The hardest golf courses in Tampa, Florida
The hardest 18-hole golf courses within about 25 miles of Tampa, Florida, ranked by USGA slope rating from each course's longest men's tees, with course rating as the tiebreaker. 24 courses have complete, verified tee data.
Also covers St. Petersburg, Palm Harbor, Lutz, Belleair, Clearwater and 8 more nearby towns.
Copperhead
Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
Palm Harbor, FL, USASlope rating 144, 76.8 course rating, Black tees, 7,340 yds
PublicLarry Packard & Roger Packard
- 3.5Conditions
- 3.5Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.6Facilities
A really tough Championship test. A great use of a rather flat piece of land. Probably the best collection of Par 5’s that I’ve seen. Despite being so close to the Gulf, it really has the forest feel of an Augusta. Hole 6 (Sidewinder) is my favorite.
Written by
@BirdiesAvenue
- Challenging
- Driving range
- Must play
Island
Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
Palm Harbor, FL, USASlope rating 144, 75.1 course rating, Black tees, 7,194 yds
PublicLarry Packard & Roger Packard
- 3.0Conditions
- 2.7Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.8Facilities
Tighter fairways than the Copperhead. Definitely a sneaky 2nd almost 1st place course on the property. The number of eucalyptus trees and OB make the course more of a challenge for higher handicap golfers
Written by
@tiebroken
- Driving range
- Pristine
- Grass range
TPC of Tampa Bay
TPC Tampa Bay
Lutz, FL, USASlope rating 140, 74.2 course rating, TPC tees, 6,898 yds
PublicBobby Weed
- 3.0Conditions
- 3.2Layout
- 2.3Value
- 2.5Scenery
- 3.1Facilities
- Driving range
- Bar
- Challenging
Old Memorial Golf Club
Tampa, FL, USASlope rating 138, 74.7 course rating, Champion tees, 7,389 yds
PrivateSteve Smyers
- 4.3Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.4Scenery
- 4.9Facilities
- Locker rooms
- Caddies
- Challenging
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
(Palmer) Saddlebrook Resort
Wesley Chapel, FL, USA
Slope rating 136, 72.5 course rating, Blue tees, 6,273 yds
Westchase Golf Club
Tampa, FL, USA
Slope rating 136, 72.0 course rating, Blue tees, 6,699 yds
Isla del Sol Yacht and Country Club
St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Slope rating 135, 70.3 course rating, Blue tees, 6,401 yds
Fox Hollow Golf Club
Trinity, FL, USA
Slope rating 134, 74.6 course rating, Black tees, 7,079 yds
Avila Golf & Country Club
Tampa, FL, USA
Slope rating 134, 72.4 course rating, Gold tees, 6,926 yds
Bardmoor Golf & Tennis Club
Largo, FL, USA
Slope rating 131, 74.2 course rating, Black tees, 7,015 yds
Renaissance Vinoy Resort
St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Slope rating 130, 70.8 course rating, Black tees, 6,590 yds
Cove Cay Country Club
Clearwater, FL, USA
Slope rating 130, 70.4 course rating, Blue tees, 6,079 yds
(East) Belleair Country Club
Belleair, FL, USA
Slope rating 129, 70.4 course rating, Black tees, 6,253 yds
Dunedin Country Club
Dunedin, FL, USA
Slope rating 128, 70.7 course rating, Blue tees, 6,625 yds
Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club
Temple Terrace, FL, USA
Slope rating 127, 70.2 course rating, Blue tees, 6,344 yds
Clearwater Country Club
Clearwater, FL, USA
Slope rating 127, 70.1 course rating, Black tees, 6,200 yds
Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club
Tampa, FL, USA
Slope rating 126, 69.8 course rating, Back tees, 6,252 yds
(South) Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
Palm Harbor, FL, USA
Slope rating 125, 71.2 course rating, Black tees, 6,442 yds
Seminole Lake Country Club
Seminole, FL, USA
Slope rating 125, 71.2 course rating, Black tees, 6,501 yds
(West) Belleair Country Club
Belleair, FL, USA
Slope rating 124, 71.3 course rating, Black tees, 6,541 yds
(Pelican Course) Belleview Biltmore Golf Club
Belleair, FL, USA
Slope rating 122, 70.3 course rating, Blue tees, 6,614 yds
Rocky Point Golf Course
Tampa, FL, USA
Slope rating 119, 70.5 course rating, Blue tees, 6,315 yds
Babe Zaharias Golf Course
Tampa, FL, USA
Slope rating 115, 69.0 course rating, Back tees, 6,020 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 Tampa, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.
FAQ
Copperhead at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club is #1 on Course Vaults in and around Tampa, Florida at Slope 144 (76.8 course rating · Black tees · 7,340 yds). 24 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 Tampa, 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 Tampa, not only courses whose address is in the city.
This page was last generated Nov 12, 2026, 3:01 AM EST. Scores and eligibility are recomputed about every hour.
