Short answer: if you're a Boca Raton golfer looking for a solid, affordable round without the resort markup, Palm Beach National is the better everyday pick. If you're planning a bucket-list weekend on a PGA TOUR host course with hotel, spa, and fine dining attached, PGA National Resort is built for that. Both sit in Palm Beach County, roughly 20 to 40 minutes north of Boca — but they play in very different leagues, at very different price points.
Here's the head-to-head, straight up.
The Quick Take: Two Courses, Two Very Different Buyers
Palm Beach National Golf Club is a public, daily-fee 18-hole course in Lake Worth at 7500 St Andrews Rd. It's a Joe Lee and Porter Gibson design that opened in 1962 — classic, tree-lined, walkable, no resort attached. Just golf.
PGA National Resort sits at 400 Avenue of the Champions in Palm Beach Gardens. It's a full luxury resort with 90 to 99 holes across multiple championship layouts, a 339-room hotel, and a roughly 40,000-square-foot spa. The Champion course hosts the Cognizant Classic on the PGA TOUR and once hosted the 1983 Ryder Cup and the 1987 PGA Championship.
Neither is technically in Boca Raton — but both are an easy drive up I-95 or the Turnpike from neighborhoods like Boca West, East Boca, or the Woodfield area. Which one is worth your time and money depends entirely on what you're trying to get out of the day.
Course Specs: What You're Actually Playing
Palm Beach National
One 18-hole par 72 course. From the Black tees it plays 6,734 yards with a 73.0 rating and 132 slope. Move up to the Blues (6,554 yards) or Whites (6,206) and it gets very playable. Gold tees at 5,679 yards keep things fair for shorter hitters. Tifdwarf greens, Bermuda fairways, generous landing areas — a course you can walk, learn, and actually score on.
PGA National Resort
You've got options. A lot of them.
- The Champion: 5,061 to 7,081 yards, par 72, rating 66.0 to 77.0. Home of the Bear Trap.
- The Palmer: 4,044 to 7,077 yards, par 72, rating 61.3 to 79.4.
- The Fazio: 4,054 to 6,977 yards, par 72, rating 60.7 to 77.5.
- The Match: A par-54 short course, 1,823 to 5,789 yards.
Golf Digest lists the Palmer at 7,079 yards with a 141 slope. GolfLink puts the Champion at 7,048 yards, 75.3 rating, 147 slope. Translation: from the tips, PGA National can bite. Hard.
Difficulty: How Punishing Is It, Really?
Palm Beach National is moderate. A 132 slope from the back tees is real, but the fairways are forgiving and the layout rewards steady ball-striking over heroics. Mid- and high-handicap players don't leave feeling wrecked. The greens are the defense — smooth, quick, and legitimately demanding.
PGA National, particularly the Champion, is a different animal. Water in play, deep bunkering, and tournament-caliber setups mean scores can balloon fast if you're not tee-choosing carefully. The good news: with multiple courses and multiple tee boxes ranging into the low 4,000-yard territory, you can dial the difficulty down. The bad news: green fees don't scale down with your handicap.
Pricing: The Biggest Gap Between These Two
This is where the buyer profiles really split.
PGA National's Champion course runs around $193 for an estimated 18-hole green fee per GolfLink. Their stay-and-play packages start at roughly $615 for 2 nights and 2 rounds, or $1,099 for 3 nights and 3 rounds. Standard hotel rooms range from about $186 to $418 a night, with peak season — the snowbird months from October through May — pushing the top end.
Palm Beach National is positioned in the value-oriented daily-fee tier that defines most Palm Beach County public golf. Exact rack rates shift by season, but you're looking at a fraction of what a Champion round costs. For Boca Raton golfers playing weekly, monthly, or as part of a league, that math matters.
Quick reality check on South Florida seasonality: prices across the county climb noticeably from November through April when the snowbird population swells, and drop through the summer humidity and afternoon-thunderstorm months. Book smart around that pattern and both courses get more affordable.
Amenities Beyond the Golf
Palm Beach National keeps it focused: driving range, chipping and putting areas, teaching pro, carts and rentals, walkable layout. That's the pitch — good golf, no fuss.
PGA National is the opposite pitch. Nine restaurants and lounges. A 40,000-square-foot spa with the "Waters of the World" mineral pools. A 33,000-square-foot health and racquet club with 16 to 19 tennis courts. A 34,000-square-foot conference wing. Instruction from the David Leadbetter Golf Academy, Dave Pelz Scoring School, and Titleist Performance Institute. If you're building a weekend around golf-plus-everything-else, it's built for that.
Which Course Fits Which Boca Raton Golfer?
Go with Palm Beach National if you're...
- A Boca Raton local who plays weekly or in a league and wants a reliable, affordable home course
- A mid- or higher-handicap player who prefers playable fairways over tournament-grade punishment
- Someone who'd rather walk 18 with a friend than pay resort overhead for amenities you won't use
- Looking for a course that welcomes casual rounds without a stiff, formal atmosphere
Go with PGA National Resort if you're...
- Planning a destination golf weekend, bachelor trip, or corporate outing
- A low-handicap player who genuinely wants to test yourself on a PGA TOUR host venue
- Traveling with a partner or group who wants the spa, tennis, and dining alongside the golf
- Comfortable with resort-tier green fees and hotel rates, especially in peak season
The Honest Bottom Line for 2026
These aren't really competitors — they're different products. PGA National is a luxury resort experience with championship pedigree and pricing to match. Palm Beach National is a classic Florida daily-fee course built around accessible, repeatable golf. Both do their job well. The question is which job you're hiring the course to do.
For most Boca Raton golfers — the ones playing regularly, keeping their scores honest, and not looking to drop a thousand bucks on a weekend — a Joe Lee design at daily-fee pricing hits the sweet spot far more often than a resort round. Save PGA National for the birthday trip, the client outing, or the once-a-year splurge.
FAQ
Is Palm Beach National or PGA National closer to Boca Raton?
Palm Beach National in Lake Worth is generally the shorter drive from Boca Raton, sitting roughly 20 miles north. PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens is closer to 30 to 40 miles north depending on your Boca neighborhood and traffic on I-95.
Can the public play PGA National Resort?
Yes. PGA National is a public resort with a private-equity membership club layered on top. Resort guests and daily-fee players can book tee times on the championship courses, though rates reflect the luxury positioning.
How hard is the Champion course at PGA National?
Very hard from the back tees. Ratings run up to 77.0 and external sources report slopes as high as 147 on the Championship setup. Move forward a tee or two and it becomes far more manageable for the average golfer.
What's the best time of year to play golf in Palm Beach County?
October through May is peak season with the best weather but the highest green fees and hotel rates. Summer offers dramatically lower pricing, but you'll be dodging afternoon thunderstorms and dealing with peak Florida humidity.
Where to Go From Here
If you're a Boca Raton golfer looking for a course you can actually play regularly — good conditioning, classic design, honest pricing — Palm Beach National Golf & Country Club is worth a look. You can check tee times, course details, and current rates at palmbeachnational.com. And if PGA National is on your bucket list for a special weekend, do that too. The two aren't mutually exclusive — they're just built for different days.
