Best Budget Golf Course


Important: This article was last updated on September 21, 2005. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.

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Red Reef Park Executive Golf Course
1221 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton, 561/391-5014, www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/parks

 While the discerning golfer may judge a course based on its design, the business contacts it affords and the brand of scotch served in the clubhouse, the budget-conscious recreational player wants something that doesn't demand much of his wallet -- or his talent. If it comes with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, then it can be only one South Florida course: the par-32, 1,357-yard Red Reef Park links. Originally built in 1933, well before anyone knew better than to plant a nine-hole country club on what would become prized real estate, Red Reef offers a casual and breezy day on a recently sodded layout that won't trouble your psyche. The holes range from 54 to 227 yards in length, there's very little sand to get into your shoes, and the air couldn't be fresher. Between April and November, rates start as low as $10.50 for nonresidents and $8.50 for Boca Raton residents with a permit card. Credit cards are not accepted, and clubs can be rented if you threw your last set in the water after one too many quadruple bogeys.