Old Palm Golf Club

Detailed description of Old Palm Golf Club

Old Palm Golf Club is a private, 18-hole golf course located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The course first opened for play in 2004. The course was designed by Raymond Floyd.

Old Palm will test all aspects of a player’s game: power on holes like the 598-yard 4th, where Floyd dug a large lake both to create elevation and to help irrigation, and the 537-yard 9th; accuracy and precision on the 418-yard 7th and 396-yard 8th, where players need to avoid well-placed trees and water hazards; the short game on the 433-yard 3rd, where a large bunker protects the left side of the green, while big humps and swales guard the right side, making for varied shot selection.

While the front nine sits on open land, the back nine moves through the trees. “There’s a total change of landscape from the front to the back,” says Floyd. “

One of the hallmarks of the back nine is its elevated greens that call to mind Donald Ross, most notably on the 452-yard 16th, which has a putting surface that falls off on all sides, leaving those who miss the green with plenty of recovery options, from putter to lob wedge.

The back nine also has a number of strong par 4s—the 470-yard 10th, 478-yard 14th and 486-yard 18th—that test driving skills. Members making double bogeys on these holes can blame Floyd’s sons, Robert and Ray Jr.; the original layout was 300 yards shorter than the current yardage, but Floyd added distance after seeing how far they were hitting drives.

Mercifully, all it takes is a wedge to play the 99-yard 19th hole, which has an island green.