The PGA Tour moves into its Florida Swing with a month of resort golf courses that come complete with a Bear Trap, a Snake Pit, the home track of Arnold Palmer, the world’s most famous island green and plenty of water. Let’s get things started with a look at the courses on tap through March 19.
The Florida Swing starts this week with the Honda Classic at PGA National’s Champion Course, followed by the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, The Players Championship on the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, then the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort.
Golfweek’s Best employs more than 800 raters around the world to evaluate courses. They rate each course they play according to 10 prescribed criteria, then offer a final rating on a scale of 1 to 10. Those individual ratings are averaged to produce a final course rating, which then can be compared to other layouts. Keep scrolling to see how the courses of the Florida Swing rate.
- More: Top public-access courses in each state
- Top private courses in each state
- Top 200 resort courses in the U.S.
No. 4 Florida Swing: Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course
Golfweek’s Best rating: 6.42
Event: Valspar Championship
When: March 16-19
Where: Palm Harbor
Designer (year opened): Lawrence Packard (1974)
Golfweek’s Best rankings: No. 9 among public-access courses in Florida; ties for No. 88 among top 200 resort courses in U.S.
No. 3 Florida Swing: PGA National (The Champion)
Golfweek’s Best rating: 6.52
Event: Honda Classic
When: Feb. 23-26
Where: Palm Beach Gardens
Designer (year opened): Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus (1981)
Golfweek’s Best rankings: No. 8 among public-access courses in Florida; No. 73 among top 200 resort courses in U.S.
No. 2 Florida Swing: Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Golfweek’s Best rating: 6.67
Event: Arnold Palmer Invitational
When: March 2-5
Where: Orlando
Designer (year opened): Dick Wilson, Arnold Palmer (1961)
Golfweek’s Best rankings: No. 5 among public-access courses in Florida; Ties for No. 53 among top 200 resort courses in U.S.; ties for No. 196 among all modern courses in the U.S.
No. 1 Florida Swing: TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course
Golfweek’s Best rating: 7.74
Event: Players Championship
When: March 9-12
Where: Ponte Vedra Beach
Designer (year opened): Pete Dye (1981)
Golfweek’s Best rankings: No. 1 among public-access courses in Florida; No. 11 among top 200 resort courses in U.S.; No. 15 among all modern courses in the U.S.
