Three Courses to Play when Golfing Greater Fort Lauderdale

With loads of courses, comparatively low green fees, unmatched settings and year-round play, Greater Fort Lauderdale has quietly earned a reputation as a first-rate Florida golf destination. A healthy mix of semi-private clubs and premier public courses, designed by luminaries like Rees Jones, Raymond Floyd and Trent Jones, make Greater Fort Lauderdale the perfect play for skill levels ranging from weekend warrior to semi-professional. Following are “Three to Play” in Greater Fort Lauderdale – one new course, one renovated course, and one classic course.

Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club
Just opened in 2006 is the Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club, which provides a new wrinkle on the word “green.” Located on 211 acres of protected, everglades-themed open space, the new facility includes a Par 72, 7,000-yard Audubon-certified Championship Golf Course, a 6,600 square foot club house that seats 160 guests, a linear park trail with two trailheads winds its way through the golf course and 29 acres of wetland preserve. Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club is one of the only public courses in Greater Fort Lauderdale to feature the internationally- recognized Dwarf Seaside Paspalum Grass surface.

Location: 7050 W. Broward Boulevard, Plantation, FL 33317.

Green Fees: June 1-Oct. 31: $50 weekdays / $60 weekends; Nov. 1-Dec. 19, Apr. 1-May 31: $70 weekday, $80 weekends; Dec. 20-Mar. 31: 95/105

More info: Tel: (954) 585-2362

Jacaranda Golf Club
The East Course at Jacaranda Golf Club has received a $5,000,000 makeover, including new greens, tees, bunkers, cart paths and irrigation system. The upgrade has breathed new life into the course’s classic design. Paspalum tee boxes and fairways provide the most playable surfaces for full swings and the introduction of the latest in Tif-Dwarf greens affords players the best putting surfaces available. Architect Bobby Weed has created a course unique in its bunkering, collection areas surrounding the greens and a multitude of shot options to challenge players’ short games. The West Course at Jacaranda is undergoing a similar renovation project that will be completed by 2007. Jacaranda Golf Club has hosted many PGA and USGA tournaments and qualifying events including PGA TOUR Q-School and U.S. Open Qualifying.

Green Fees: May 1-Oct. 31: $69 weekdays, $79 weekends; Nov. 1-Dec. 23, Apr. 1-Apr. 30: $89 weekends, $99 weekends; Dec. 24-Mar. 31: $99 weekdays, $124 weekends

Location: 9200 West Broward Boulevard, Plantation, FL 33324

More info: Tel: (954) 472-5836; website: www.golfjacaranda.com

Emerald Hills Golf Club
A 7,280-yard gem of a course, the Emerald Hills Golf Club offers an excellent combination of intriguing hole designs and purely excellent, challenging golf, with water coming into play frequently on the first 12 holes. The course plays host to both the Doral Qualifier and Honda Qualifier, and has been chosen as a host site for the US Amateur Qualifier.

Green Fees: June 1-Oct. 31: $70 weekday, $90 weekends; Nov. 1-Dec. 18, Apr. 17-May 31: $100 weekday, $125 weekends; Dec. 19-April 16: $140 weekday, $165 weekends

Location: 4100 N. Hills Drive, Hollywood, FL 33021

More info: Tel: (954) 961-4000; website: www.theclubatemeraldhills.com