Best golf courses near St. Petersburg, FL

The history of Belleair in the resort community of the same name, 25 miles west of Tampa on the Gulf of Mexico, mirrors that of many historic clubs that trace their ancestry to the turn of the last century. Its first rudimentary holes were laid down by amateurs in the waning years of the 19th century and then gradually added onto over the next decade, crudely, before an expert was brought in to straighten everything out. In this case, Donald Ross, who revamped the by-then 18 and added another course to the east. Ross returned in the 1920s to take second turn at revisions based on another decade of experience designing courses across the U.S. Others visited through the years to put their own tweaks on the West Course, and by 2020 Belleair had little distinguishing pedigree.   The club hired Jason Straka and Dana Fry to revamp the course using original Ross sketches to rebuild the holes. While the architects, Straka in particular, adhered to the historic source material as closely as possible, it’s more accurate to describe Belleair as a new course built in the style of the old. Large portions of the site were re-graded and several large irrigation ponds were filled. The majority of trees were removed to enhance views out to Clearwater Harbor, and the rugged streams that once laced through the course were reconstructed. The first three holes were re-routed and a new par-3 seventh was added with a green on a peninsula jutting into the bay. To accommodate the extra hole, the old par-3 12th was eliminated leaving space for what are now the 10th, 11th and 12th to be extended to the east. Among the radical changes, views and provocative bunkering, the most impressive move might be the subtle shifting of the sixth fairway to the right so it runs hard against the length of the seawall, creating a straight-line and frightening strategic hazard.

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.