each player, helping adults to lower their handicaps during lessons and showing juniors how to make a golf-cart booby trap at summer camps for kids aged 6–14.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 54 course
• Total length of 1,962 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 65 from the back tees
• Course slope of 100 from the back tees

Two distinct nine-hole golf courses encircle a go-kart track, batting cages, 36 holes of miniature golf, and a 65-stall driving range at Windy Hill Sports Complex's mini metropolis of family fun. Pin-hunting posses can launch tee shots around dogleg fairways and carry approaches over water hazards at the Lake Course—which features two par 5s—or catch an abridged nine at the par 3 layout, which is lighted to facilitate late-night play without unveiling incendiary prototypes of plutonium golf balls. Set on the edge of the highest point in Chesterfield County, the driving range helps players to hone their swings with 250 yards of target-peppered terrain, and the mini-golf course affords guests pressure-free practice on their putting stroke. Honda go-karts zip around the complex's quarter-mile go-kart track, where junior- and adult-size conveyances run in separate heats, and two-seater vehicles accommodate adult-child or child-gnome tandems. Across the grounds, sharp line drives resonate from the batting cages, where batsmen swing at orbs slung from mechanical hurlers at anywhere from 25 mph to 85 mph.

Nestled against the cerulean waves of the Intracoastal Waterway for more than a mile, Lake Worth Golf Course’s 18-hole layout stretches across 6,100 yards of classic wetland terrain. With sparse tree lines and generous fairways throughout the course, Lake Worth’s relatively open, par 70 layout beckons to long-ball hitters, though particularly errant balls could wind up among the bottom-feeding trawl and heist-planning porpoises lurking in the waterway, which hugs the entire east side of the course. A nimble golf cart zips twosomes across the grassy monolith, expertly slaloming through palm trees and spinning its wheels with glee after each breathtaking birdie or stunning attempt at snapping a club shaft.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course

• Total length of 6,100 yards from the back tees