Featured Golf Course

In this section learn more about the history of the course and its hometown, see a selection of historic and current images of the course, learn about what the course is like today, and discover nearby historic sites.

The Boca Raton

History

The Boca Raton Golf Club is located in the city of Boca Raton in Palm Beach County. The Town of Boca Raton was incorporated in May of 1925, at the height of the Florida land boom. That same year, the town council commissioned noted society architect Addison Mizner to plan a world-class resort community. Mizner’s company, the Mizner Development Corporation, hired acclaimed golf course architect Donald Ross to lay out an 18-hole golf course in association with the Cloister Inn. Completed and opened in 1926, the course layout stretched across El Camino Real road with holes 1-11, 17 and 18 on the north side of the road and holes 12 -16 on the south side. The local newspaper stated that “The Cloister Inn Golf course has been literally snatched from the jungle.”

In 1927 the Mizner Development Corporation went bankrupt. Clarence Geist bought the defunct corporation’s holdings which included the Cloister Inn and Golf Course. When Geist took over the property he immediately began work on reconstructing the course. He commissioned the golf course architectural firm of Howard Toomey & William Flynn to design two new 18-hole courses. The architects designed the North Course, as it was then called, in such a way to fit all eighteen holes north of El Camino Real.

In 1997, golf course architect Gene Bates oversaw the reconstruction of the Resort Course, which included the complete redesign and reconfiguration of each of the course’s 18 holes. In 2016, the Resort course underwent a renovation to modernized and refresh while improving the overall playability of this historic course.

The 1926 Donald Ross Layout

Golfers on 18th Hole of the Donald Ross Course

The 1929 Toomey & Flynn Layout

1930 View of the Boca Raton North Course

Boca Raton Hotel and Club Scorecard - c1951 Front

Boca Raton Hotel and Club Scorecard - c1951 Back

1953 Aerial of The Boca Raton's Resort Course

Today

The 18-hole, par-71 golf course at The Boca Raton features five sets of tees playing from 4,500 to 6,200 yards.  

Discover the rich historic value and tradition of this exquisite golf course, dating back to when PGA professionals Tommy Armour and Sam Snead worked at the resort. This distinctive Resort Course with a signature water feature designed by Hugh Hughes promises to provide a truly exclusive golf experience. 

The golf course is a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Less than 3% of golf courses worldwide that have this certification. This certification helps the golf course enhance the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations, the program serves an important environmental role worldwide.

 *Please note: To enjoy play on the golf course, you must be a member or registered guest at The Boca Raton.

Tee Markers at the Boca Raton Resort and Club's Resort Course

Aerial View of 4th Fairway (Left) and 2nd Fairway (Right)

5th Green at the Resort Course

10th Tee at the Resort course

10th Fairway at the Resort Course Looking Back Towards Tee

13th Green at the Resort Course

Golfer on the Resort Course

Resort Course Scorecard - Outside

Resort Course Scorecard - Inside

Local Knowledge

The Boca Raton Golf Club is dedicated to golfing legends Tommy Armour, “the Silver Scot,” and “Slammin Sam” Sam Snead. Armour served as golf professional at the Resort from 1929 to 1955 and Snead was golf professional here from 1956 to 1969.

Thomas Dickson Armour was born in Edinburgh Scotland in 1895 and moved to America in 1920 and became a United States citizen. After turning pro in 1924 he went on to win 27 professional golf tournaments, including three of the four majors, the U.S. Open (1927), the PGA Championship (1930), and The Open (1931). Armour was known as an exceptional striker of the ball, and one of the finest wood-club players of all time.

Samuel Jackson Snead was born in Ashwood, Virginia in 1912. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events, including seven majors. PGA Championship (1942, 1949, 1951), The Open (1946), and the Masters (1949, 1952, 1954). Although he never won the U.S. Open, he was runner-up four times. Snead was known for his smooth self-taught swing and the longevity of his golf career. He still holds the record for being the oldest player, at 52, to win a PGA Tour event and the oldest to make a PGA Tour cut (when he was 67 years old).

Tommy Armour Will Be Pro at The Boca Raton

Tommy Armour c1927

Sam Snead Becomes Golf Pro at The Boca Raton

Sam Snead at The Boca Raton c1960s

Inside the Leather

The Historic Cloister Hotel - Located in the heart of the Resort, the 1926 Cloister Inn forms the eastern wing of the current resort. Famed Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner designed this hotel to house prospective investors in his planned Boca Raton development. The inn has Spanish-Mediterranean, Moorish and Gothic influences.  It is characterized by hidden gardens, barrel-tile roofs, archways, ornate columns, finials, intricate mosaics, fountains and beamed ceilings of ornate pecky cypress.  In 1927, Philadelphia utilities mogul Clarence Geist bought the property, turned it into an exclusive club, and by doing so, helped the community weather the Great Depression.

Discover the story of The Boca Raton through an engaging guided tour of this historic site. The Boca Raton Historical Society offers 1.5 hour strolling tour "walks" through the hotel’s story that includes its hoteliers, architecture, historic turning points such as the World War II years, and its incredible role in Boca Raton’s history since the 1920s. Visit Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum for more information.

 

 

Historic Image of the Cloisters Entrance

Historic Image of the Cloister's Interior

The Cloister's at The Boca Raton

The Cloister's Interior at The Boca Raton

The Cloister's Courtyard at The Boca Raton

Aerial of The Boca Raton

Visit - Contact

The Boca Raton

501 East Camino Real
Boca Raton, Florida 33432

501 East Camino Real
Boca Raton, Florida 33432

View the Website

Phone: 888.543.1277