
Esplanade Course
Esplanade Golf and Country Club

About this course
Esplanade Golf and Country Club occupies a setting in Lakewood Ranch, a master-planned community in Manatee County on Florida's Gulf Coast. Chris Wilczynski designed the course, which opened in the mid-2010s as part of the broader Esplanade residential development. The layout reflects contemporary Florida golf design, working with the region's characteristic flat terrain and incorporating water features, native vegetation zones, and strategic bunkering to define playing corridors and create visual interest across the property. The routing takes advantage of lakes and wetland preserves that are integral to both the golf experience and the community's stormwater management. Wilczynski's design emphasizes playability for a range of skill levels while maintaining enough challenge through green complexes and hazard placement to engage accomplished players. The course serves primarily as an amenity for residents of the Esplanade community, which includes multiple neighborhoods and a clubhouse facility that anchors social and dining activities. Lakewood Ranch itself has grown into one of the larger planned communities in Florida, and Esplanade represents one of several golf-centered neighborhoods within the broader development. The course fits the pattern of modern Florida residential golf, where environmental integration, walkability considerations, and member accessibility shape design priorities. The club operates as a private facility focused on the lifestyle and recreational needs of its membership base.
Rankings
Ranked by CV ratings from golfers who've played this course. Positions are shown worldwide, by country, and by state; the Public column compares courses anyone can play.
Best in USA
Quick facts
- Location
- Lakewood Ranch, FL, USA
- Access
- Public
- Year built
- 2014
- Designer
- Chris Wilczynski
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 72
- Length
- 6,756 yards
- Difficulty
- 72.1/132
Getting there
Most visitors to Esplanade Golf and Country Club arrive through Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRW), a straightforward forty-minute drive northeast into the master-planned expanse of Lakewood Ranch. The route follows I-75 through Florida's Gulf Coast corridor before turning east onto University Parkway, where the landscape shifts from commercial sprawl to the manicured boulevards and preserve-lined streets of one of the region's most ambitious residential developments. Private arrivals often utilize Sarasota-Bradenton or the smaller Venice Municipal Airport to the south, both offering discreet access to this gated enclave where championship golf unfolds amid lakes, nature corridors, and the quiet order of modern Florida country club living.

FAQ
Common questions about Esplanade
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Esplanade was designed by Chris Wilczynski.
Yes. Esplanade is listed as welcoming public or guest play on Course Vaults.
Par at Esplanade is 72.
Esplanade plays 6,756 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Esplanade is 132.
Esplanade is a 18-hole course.



