ON THE TRAIL
Lakewood Ranch
This sprawling ranch on Florida ’ s west coast incorporates no fewer than nine golf courses into its 31,000-acre masterplanned community . These include the Arnold Palmer-designed Cypress Links , the King ’ s Dunes championship course and the family-friendly Royal Lakes , all of which are open to club members . Interlaced with a network of canals and ponds , each course is a little different . Waiting at the 19th hole , the Lake Club features an impressive 20,000-square-foot Grande Clubhouse . Lakeside ’ s villages host 300 shops and restaurants , plus there are a slew of events , including a Sunday farmers ’ market .
Streamsong Red
Contoured by towering dunes and undulating hills — a landscape sculpted by a century of phosphate mining — this course is one of four at the Streamsong Resort in Central Florida ’ s Bone Valley . Created in 2012 on the site of a former strip mine , the theatrical Coore and Crenshaw design shifts between swaths of open savanna and fairways nestled deep between sandy humps . Over-water tee-offs and deep swales evoke a sense of adventure as players must strategise how best to work with the terrain . Off the green , the property features eight restaurants and lounges , a grotto-style spa and a 228-room hotel .
Seminole Golf Club
With names such as Kennedy , Chrysler and Vanderbilt on the ledger , this ultra-exclusive private club in Juno Beach has been open for play since 1930 . Bounded by a 40-foot sand dune on its western edge and facing the Atlantic Ocean to the east , the sweeping , sandy course is one of legendary architect Donald Ross ’ greatest triumphs . Even the most seasoned swingers will be challenged by the capricious Gulf Stream breeze , which adds an element of uncertainty to every round . Heavily restored in the post-war period , Seminole ’ s new bunkers mirror the cresting waves visible from several of its elevated holes .
spring 2025 • 25