A guide to Tampa’s golf course homes and clubs from David Wertz, a former golf professional with 12 years in Tampa Bay real estate.
Updated
Tampa Bay’s golf communities range from Palma Ceia, Tampa’s oldest private club (1916), to Tom Fazio’s course at Hunter’s Green, Arthur Hills’ at Tampa Palms, TPC Tampa Bay in Cheval, Jack Nicklaus’ Avila, Carrollwood’s 27 holes, and public courses in Westchase, Lutz, Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel. The biggest differences for buyers are club ownership, whether membership is required, and where a home sits on the hole. David Wertz, a former Assistant Golf Professional at Tampa Palms Country Club with 12 years in Tampa Bay real estate, helps buyers and sellers weigh all three.
Before real estate, David Wertz worked as an Assistant Golf Professional at Tampa Palms Country Club from 2009 to 2011. He learned how a club runs from the inside: memberships, tee sheets, course conditioning, tournaments and the members who make a club what it is.
For the past 12 years, David has represented buyers and sellers across Tampa Bay with Wertz Group at Compass. Golf has stayed central to his life. He is the founder of Scored Golf, Tournament Chair of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay’s Tees Fore Tails golf tournament, and a former Advisory Board member of First Tee – Tampa Bay.
That combination matters when you buy or sell a golf course home. David knows how a hole plays, how a club is owned and governed, and how those details show up in a home’s price.
Thirteen communities across North Tampa, South and Central Tampa, and Pasco County, with each club’s course, access and membership model. Club details come from each club’s own published information as of October 29, 2026; confirm current terms with the club.
Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club · New Tampa, 33647
18-hole Arthur Hills design, certified as an Audubon sanctuary course.
Full Golf, Sports and Social memberships. Living in Tampa Palms doesn’t require joining, and you don’t have to live there to join.
Sources: Tampa Palms Country Club
Hunter’s Green Country Club · New Tampa, 33647
Tom Fazio design, par 72, 6,877 yards, built in 1989, through pine flatwoods, wetlands and lakes.
Club membership is optional and separate from the homeowners’ association, with Golf and Social options.
Sources: Hunter’s Green golf course, Hunter’s Green membership
TPC Tampa Bay · Lutz, 33558
Built in 1991 by PGA TOUR chief architect Bobby Weed with player consultant Chi Chi Rodriguez, routed through wetlands, cypress heads and lagoons.
Part of the TPC network. Members get advance tee times, member events and tournaments.
Avila Golf & Country Club · North Tampa
Jack Nicklaus-designed championship course inside one of Tampa’s most prestigious gated communities.
Membership is by invitation only. Under the club’s bylaws it is non-equity: the course and clubhouse are owned by SICO, Inc., not the members.
Sources: Avila membership, Avila bylaws
Heritage Isles Golf & Country Club · New Tampa, 33647
Gordon G. Lewis and Jed Azinger design, par 72, 6,976 yards from the back tees, with five sets of tees.
Open to the public, with a club program for regular players.
Sources: Heritage Isles course
Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club · South Tampa, 33629
Founded in 1916 as Tampa’s oldest private golf club, routed by Tom Bendelow and renovated by Donald Ross in 1923. Host of the Gasparilla Invitational since 1956.
Membership is by invitation only, through the club’s bylaws process. Homes nearby are one of South Tampa’s most sought-after pockets.
Sources: Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club, Palma Ceia membership, Golf Club Atlas history
Carrollwood Country Club · Carrollwood, 33618
Founded in 1972 as Carrollwood Village Golf & Country Club, with 27 holes across the Cypress, Meadow and Pine nines.
Full Golf, Lifestyle and Social memberships, each with a one-time initiation fee and monthly dues.
Westchase Golf Club · Westchase, 33626
Lloyd Clifton design, par 72, 6,699 yards, winding through wetlands, wooden bridges and bulkheads.
A public course inside the Westchase community, so golf comes without a club membership.
Sources: Westchase Golf Club
Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club · Dade City, 33525
Two 18-hole courses: the South, by Tom Lehman and Kurt Sandness (1999), and the North, by Steve Sandness. Rolling hills and elevation changes rarely found in Florida.
Golf is semi-private and open to the public, about 20 minutes from North Tampa.
Sources: Lake Jovita, Where2Golf course profile
Saddlebrook Resort · Wesley Chapel, 33543
Rees Jones and Bryce Swanson reworked the resort’s former 36 holes into 27 interchangeable holes: Oak, Pine and Cypress.
A resort setting. If you’re looking at a home near the course, ask how the redesign changed its views.
Sources: Saddlebrook golf courses
Heritage Harbor Golf & Country Club · Lutz, 33558
Par 72, about 6,900 yards, with four sets of tees and plenty of water and marsh carries.
Built as a playable public course next to the community’s resort-style Harbor Towne Clubhouse.
Sources: Heritage Harbor course, Heritage Harbor
Plantation Palms Golf Club · Land O’ Lakes, 34639
Par 72 Dave Harman design with TifEagle greens, a lighted driving range and short-game area.
Open to the public, with a passholder program for regulars.
Sources: Plantation Palms Golf Club
Lexington Oaks Golf Club · Wesley Chapel
Gordon Lewis design, par 72, 6,748 yards, opened in January 2000 with an equestrian theme.
A public course inside a master-planned Wesley Chapel community.
Sources: Lexington Oaks Golf Club, Golf Digest
Homes along the right side of a landing zone catch most errant tee shots from right-handed players. Homes behind a green or beside a tee box usually see far fewer. We walk the hole, not just the yard.
A member-owned equity club, a non-equity club owned by a company, a management-company club and a public course each carry different long-term risks for the course you’re paying to look at.
Mandatory, optional or by invitation; initiation fees, dues, waitlists and whether membership transfers with the home. These change what a buyer can do and what the next buyer will pay.
Mowers start early, aerification closes courses for days at a time, and irrigation and drainage show up in your yard. A course’s upkeep tells you a lot about the club’s finances.
A west-facing back yard gets the afternoon sun. A long fairway view can mean more foot and cart traffic. We weigh each against how you’ll actually use the home.
Renovations and redesigns change views and values. Saddlebrook, for example, recently went from 36 holes to 27.
Golf buyers shop by course, club and hole as much as by bedroom count. We price against golf-front and off-course sales in the same community, explain the club’s membership path clearly, and photograph the view the way a golfer would look for it.
As a Compass seller, you can also use Compass Concierge to prepare the home and the Compass 3-Phased Marketing Strategy to test the market before going public. See how we sell.
In Tampa Palms and Hunter’s Green, club membership is optional and separate from the home. Westchase, Heritage Isles, Heritage Harbor, Plantation Palms and Lexington Oaks are built around public or public-access courses, so you can play without joining a private club.
Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club in South Tampa was founded in 1916 and is Tampa’s oldest private golf club. Donald Ross renovated the course in 1923, and the club has hosted the Gasparilla Invitational since 1956.
In an equity club the members own the club, as at member-owned Palma Ceia. In a non-equity club a company owns the course and facilities and members pay for access. Avila’s bylaws, for example, state that SICO, Inc. owns the club and members hold no equity. Ownership affects who decides on dues, renovations and the course’s future.
Yes. TPC Tampa Bay in the Cheval community in Lutz was designed by PGA TOUR chief architect Bobby Weed with player consultant Chi Chi Rodriguez and opened in 1991.
Check where the lot sits on the hole and how often balls land in the yard, who owns the club, whether membership is required or transferable, maintenance schedules, sun direction, HOA and any CDD fees, and whether the course has renovation plans. David walks the hole with buyers before they write an offer.
David Wertz worked as an Assistant Golf Professional at Tampa Palms Country Club from 2009 to 2011 before spending 12 years in Tampa Bay real estate. He reads a course the way a member will live with it, from shot patterns and conditioning to how a club is run, and pairs that with pricing data on golf-front and off-course sales.
Tell David which communities, clubs or courses you’re considering. He’ll follow up personally with current listings, recent sales and membership details.
David will be in touch soon, usually the same day. Need us sooner? Call 813-951-6151.