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 golf course. He commissioned the golf course architectural firm of Howard Toomey & William Flynn of Philadelphia, 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. Toomey & Flynn used the existing routing of several of the holes that Ross had laid out and incorporated them into their new design. Both the North and South golf courses officially open in January 1930.
In the mid-1950s, golf course architect Robert Trent Jones completed some minor work followed by Joe Lee’s much more extensive renovations in 1988. In 1997, golf course architect Gene Bates oversaw the reconstruction of the golf course, which included the complete redesign and reconfiguration of each of the course’s 18 holes. In 2016, the course underwent another renovation to modernize 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. Dramatic landscape and beautiful vistas can be found on the course as well as a signature island-green finishing hole. The course is proud to be an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Those wanting to improve their swings can use the driving range with state-of- the-art Toptracer technology.
*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