The best course designers of modern and bygone eras have made their marks all over Southwest Florida. The weather often can’t be beaten. And even though the term “elevation” is a comical misnomer for this coastal region, that hasn’t kept architects from creating plenty of uneven lies to test your game. To wit: the nearly 60-foot-high tee box and accompanying formations engineered into acclaimed Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples.
Thanks to the golf course—and real estate—building boom of the 1980s, ‘90s and early part of the 2000s, Southwest Florida for years has been able to claim No. 1 status in the nation for golf holes per capita. With some communities featuring two and in, some cases, three 18-hole courses, the two adjacent counties boast well more than 150 total courses.
The majority of the links are private, though many open their doors to the public during the summer and outside of the prime winter months—when the local population mushrooms with seasonal residents and the links are in high demand. Many communities also have healthy reciprocal programs with other clubs. If you’re not a member or homeowner in a community club, you might want to make nice with someone who is to expand your opportunities to experience great golf.
Here are some of Collier County’s best courses, including some that take outside play:
Calusa Pines Golf Club
- Where: 2000 Calusa Pines Drive, Naples
- Par/yardage: 72/7,267
- Designers: Michael Hurdzan/Dana Fry
- Of note: Calusa Pines is routinely Southwest Florida’s highest-ranked course on various top national course lists. It is unforgettable partly for its 185-yard par-3 16th hole, which plays from an elevated tee box that is colloquially dubbed the highest point in Collier County. This very private course is celebrated for its impeccable design and conditions, and its idyllic setting free of any homes on or around the property.
Lely Resort (Flamingo Island)
- Where: 8004 Lely Resort Blvd., Naples
- Par/yardage: 72/7,095
- Designer: Robert Trent Jones Sr.
- Of note: The oldest of three courses in Lely Resort—and one of two that is open to the public—Flamingo Island has been named a Top 50 Resort Course by Golf World The course, opened in 1989, is the more challenging of the two public-play courses. The second is the more welcoming Mustang course, designed by Lee Trevino and opened in 1996. The private Classics course, designed by Gary Player and opened in 1990, was host to the PGA Tour Champions Chubb Classic in 2019.
Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club
- Where: 851 Gulf Shore Blvd. N., Naples
- Par/yardage: 71/6,929
- Designer (2016): Jack Nicklaus & John Sanford
- Of note: Nicklaus and Sanford in 2016 redesigned this historic course, part of Southwest Florida’s only beachfront resort with an on-site championship layout. The course, which dates back to the 1940s, is where then-11-year-old Nicklaus broke 40 on nine holes for the first time in his life, playing with his father on a family vacation in 1951.
Naples National Golf Club
- Where: 9325 Collier Blvd., Naples
- Par/yardage: 72/7,045
- Designers: Michael Hurdzan/Dana Fry
- Of note: A private course devoid of homes and known for its meticulously manicured grounds, Naples National also draws national acclaim for an artful design that incorporates natural topography. Playing surfaces blend delicately with waste areas and mature stands of pine and cypress trees. The annual Terra Cotta Invitational is a premier national amateur tournament.
Panther Run Golf Club
- Where: 6005 Anthem Pkwy., Ave Maria
- Par/yardage: 72/7,532
- Designers: Gordon Lewis
- Of note: Courses that welcome the public in Collier County aren’t the easiest to find, making this semi-private course worth the drive to rural Ave Maria for multiple reasons. With ample former agricultural land to work with, Lewis made sure to include all the length anyone could need. He also had fun with the design, throwing in elements such as a classic “Redan” green – sloping away from the entrance – to augment excellent conditioning and amenities.
The Quarry
- Where: 8950 Weathered Stone Drive, Naples
- Par/yardage: 72/7,316
- Designers: Michael Hurdzan/Dana Fry
- Of note: An old limestone rock quarry makes a spectacular visual setting around which to build a golf course. A saltwater-tolerant turf grass known as paspalum also offers environmental benefits and is just as inviting as Bermuda. Look into the reciprocal program for this private course.
Tiburón Golf Club
- Where: 2620 Tiburón Drive, Naples
- Par/yardage: Gold Course: 72/7,382; Black Course: 72/6,949
- Designer: Greg Norman
- Of note: Both courses are part of the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort but do take outside play. The longer Gold Course is home to the LPGA Tour’s CME Group Tour Championship and Norman’s 24-player QBE Shootout PGA Tour team event. But the Black Course may be tougher, with for more forced carries and tighter lines on equally firm, fast fairways.
TPC Treviso Bay
- Where: 9800 Treviso Bay Blvd., Naples
- Par/yardage: 72/7,367
- Designers: Arthur Hills and Hal Sutton
- Of note: Part of the PGA Tour’s network of Tournament Players Club courses, Treviso Bay was built with capacity to host professional golfers in mind. A members’ course also open to outside play, Treviso Bay is lined with a Hills signature design element: endless humps, bumps and nobs that frame the fairways and guard the green complexes.
TwinEagles (Talon Course)
- Where: 11330 Twineagles Blvd., Naples
- Par/yardage: Talon Course: 72/7,193; Eagle Course: 71/7,634
- Designers: Talon: Jack Nicklaus/Jack Nicklaus II; Eagle: Steve Smyers/Patrick Andrews
- Of note: Perhaps the best-liked course in Southwest Florida among PGA Tour veterans themselves, the Talon Course has hosted the 50-and-over tour’s Chubb Classic the most times (12) in its 32 installments in Collier County. TwinEagles also has a second course, the 7,634-yard Eagle Course, and Dr. Jim Suttie’s Golf Academy.
Valencia Golf & Country Club
- Where: 1725 Double Eagle Trail, Naples
- Par/yardage: 72/7,145
- Designer: Gordon Lewis (Drew Rogers, 2018)
- Of note: Even rarer than courses open to the public in Naples are daily-fee facilities. Renovated in 2018, Valencia is inviting, affordable, well-maintained and as hard as you want it to be from different lengths. Ample practice grounds are another attraction.
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