Back of the Card:
Location: Hollywood, FL
Length: 4,939yds – 7,827yds
Architects: Bruce Delvin and Robert Von Hagge
Est. 1969
Price: $169 – $129
TL;DR
If you: like courses that are very challenging (but fair), are more layout lover than conditions snob, get excited to hit at grass driving ranges, enjoy excellent vibes, and like courses that don’t require a compass and treasure map to get to then this course is for you. It has the best layout of any course in the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood area and is near the airport and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. You’ll feel frustrated, accomplished, and mentally tougher by the end of your round. That or you’ll feel completely defeated. Either way, it’s worth it. Bottom line: If you get a chance to play The Club at Emerald Hills, play it.
The Breakdown
I chose The Club at Emerald Hills as my first course because it inspired this entire section of the website. Man, I love this place. You see, Emerald Hills was once a powerhouse of a golf course. Once private, it then became one of the best public courses in South Florida, and now it sits as an unsung hero of a course that seems to have fallen through the cracks. It held regional qualifiers for the U.S. Open and numerous other tournaments, was frequented by the likes of Michael Jordan and various golf pros, and was the place I first heard the phrase “like putting on glass”. In its heyday, Emerald Hills could challenge any player at any skill level. It very much still can. At over 7,800 yards, the course was and -to my knowledge- still is the longest course in Florida.
This Bruce Delvin and Robert Von Hagge design scheduled its first tee time in 1969 and hasn’t looked back. While it’s admittedly no longer in pristine shape, the conditions are well within the realm of playability and the layout is nearly unmatched by any public course in South Florida. It can be penal, exhilarating, frustrating, inspiring, and almost magical at times. It is a course that makes you think and suffers no fools. At this point, you must be thinking to yourself that you’ve heard of a million other courses across the country that fit a similar description; some maybe even in your own neighborhood. To you I say that is exactly my point.
No one needs me to write about Pebble Beach (though one day I will). Golfers already know the name and the history. It is a destination. A tangible dreamscape that many golfers save their whole lives to experience even once. It is heaven on earth, but not the only one. The country is littered with courses whose names are mentioned knowingly, but almost exclusively, by locals. Courses that for $35 can give you all you can handle and more when it comes to shot-making and memory creating. Courses that the everyman can play, enjoy, and then play again. While those won’t be the only courses I write about, they will likely be the most important ones.
Emerald Hills is exactly that course. It’s no destination. You won’t be scheduling your annual buddies trip here anytime soon. However, if you’re in the area, have time on your hands, love friendly staff and a challenging golf course, you’d be a fool not to play it.
Emerald Hills is my home course and for that, I am very fortunate. It is a test of golf nearly unmatched in South Florida. A course that makes me internally giggle with delight when I meet someone who is playing it for the first time. A course that will make you think and then overthink. A course whose first 18 holes really make you feel like you earned the 19th. It is a hidden gem and I would like to place my emphasis on the word “gem” in this case. With that being said, let’s get to some ratings:
Ease of Access: Located about 10 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, a half hour from Miami International Airport, 45 minutes from West Palm Beach Airport, and about 5 minutes from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino this course is as easily accessible as any I’ve ever played. If you’re ever in South Florida, I highly recommend scheduling an afternoon flight out of Ft. Lauderdale airport and a morning tee time at Emerald Hills. There’s nearly never traffic between the two destinations and lines at Ft. Lauderdale Airport are almost always short. Score: 10/10
Fairness: This is definitely a tee it forward course. Unless you’re Tiger Woods, chances are good that Emerald Hills has beaten up and taken the lunch money of many golfers better than you. This course has it all. Tight fairways, challenging bunkers, long holes, and more water than Spring Break. For all those challenges, I will give the caveat that it hardly ever punishes “good” shots. It just does an exceptional job of penalizing your bad ones. When you finish 18 at Emerald Hills you’ll feel like you just went through a battle in the best way possible. Score: 8/10
History: As I mentioned earlier, Emerald Hills used to host U.S. Open qualifiers. It was once a place that counted Michael Jordan as a member (I assume he had locker 23). It’s no Grove XXIII, but it’s still pretty cool. Score: 6/10
Memorable Holes: Some courses are front loaded or back loaded. I hate when I play a course and on the 7th hole a local says to me “just wait until the back nine. That’s when it gets interesting.” It’s like when that one friend harasses you watch a show and says “you just have to make it to season three. Then it gets good.” There’s none of that at Emerald Hills. Holes 4-7 will force you to make an array of choices and heroic shots on the front and holes 12, 13, 15, 17, and 18 will keep you engaged until the very end. Score: 7.5/10
Setting: Nothing to see here. Just a course nestled between some very unfortunately located houses. That said, the water is nice (when your ball isn’t in it) and South Florida scenery is kind of like pizza. Even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. The setting of Emerald Hills is far from bad, but it’s nothing to write home about. Score: 6/10
Course Conditions: This one hurts. It’s probably the biggest knock you hear from most people. To me, the course is in fine condition. It is always playable. You’re hardly ever going to find yourself on dirt patches or anything like that. However, it can definitely get a little overgrown from time to time. To me, the layout is more than good enough to make up for it and I’d choose it over pretty much any other public South Florida course. If you’re a conditions snob that needs to exclusively hit off velvet, play out of sand so soft it has a thread count, and putt on greens smoother than James Bond then please find somewhere else to play and leave the good tee times to the rest of us. Score: 7.5/10
Doak Scale: This is a shotmaker’s course from tee to hole. You need to be sharp everywhere. In fact, it is maybe my favorite layout of all the public golf courses available in South Florida. Score: 5/10
How Impressed/Jealous Will Other Golfers Be When You Tell Them You Played This Course: Let’s review:
- It’s in South Florida
- It’s near a casino
- Michael Jordan used to be a member there
- It held regional U.S. Open qualifiers
- It has a grass driving range
None of these will have you confusing this place with Augusta National, but they’re all pretty cool. Score: 7/10
Overall Experience: This isn’t a plush country club (anymore) or a world-renowned golf destination. What it is, is a place that has good bones, a friendly staff that loves it, and will kick your butt if you aren’t on your game. The staff here just gets it. When they were a fancy private club, the staff got it. When they became a high-end public course, the staff got it. Now they’re a local track with great history, but no longer a premier destination and you know what? The staff still gets it. They’re friendly, courteous, fun, remember their locals, and play great music outside the clubhouse. I’d like to particularly shoutout Travis and Paula from the pro shop, but the truth is, everyone here is excellent. In short, it’s your standard public home course – if you’re lucky. Score: 8/10
X-Factor: There’s no one thing that separates Emerald Hills from other courses. However, it does have a lot of little things that add up to a pretty great experience. Heck, just the fact that you can play golf there in the winter is enough to give it some juice for most of the world. Throw in some history, great staff, a cool locker room, and the challenge of the course and there’s something about the place that will just give you good vibes. If I have one issue with the course it’s that they never took the time to establish a great logo. I want to rep this course so badly, but they make it hard when their logo is literally just the fully written “The Club at Emerald Hills” in a loopy font. I’m not saying I don’t do it anyway; I’m just saying I’m not as excited about it. Score: 6/10
Total Score: 71/100
As I look at this score, I fear it may be too low. Or perhaps I’m just a very harsh grader. One thing I’d like to make abundantly clear is that I love The Club at Emerald Hills. It’s a great course that feels like home. As I go through my course ranking exercise, I’m curious to see how I will rank other courses that I feel less passionately about. Maybe 71 will prove to be a fairly high score, maybe I’ll have to come back and readjust it. There are some courses I have in the pipeline that I would definitely consider lesser competitors, but if they come out ahead I’ll need to reassess. If there’s one thing that I want to leave you with though it is that The Club at Emerald Hills is an excellent course that is worthy of your time, money, and respect.
The Awards
Marion Hollins Best Hole Award:
Winner- Hole 5
This was so tough. Arguments could easily be made for all the honorable mention holes below, but ultimately I chose 5 because it is a risk-reward par 5 and I will always have an affinity for those. Technically, the hole is 642 yards from the back tees, but no one ever plays those. You can tell because they haven’t cut the tree that blocks the tee box in quite some time and it takes nearly a 300 yard drive from there to reach the beginning of the fairway. Playing from the closer “tips” cuts about 100 yards off the hole. It’s 90 degree dogleg left that can either tremendously punish or greatly reward long hitters. Your second shot can either be used to layup in front of a water hazard that’s about 80 yards from the green, or you can leave the layups to basketball and try and make a carry between 200 and 250 yards depending on how much you cutoff with your drive. Honorable mention: 4, 6, 13, 15, 18
The Coldstone Gotta Have It Award:
Emerald Hills T-Shirt with routing
Historically, there wasn’t much to get excited about in the Emerald Hills pro shop. The course has pretty much no logo and it sold your standard array of hats, balls, ball markers, and polos. However, they recently started selling the above shirt and it is just the type I am an absolute sucker for. The real reason I give the edge to the routing shirt is because it’s one of the comfiest I own. Honorable Mention: This hoodie that says “I Survived A Round At Emerald Hills”
Lake M Award for Hazard That Will Plague You Every Round:
Winner: Water Hazard Holes 5 & 6
Am I already cheating on my first course review? Yes. Yes I am. Why? Because it’s important to set the tone early. Both holes 5 and 6 have incredibly daunting water hazards guarding their greens. However, since the holes are next to each other, the water hazards are actually one body of water. I’m going to use that as enough justification to include that water hazard and both holes. Honorable Mention: 18 (water hazard), 3 (grass bunker left of the green), 8 (water hazard down the right), 12 (water behind the green), 15 (water in front and right of the green)
From The Tips
Hole 1:
Be careful with your club selection off the tee. It’s very easy to run through the fairway if you aren’t taking it over the trees on the left or hitting a severe draw.
Hole 4:
I like to play an iron off the tee here because the ball will end up on pretty level ground with the elevated green. If you hit a driver, you can roll downhill and even though it’s a shorter shot, it’s a pretty steep uphill elevation change. Also, aim for the middle of the green here. It’s built like a domed volcano and you do not want to run down the sides.
Hole 8:
10/10 times it will play longer than you think.
Hole 12:
10/10 times it will play shorter than you think. Be careful not to go off the back of the green and into the water.
Hole 13:
The water in the right comes in further than you think. Stay left!
Hole 15:
Play to the furthest left part of the fairway. Otherwise, you’ll have a giant palm tree blocking your look at the green.
Hole 16:
Cut off as much of the dogleg as you can. Hitting a straight drive can leave you a doozy of an approach.
Hole 18:
I don’t care where the pin is; play to the left side of the green. Everything slopes sharply to the water on the right.
That’s it. There isn’t much more to say. The Club At Emerald Hills is a great course, a humbling experience, and a good time all rolled into one. If you get a chance to play it, don’t pass it up. It promises to be a day to remember, with some shots to forget. On the way out, don’t forget to grab a hoodie from the pro shop so that everyone knows you “survived a round at Emerald Hills”. (5.7)
