Golf in Lakewood Ranch: Courses, Clubs and Memberships

What golf courses are in Lakewood Ranch?

Lakewood Ranch has 11 golf courses, according to the developer: one members-only course, four at the private Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club, and six inside individual villages. The developer’s 2026 fact sheet counts 72 holes across the four country club courses, three of them designed by Arnold Palmer.

Course or club	Access	Holes	Designer	Tied to a community?
Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club (Cypress Links, King’s Dunes, Royal Lakes, The Legacy)	Private, membership required	72 on four courses	Arnold Palmer (three courses); Rick Robbins (Royal Lakes)	Club membership is separate from buying a home
Lakewood National Golf Club (Commander and Piper)	Members plus daily-fee play (per the developer, 2024)	36	Arnold Palmer Design Company (Commander)	Lakewood National village
Calusa Country Club	Bundled membership for residents; public rates reported at opening	18-hole championship course plus a 12-hole course	Gordon Lewis	Calusa Country Club village
Esplanade Golf and Country Club	Private	18	Not published	Esplanade village
Esplanade at Azario	Semi-private (per the developer)	18	Not published	Azario village
Ritz-Carlton Members Club	Private, for club members and resort guests	18	Tom Fazio	No

Access rules change as clubs are sold or new courses open, so confirm with each club before you rely on a tee time or plan a purchase around one.

What is Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club?

It is the community’s big private club: four courses and 72 holes at 7650 Legacy Boulevard, owned by Heritage Golf Group since March 2024. Heritage bought the club from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the Lakewood Ranch developer, and finished a first round of renovations in fall 2024.

The four courses are Cypress Links (an Arnold Palmer design that opened in 2001), King’s Dunes, Royal Lakes (designed by Rick Robbins) and The Legacy (an Arnold Palmer signature course that reopened to members on November 16, 2024). Adding The Legacy let the club take members from its waitlist.

Beyond golf, the club reports two clubhouses, a 20,000-square-foot fitness center open 24 hours, two heated pools, 20 tennis courts and 20 pickleball courts. It sells golf, sports and social memberships. It does not publish prices online; prospective members request information or book a tour.

Owning a home near one of the courses does not by itself make you a member. Ask the club and the seller exactly what comes with a specific home.

Where can the public play golf in Lakewood Ranch?

Calusa Country Club and Lakewood National are the most accessible options inside Lakewood Ranch.

• Calusa Country Club opened in early 2025 with a Gordon Lewis design. Its 18-hole, par-72 course plays from 3,850 to 7,404 yards, and a shorter 12-hole course plays in about three hours or less. When it opened, public rates were reported at $99 to $149 depending on season and time of day.
• Lakewood National Golf Club opened its first course, the Commander, in 2017 with an Arnold Palmer Design Company layout, and has since added a second 18, the Piper. The developer’s 2024 golf brochure says it welcomes a mix of member and daily-fee play. The Observer reported in 2022 that the courses were expected to go private eventually, so call the club for current public access and rates.

Just outside the community, University Park Country Club off University Parkway offers 27 holes designed by Ron Garl and takes both members and daily-fee golfers, according to Visit Sarasota.

Where is cheaper public golf near Lakewood Ranch?

Sarasota’s public courses usually cost less than the newer Lakewood Ranch clubs. These 2025 rates were reported by the Observer; check current prices before you go.

Course	Where	2025 rate (reported)
Bobby Jones Golf Club, Donald Ross course	City of Sarasota	Non-residents about $56 to $65 in summer and around $99 in high season (dynamic pricing); city residents get 40% off
Bobby Jones Golf Club, Gillespie par-3 course	City of Sarasota	$25 all day
Tatum Ridge Golf Links	Sarasota County (county-owned)	$40 weekdays, $45 weekends

Bobby Jones, owned by the City of Sarasota, reopened in December 2023 with a restored 1927 Donald Ross course and a 9-hole par-3 course.

What famous courses are near Lakewood Ranch?

The Concession Golf Club is the headline. It is a private club designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin (their only joint design), opened in 2006 and hosted the 2021 WGC-Workday Championship as well as the 2015 NCAA Championship. Its par-3 course, The Gimme, is well regarded too. Because it is private, you cannot book a public tee time.

The Ritz-Carlton Members Club course, designed by Tom Fazio, is another private option within Lakewood Ranch, open to club members and guests of the resort.

Which Lakewood Ranch villages are golf communities?

Buyers who want golf with the house usually look at Lakewood National, Calusa Country Club, Esplanade and the villages around Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club. They work in different ways:

• Bundled golf. In a bundled community, a golf membership comes with the home and the cost is built into the price and community fees. Calusa Country Club bundles memberships, with a choice of an all-inclusive golf membership or a social membership. The developer lists about 1,780 homes in the village, with condos from the high $200,000s and single-family homes from the $500,000s.
• Golf available, not required. At communities with a semi-private or private club, you can buy a home without joining, or pay to join separately. Ask what the waitlist and initiation fee look like.
• Separate private club. Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club sells memberships directly. A home near the course does not guarantee access.

Before you buy in a golf community, ask for the current fee schedule in writing, whether fees can rise and how fast, whether membership transfers with the home, and what happens to the course if the club is sold. For help comparing villages, see every Lakewood Ranch neighborhood compared, our guide to 55+ communities in Lakewood Ranch, and the Lakewood Ranch real estate hub.

When is the best time to play?

Late spring and fall offer the best balance of weather and rates; winter has the best weather but the highest prices and busiest tee sheets. Seasonal residents fill the courses in winter and early spring. Summer brings lower rates, but also heat and near-daily afternoon thunderstorms, so book early-morning tee times from June through September.

Looking for more to do? Browse our list of things to do in Lakewood Ranch or our guide to parks and trails.