The Best Public Golf Courses in Palm Beach County, Florida

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Nine real public golf courses worth playing in Palm Beach County, from Osprey Point in Boca Raton up to West Palm Beach, plus what actually matters when booking a tee time here: who runs each course, how far ahead you can reserve, and what changes with the seasons.

A View From the Fringe

We get asked a lot about where to play golf around Boca Raton, so here's the real list: nine public courses worth knowing about, from quick nine-hole rounds to a Gil Hanse design up in West Palm Beach. No memberships needed for any of them.

1. Osprey Point Golf Course (Boca Raton)

Osprey Point is a 27-hole public course split into three real nine-hole tracks, the Raven, the Falcon, and the Hawk, mixed and matched into your 18-hole round. There's no residential development around it; the course backs up to a National Wildlife Refuge, so alligators, turtles, herons, and other wading birds show up regularly. The Hawk's 8th hole is a standout par-3 played entirely over water. The turf is Seashore Paspalum throughout, and the practice setup includes a full driving range and a large short-game area with bunkers. The Nest, the on-site clubhouse restaurant, overlooks the course.

The National Golf Course Owners Association named Osprey Point its 2026 Municipal Golf Course of the Year, awarded January 19, 2026. It's also Florida's first Audubon International Classic Signature Golf Course and sits in Golf Digest's Top 50 in Florida.

Osprey Point is also home to the Eric Cogorno and Don Law Golf Academy 2-day golf schools.

2. Southwinds Golf Course (Boca Raton)

Southwinds is a par-70 municipal course running about 6,018 yards with a slope rating of 122. Water comes into play on 16 of its 18 holes, including a finishing par-4 that requires two carries over water. Mature trees line the fairways throughout. It's a genuinely fair, fun track for casual and higher-handicap players, though low-handicap golfers may find it short. One distinctive touch: the practice facility includes an aqua driving range, where you hit floating balls out into a lake. The course carries Audubon International certification, and golfers consistently praise the pro shop staff and the fair pricing for the area.

3. Red Reef Park Executive Golf Course (Boca Raton)

Red Reef is a 9-hole executive course, 1,357 yards at par 32, with holes ranging from 54 to 227 yards. It sits between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal, directly across from public beach access, on Seashore Paspalum turf. A full round takes about 90 minutes, which makes it a genuinely good option for beginners, families, or a quick short-game session.

One thing worth knowing if you're planning around it: the general public can book here 5 days out, versus the 7-day window at the county-run courses below, with city residents and frequent players getting 7 and 10 days respectively. And if you're playing the holes that face the dunes toward the ocean, expect a real headwind, worth taking an extra club.

4. Boca Raton Golf & Racquet Club (Boca Raton)

This 18-hole championship layout has tricky doglegs, water in play on several holes, and a demanding finishing island green on 18. The city took over the course and reinvested in it after the former Boca Raton Municipal course was sold, specifically to keep public golf access alive here. Carts come GPS-equipped. Booking works the same way as Red Reef, since both are run by the City of Boca Raton: 5 days out for the general public, 7 for residents, 10 for frequent players.

5. The Park at West Palm Beach (West Palm Beach)

Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner designed the new course, which reopened in 2023 as The Park, a genuine public-private partnership with the city.  It's notably free of water hazards, a rarity in Florida golf, built instead on native sugar sand with up to 60 feet of elevation change. The punchbowl green on 12 and the Ross-style domed green on 13 are the standout holes.

The Lit 9, a lighted nine-hole par-3 course, operates on a walk-up basis, no reservation needed, which makes it a genuinely useful fallback if the main course is booked. The Toptracer range is also open without a reservation, Tuesday through Sunday. Mornings before noon are walking-only, and tee times for the main course open 10 days out.

That rebuild raised more than $55 million from over 130 private donors, Tiger Woods among them. He hit the ceremonial first tee shot at the official reopening on April 17, 2023, a fitting way to mark a course built specifically to keep real golf public and accessible.

6. Palm Beach Par-3 Golf Course (Palm Beach)

Originally designed by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee in 1961, then redesigned by Raymond Floyd in 2009, this 18-hole course sits on a narrow strip between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal. Despite the name, it's not just a pitch-and-putt: holes run from 80 to over 200 yards. A full round takes about two hours.

One quirk you have to know: the course and range don't open until 11am on Tuesdays, every other day it's 7am to 6:30pm. It's genuinely open to visitors, though some tee-time windows do prioritize town residents.

7. Delray Beach Golf Club (Delray Beach)

This 18-hole, par-72 Donald Ross design is a classic, walkable parkland-style layout. It's undergone real renovation investment in recent years, so it's worth confirming current status directly before a visit, since public courses in this region do periodically close for turf or facility work. General public books here 5 days out.

8. Deer Creek Golf Club (Deerfield Beach)

Deerfield Beach sits just over the county line in Broward, not Palm Beach County like the rest of this list, but it's close enough to Osprey Point to belong here. Deer Creek is an 18-hole championship course designed by Arthur Hills, with greens rebuilt to USGA specifications in TifEagle bermuda, and GPS on every cart.

No membership is required to play here, worth being direct about since the name and the country-club feel might suggest otherwise. Members do get earlier booking access and some priority during busy weekend stretches, so plan around that if you're visiting on a Saturday morning in season.

9. Okeeheelee Golf Course (West Palm Beach)

Okeeheelee runs 27 holes across three nine-hole loops, the Heron, the Eagle, and the Osprey, combined into three different 18-hole rounds; the Osprey-Heron combo is a local favorite. The practice facility is a real highlight, including a 30,000-square-foot putting green. It's Palm Beach County-run, so it shares the same booking system as Osprey Point and Southwinds. The setting is a natural park near Clear Lake, with real wildlife throughout, and water comes into play on a number of holes. Consider yourself warned: the alligators here are no joke, you'll want to keep an eye out.

Quick Tips for a Traveling Golfer

Seasonality: Peak season runs November through April, when rates rise and tee times book out fast. Summer brings real discounts, along with afternoon thunderstorms and high humidity to plan around.

Walkability: Red Reef and The Park both actively support walking, though midday heat in warmer months makes carts the practical default almost everywhere else.

Who runs what changes your booking window: Osprey Point, Southwinds, and Okeeheelee are all run by Palm Beach County, sharing one tiered system, 7 days out for the general public, 10 for seasonal Frequent Player Card holders, 14 for resident FPC holders. Red Reef and Boca Raton Golf & Racquet Club are both run by the City of Boca Raton, on a 5/7/10-day version of the same idea. Everything else on this list sets its own window.

One app, three courses: The Palm Beach County Golf App covers booking for Osprey Point, Southwinds, and Okeeheelee, along with nearby Park Ridge, worth downloading before a trip that includes more than one.

Playing solo: Most of these courses won't let you book an empty single slot online. You'll get paired into an existing twosome or threesome, or you'll need to call the pro shop directly.

Bring a card, not cash: Most of these courses are cashless or require a credit card on file to hold your reservation, even if you pay at check-in. Standard policy is 24 hours' notice to cancel without a no-show fee.

Dress code: Collared shirts, no denim, is the norm almost everywhere on this list.

Confirm before you go: Public courses in this region do periodically close for renovation or turf work. A quick check of the course's own site before your trip beats finding out when you arrive.

Ready to Do More Than Just Play?

If you've read this far, some of what's here probably has you thinking about your own game, not just where to tee it up next. Osprey Point Golf Course in Boca Raton is where we hold the Eric Cogorno & Don Law Golf Academy 2-day golf schools in Florida, running January through May.

Eric's own words on what these two days are built to do: "To give you clarity. To make sure you know what to do, how to do it, and why it matters."

Eric holds the whole team to one real standard for these two days: the best golf event you've ever attended, and the best thing you've ever done for your game. That's a high bar. It's also exactly why golfers travel here specifically for instruction, not just to play. 

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