“Golf in South Florida”

We are currently traveling through south Florida, while avoiding winter storm Olive that is blowing across the rest of the U.S. The weather here is perfect for golf! No wonder there are so many “snow birds” in the area.

In addition to all the “snow birds”, south Florida is home to some spectacular golf courses.

Here are some fun facts about Florida and Golf:

• Florida is home to more golf courses than any other state in the union.
• It has more golf courses per capita than any other state and its course density is second only to California.
• Many of the top private clubs in the country are located in Florida, such as PGA National Resort & Spa, Trump International Golf Club Palm Beach County, and The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Jupiter.

We are finding out there are lots of great golf venues in south Florida along the I-95 corridor, and many of them, of course, are highly exclusive and private. But south Florida has its share of public golf too.

For instance – there is Osprey Point Golf Course in Boca Raton, or Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne in Key Biscayne. Also on the list is Miami Springs Golf and Country Club, and Plantation Preserve Golf Club.

Each of these courses – along with dozens of others – have challenging designs, spectacular course conditions and layouts, and….

Very EXPENSIVE green fees!

Winter temps and golf weren’t the only things that brought us to south Florida. Marc grew up here and still has family and friends in the area. We figured it would be fun to visit with family and reconnect with friends we hadn’t seen in quite awhile….and of course play golf!

So here we are in south Florida, visiting with Marc’s long-time friend Anthony (who golfs) and we are trying to get a tee time at one of the top rated public courses. But we are having no luck.

In addition to the costly green fees, trying to get a tee time in the winter months can be brutal.

Tee times are booked fast and well in advance!

We finally were able to secure a tee time this past week for the three of us at Davie Golf Club. We were excited to get out on the track with Marc’s friend Ant.

Now for the record, Ant is a self-proclaimed golf course snob. He has stated many times, that he would rather drive 2.5 hours to play on a 4 or 5 star course, then play at the local municipal course that is just 5 miles from his home.

We arrived early, checked in with the starter and low and behold – the trash talk was in full swing even before we hit our first ball….starting with Ant warning us that the only reason we were able to get a tee time on such short notice, was due to the poor conditions of the course.

Two holes into our round, we realized he was right. Very right. So right, that we have decided not to review or rate the course. The conditions of the tee boxes, fairways and greens, made for a sub-par course.

Our goal with our blog has always been and will continue to be, to show how fun and enjoyable this game is and to share our love affair of golf. This course just had too much in the negative.

But…….that won’t stop us from talking about golfing with friends.

Is golfing with friends worth it? We certainly think so.

We acknowledge that one of the most unique aspects about golf is that it is a sport that you can play alone. Sometimes it’s nice to get out and play a round by yourself to work on your game or to find peace in nature.

For us – golf is much more enjoyable to play with friends.

And this round proved just that.

Whether it was reminiscing about the shenanigans that Marc and Ant pulled off in their teens, or fondly remembering playing golf with Ant’s dad – each story was priceless and brought pleasure to our day.

And the golf trash talk – oh there was plenty of that!

From my golf cart, I heard some of the best golf trash talk between Marc and Ant that would put the ribbing between Tiger and Rory to shame.

We all stopped keeping score around the 5th or 6th hole. I had already lost a sleeve of balls in the water – which is on every SINGLE hole.

However, not keeping score had little impact on the fun we had and the laughter we shared during the round.

As we holed out on 18, we all agreed it was a great round – in spite of the course conditions.

My Reds from the Reds: Sometimes it’s not about the course you play – it’s more about who you play with.

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting

Written by: Kathy Festa