2016 Spring Training Guide: Florida

The difference in time zone and humidity notwithstanding, Florida’s Grapefruit League showcases some of baseball’s most storied franchises and more golf courses than any state in the country. Here’s where to tee it up during the same period (Feb. 25-March 20) as the PGA Tour’s four-event Florida Swing.

Atlanta Braves
Champion Stadium
700 South Victory Way
Lake Buena Vista 
407-541-5600
With the stadium located just minutes from the Magic Kingdom, in the ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex, nearby resort courses abound. Disney’s Palm and Magnolia courses until recently hosted PGA Tour events; Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando still does (March 17–20). ChampionsGate Golf Resort boasts two tough Greg Norman designs; Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort Orlando is an update of Tom Fazio’s Osprey Ridge course. 

Baltimore Orioles
Ed Smith Stadium
2700 12th Street
Sarasota
941-954-4101
The best nearby golf option is the Arnold Palmer-designed Legacy Golf Club at Lakewood Ranch, which also attracts Pirates fans. You only have to be a guest of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota to play the spectacular Members Golf Club, designed by Tom Fazio. For a kick, try the Bobby Jones Golf Club, a 45-hole muni sporting a Donald Ross-designed 18.

Boston Red Sox
JetBlue Park
11581 Daniels Parkway
Fort Myers
239-334-4700
A scaled-down version of Fenway Park’s iconic Green Monster makes watching games here worth the trip. Also worthwhile is the 15-mile journey to Ostero, home of Jack Nicklaus’ tough Old Corkscrew Golf Club (pictured above). The municipal Fort Myers Country Club recently underwent a $5.8 million renovation to its 99-year-old Donald Ross layout once favored by Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

Detroit Tigers
Joker Marchant Stadium
2301 Lakeland Hills Blvd. 
Lakeland
863-686-8075
One of the Grapefruit League’s oldest stadiums is a 30-minute drive from one of golf’s newest gems—Streamsong Resort. The nationally ranked Blue and Red Courses, designed, respectively, by Tom Doak and Coore-Crenshaw were excavated from sand dunes of an old phosphate mine. If you’re not up for the pilgrimage, hit Cleveland Heights Golf Course, Lakeland’s recently renovated 27-hole muni.

Houston Astros
Osceola County Stadium
631 Heritage Parkway
Kissimmee 
321-697-3200
Kissimmee’s proximity to Orlando puts Astros fans in the same golf orbit as Braves fans. There’s also Falcon’s Fire Golf Club, a Rees Jones layout, 12 miles northeast of the stadium. Further north is Shingle Creek Golf Club. West is family-friendly Orange Lake Resort, with two Arnold Palmer designs and the nine-hole Legends Walk, a par-3 course illuminated for night play.

Minnesota Twins
Hammond Stadium
14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway
Fort Myers  
239-768-4210
Located less than six miles west of the Red Sox’ ballpark, the Twins’ stadium lies 12 miles north of The Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort in Bonita Springs. The bayside resort operates the Raymond Floyd-designed Raptor Bay Golf Club, and guests also have access to the private, luxurious Colony Golf & Country Club.  

New York Mets
Tradition Field
525 NW Peacock Boulevard
Port St. Lucie 
772-871-2115
Fans of the National League Champions also have championship golf in their backyard: the courses at PGA Village. The 54 holes at PGA Golf Club come courtesy of Tom Fazio and Pete Dye. The former designed the lengthy, lush Wanamaker and Ryder courses; the latter did the diabolical one named for him.  Avail yourself of the 35-acre PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance, or take a crack at another PGA course, the snug, Jim Fazio-designed St. Lucie Trail Golf Club, which also welcomes footgolf.

New York Yankees
George M. Steinbrenner Field
1 Steinbrenner Drive
Tampa  
813-875-7753
If getting on the private Old Memorial Golf Club isn’t an option, head north to Lutz, home of the public-access TPC Tampa Bay, an erstwhile Champions Tour venue designed by Bobby Weed. Arnold Palmer authored an eponymous course at Saddlebrook Resort & Spa in nearby Wesley Chapel. Two world-class options wait an hour north at World Woods, where Tom Fazio’s Top 100 masterpieces—Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks—evoke Pine Valley and Augusta National.

Philadelphia Phillies
Bright House Field
601 North Old Coachman Road
Clearwater
727-712-4300
Just 11 miles from the stadium, Innisbrook Golf Resort features four immensely challenging courses—North, South, Island and Copperhead. On Mar 10 – 13 the Larry Packard-designed Copperhead will welcome the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship (won last year by Jordan Spieth). A special treat awaits those who splurge for a night at the pink Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club: access to Vinoy Golf Club, a private Donald Ross gem on Snell Island.

Pittsburgh Pirates
McKechnie Field
1611 9th Street West
Bradenton
(941) 748-4610
You may find yourself paired with the next PGA Tour star at the IMG Golf Academy Golf Club, located six miles west from the ballyard. Eight miles in the opposite direction spread the three sweet nines at River Strand Golf & Country Club designed by Arthur Hills. Righteous options within 12 miles include Ted McAnlis’ demanding and beautiful layouts at The Preserve Golf Club and Waterlefe Golf & River Club.

St. Louis Cardinals/Miami Marlins
Roger Dean Stadium
4751 Main Street
Jupiter
561- 775-1818
Unless you have a entrée into Trump National or The Bear’s Club, your best bet is Abacoa Golf Club, a Joe Lee design within walking distance of the stadium. The Golf Club of Jupiter will do in a pinch, but in a neighborhood where the best golf is private, you’re better off heading 40 minutes north on I-95 to the golf Eden of PGA Village or 15 minutes south to the Champion Course at PGA National (pictured above) in Palm Beach Gardens.

Tampa Bay Rays
Charlotte Sports Park
El Jobean Road
Port Charlotte 
Only three miles from the stadium, the Gene Bates-designed Riverwood Golf Club received 4.5 stars from Golf Digest.  For a funky change of pace, take a crack at the par-60 Oyster Creek Golf Club, where a dozen par-threes and six par-4s tip the course just short of 4,000 yards.

Toronto Blue Jays
Florida Auto Exchange Stadium
373 Douglas Avenue
Dunedin 
727-733-9302
How often do you get to play on a course listed on the National Historic Places Registry? Only three miles from the stadium, the 90-year-old Dunedin Golf Club sports a Donald Ross pedigree and underwent a restoration 10 years ago. If you want to play a PGA Tour-quality course, then drive further north to Innisbrook Resort (pictured below), home of the Copperhead Course, March’s Valspar Championship and numerous Phillies fanatics.

Washington Nationals
Space Coast Stadium
5800 Stadium Parkway
Viera
321-633-9200
Laid out by Chip Powell on a former fertile sod farm, the 7,151-yard Duran Golf Club unfurls less than two miles south of the stadium. Joe Lee’s Viera East Golf Club lies about the same distance north and minutes from Cocoa Beach. South of Viera in Melbourne, the rugged Gary Player design at Baytree National Golf Links rewards golfers with a quintessential Florida golf experience of white sand bunkers, red coquina waste areas and vast blue lakes.

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Spring Training Travel and Golf Guide Home

2016 Spring Training Guide: Florida

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2016 Spring Training Guide: Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix

2016 Spring Training Guide: Southwest Valley

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