The hardest golf courses in Lakeland, Florida
The hardest 18-hole golf courses within about 25 miles of Lakeland, Florida, ranked by USGA slope rating from each course's longest men's tees, with course rating as the tiebreaker. 9 courses have complete, verified tee data.
The Club at Eaglebrooke
Lakeland, FL, USASlope rating 140, 74.6 course rating, Black tees, 7,030 yds
PublicRon Garl
- 4.0Conditions
- NRLayout
- NRValue
- NRScenery
- NRFacilities
Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club
Haines City, FL, USASlope rating 138, 75.5 course rating, Black tees, 7,227 yds
PublicSteve Smyers
- 3.5Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 2.0Scenery
- 3.2Facilities
- Driving range
- Must play
- Pristine
Heritage Isles Golf & Country Club
Tampa Bay, FL, USASlope rating 137, 74.3 course rating, Gold tees, 6,976 yds
PublicJed Azinger & Gordon G. Lewis
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 4.0Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 4.0Facilities
- Driving range
- Great value
- Friendly
Red
Streamsong Resort
Bowling Green, FL, USASlope rating 137, 74.1 course rating, Green tees, 7,110 yds
PublicBill Coore & Ben Crenshaw
- 4.1Conditions
- 4.3Layout
- 3.6Value
- 4.1Scenery
- 4.1Facilities
From start to finish I found Red to be the least polarizing of the 3 on property. With the short grass everywhere, the runoffs are much less obvious from a distance compared to the bold features of Blue and the scale of Black.
Written by
@alpino
- Must play
- Walkable
- Caddies
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Black
Streamsong Resort
Bowling Green, FL, USASlope rating 135, 74.7 course rating, Green tees, 7,320 yds
PublicGil Hanse
- 4.2Conditions
- 4.1Layout
- 3.7Value
- 3.9Scenery
- 4.4Facilities
Black has the biggest and craziest greens I've ever played, the punchbowl 9th is truly ridiculous (in a good way). The course is a little less flowing compared to Red/Blue, which is why I don't have it rated quite as high, but it's still a bucket list course!
Written by
@golfingwxman
- Must play
- Caddies
- Driving range
Mountain Lake Golf Club
Lake Wales, FL, USA
Slope rating 135, 72.7 course rating, Black tees, 6,677 yds
(Blue) Streamsong Resort
Bowling Green, FL, USA
Slope rating 134, 74.0 course rating, Green tees, 7,276 yds
Lone Palms Golf Club
Lakeland, FL, USA
Slope rating 131, 73.6 course rating, Green tees, 7,090 yds
(Lake Region) The Country Club of Winter Haven
Winter Haven, FL, USA
Slope rating 128, 73.5 course rating, Black tees, 7,021 yds
How we rank
This ranking uses published scorecard data from each course’s longest men’s tees, the same tee set for every course. Only 18-hole courses with a yardage for every hole, a total that matches the hole-by-hole sum, and a par between 54 and 80 are included, and the tees must carry a single slope rating (55–155) and course rating. Courses whose scorecard duplicates another course’s are left out until the data is fixed. Courses are ordered by slope rating, then course rating, then Course Vaults score. Only open courses with a published Course Vaults score (at least 5 explicit ratings) are eligible, and a page is published only when at least 5 courses qualify. City pages include courses within about 25 miles of Lakeland, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.
FAQ
The Club at Eaglebrooke is #1 on Course Vaults in and around Lakeland, Florida at Slope 140 (74.6 course rating · Black tees · 7,030 yds). 9 courses qualify for this list.
This ranking uses published scorecard data from each course’s longest men’s tees, the same tee set for every course. Only 18-hole courses with a yardage for every hole, a total that matches the hole-by-hole sum, and a par between 54 and 80 are included, and the tees must carry a single slope rating (55–155) and course rating. Courses whose scorecard duplicates another course’s are left out until the data is fixed. Courses are ordered by slope rating, then course rating, then Course Vaults score. Only open courses with a published Course Vaults score (at least 5 explicit ratings) are eligible, and a page is published only when at least 5 courses qualify. City pages include courses within about 25 miles of Lakeland, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.
Slope rating is the USGA measure of how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer, from 55 to 155 (113 is average). Course rating is the expected score for a scratch golfer from the same tees.
Yes. It includes qualifying courses within about 25 miles of Lakeland, not only courses whose address is in the city.
This page was last generated Nov 12, 2026, 3:40 AM EST. Scores and eligibility are recomputed about every hour.
