Best golf courses near Tampa, FL

Architects occasionally get to renovate courses they've built as their design ideas evolve or in response to changing conditions or technology. Donald Ross most famously added to and remodeled Pinehurst No. 2 throughout his life, and Pete Dye tinkered and enhanced courses like Crooked Stick, TPC Sawgrass and Harbour Town (not always for the better). Steve Smyers had the same opportunity to make important adjustments to Old Memorial in Tampa in 2020. In the 22 years since it opened, Smyers had come to think differently about strategy and how elite players approach the game, enticing him to expand greens and make tweaks to the approaches and surrounds. What hasn't changed are the decorative bunkers that take inspiration from the courses of the Melbourne Sand Belt that Smyers is so fond of.

Playing over 860 acres just north of Tampa, The Club at Cheval is a semi-private course lined with towering cypress trees. The Steve Smyers layout is demanding off the tee, with water coming into play on more than half of the holes. Despite playing around a housing development, several holes—especially around the turn—have a secluded feel.

Located on Shell Island in St. Pete and a five-minute drive from the Mediterranean-style Marriott Autograph Collection resort, Vinoy Golf Course was re-designed by Ron Garl in 1992. The course is open to hotel guests as well as members of the club and offers a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary where each hole is surrounded by vegetation, including pines, live oaks and a variety of palms.