Real Estate for Golfers in Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota, Florida is a city with a rich golf history, as well as a number of world-class golf courses and high-class golf communities for golf pros and golf enthusiasts alike. Golfers find that Sarasota's temperate climate (the annual average temperature is 73 degrees) makes the area irresistible. With a number of beautiful residential and gated communities centered around spectacular golf courses, it's no surprise that golf is a big draw for so many who are buying real estate in Sarasota.

Sarasota Golf History

The city became a golf destination early in its history. Colonel John Hamilton Gillespie, a Scottish aristocrat who became known as "the Father of Sarasota," arrived from Scotland in 1886 and built what was likely the first golf venue in America, a two-hole "course" in downtown Sarasota. He went on to become one of Florida's first championship golfers.

Another Scotsman, Donald Ross, designed the first 18-hole course here (Whitfield Estates Country Club) and achieved some acclaim in the 1920s as a prominent golf course architect.

Renown golfer Bobby Ross was hired by the city of Sarasota to design a municipal golf course, and when this public golf course opened in 1927, it was named the Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Sarasota Golf Courses Today

Today, Whitfield Estates is the Sara Bay Country Club, and the Bobby Jones Golf Club remains Sarasota’s only municipal golf facility with 45 holes.

More than 80 public, private, and semi-private golf courses are located within or close to Sarasota, including courses designed by Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones, and Arnold Palmer. Every golf enthusiast, from the amateur to the seasoned professional, will find plenty of opportunities and challenges in this great golf city.

For your very own tour of golf communities in Sarasota, contact us today (941) 918-1956. As highly qualified and experienced Exclusive Buyer Agents for Sarasota real estate, we've helped golf enthusiasts all over the world discover the very best golf communities, homes for sale, waterfront properties, beach houses, maintenance-free condos, and more luxury real estate in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Lido Key, Bird Key, Casey Key, Longboat Key, Palmer Ranch, Lakewood Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis, Venice Island, and the surrounding areas on Florida's Gulf Coast.