Drew Dixon
While politics and business often go hand in hand, the nexus for both endeavors often ends up on a golf course, as deals are made and accords are struck.
A new analysis shows Florida has among the best cities for golf, and surprisingly, some of the worst.
Florida has long been known as the land of links for its abundance of golf courses just about anywhere in the state. But Orlando was ranked the fourth best city in the country for golfing, according to LawnStarter, a lawn maintenance and business advocacy website.
The report for the top 2025 cities for golf found that Florida, in general, is always reliable for finding solid golf courses.
“Florida balances luxury and accessibility, with exclusive private courses in West Palm Beach (No. 58) and top public fairways in Orlando (No. 4),” the report concluded.
Two other Florida cities appeared in the top 25. Tampa came in 13th and Fort Myers was listed as the 23rd best city for golfing in the country.
While Florida had three golfing cities in the top 25, Arizona dominated that frame, with eight cities. Scottsdale ranked first, and Phoenix came in second.
California had six cities listed in the top 25.
LawnStarter compared 500 of the nation’s largest cities and factored in elements such as the number of private and public golf courses, driving ranges, competitions and user ratings, among two dozen other factors to arrive at an equation that formulated the list.
Sunbelt state cities dominated the top 10. Only three northern cities were ranked in the top 25, including New York City at fifth, Chicago at seventh and Denver at 11th. Florida was well represented in the top 100, with 12 Sunshine State towns appearing.
While Florida had solid representation and bragging rights in the top 100, the state also took some heat for having one of the worst cities for golf in the country. Homestead in South Florida was ranked the sixth-worst city for golf in the United States.
New Britain, Connecticut, was ranked the worst city in the country for golf amenities followed by Fargo, North Dakota. Then came by Bloomington, Indiana, as third worst, Odessa, Texas at No. 4 and Fort Smith, Arkansas, at No. 5.
