Golf Guide: Boca Raton - FL

Boca Raton on Florida's southeastern coast is a haven for the well heeled with toney neighborhoods, boutiques, galleries and posh golf clubs like the invitation-only Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club and resorts such as the Boca Raton Resort & Club. With a rich history dating from the 1920s, a time when Sam Snead and Tommy Armour were on staff, this creamy pink palace, Boca Raton Resort typifies the successful marriage of a Golden Age hotel and a modern-day golf resort with two championship courses, the Resort Course and the Country Club Course along with the Dave Pelz Scoring Game School.

Golf in Boca during the peak winter months is expensive, but for those who want to experience this beautiful area at less, book your travel from May to October when green fees, even at some clubs, are discounted as are hotel rooms. Play and stay packages during his period can be particularly attractive.

Munis can also be a good way to go for the vacationing golfers. For example green fees with a cart are $56 on Southwinds Golf Course, an Audubon International Certified Sanctuary course with water on 16 holes playing 6,018 yards. There is also Delray Beach Golf Club, a historic Donald Ross track, which opened in 1923, and offers green fees in peak periods of $49.

There are newer upscale public facilities like Deer Creek Golf Club in Deerfield Beach. Renovated in 2004 by Arthur Hills, peak season rates hover around $100 while off-season they drop to half price. The 30,000 square foot Key West-style clubhouse has an "old Florida" ambiance with all the trimmings from paddle fans to wide verandahs.

Off course browse the shops and restaurants of the outdoor Mizner Park, a cultural center for Palm Beach County and home to the Boca Museum of Art and the National Cartoon Museum. Catch the flavor of nearby Delray Beach, one of Florida's more settled-in communities. Here Atlantic Avenue has been revitalized and is all a buzz with cafes, boutiques, galleries and nightspots.