A view of the 18th green from Saddlebrook at Saddlebrook Golf & Tennis Resort.
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Rating Index Rating
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3.9
570 Reviews (570)
5 Stars
189
4 Stars
222
3 Stars
85
2 Stars
40
1 Stars
34
Conditions
3.7
Value
3.9
Layout
4.5
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
4.4
Amenities
3.9
79.7%
Recommend this course
436 out of 570 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
43 Reviews (43)
5 Stars
15
4 Stars
19
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
4
Conditions
4.0
Value
3.8
Layout
4.5
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.1
StaffFriendliness
4.4
86.0%
Recommend this course
37 out of 43 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
81 Reviews (81)
5 Stars
29
4 Stars
39
3 Stars
6
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
6
Conditions
4.0
Value
3.9
Layout
4.5
Pace
4.4
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.4
87.7%
Recommend this course
71 out of 81 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Resort
Par 70
Length 6480 yards
Slope 142
Rating 72.3

The Saddlebrook Resort boasts 36 holes of championship golf designed by Arnold Palmer. The resort sprawls across 480 acres of lush, rolling hills covered with groves of tall cypress trees and swaying palms that weave through sparkling blue lagoons. The Saddlebrook Course is the tighter and flatter of the two courses at the resort but the layout offers a mix of wide and narrow fairways. Palmer equipped the layout with beautifully designed par 4s and par 5s framed with moss-draped cypresses. Water is a more prominent feature on this golf course with ponds and lakes coming into play on 14 holes. There are also more than 50 sand bunkers that are strategically placed along the greensides and near the landing zones on a few of the doglegs. The course has a memorable finish with a lengthy par 4 that doglegs right with water all along the right side.

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Course Details

Year Built 1976
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Dean Refram Ed Seay (1986) Arnold Palmer (1986)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School Academy Yes - "Saddlebrook Golf Academy"
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Snacks, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities, Spa

Available Activities

Swimming, Billiards

Available Sports

Fitness

Reviews

3.9
570 Reviews (570)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 9
Patio Dining 9
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 23
Water Hazards 23
Narrow Fairways 20
This course/club is great for:
Locals 16
A Weekend Splurge 14
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 14
This Course's Location is:
At a Resort 23
Worth the Drive 13
Convenient to the City 11

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Course was in great shape.

Course was in great shape. A couple of traps
could of used some more sand. Greens were true
And rolled well. 1 st time playing the Saddlebrook
18. Enjoyed it as much as the Palmer 18.
Well worth the money!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Greens were surprisingly slow. I would expect a Troon course to be much better. Also, we never saw a beverage cart the whole day.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 122
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 500 Contributor
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Saddle Brook Course

My first time on this course. I played the Palmer course on my last visit. Course was in good shape with some weeds on both the fairway and greens, but this really didn't impact play that. much. Overall, puts rolled true, although I thought the greens were a bit slow.. There re is a lot of water on the course, so shot placement and proper club selection is essential.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Decent course

The golf course was good for it being off-season. The "resort" was weird. Directions to the clubhouse were difficult to find. Hint: it's not near the golf practice facility as the address suggest. Valet parking is required at the resort entrance and they'll shuttle you to the pro shop. Valet is free with tee time purchase. Overall, I expected more but if the green fees are below $40; it's a deal.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Saddlebrook

Saddlebrook is always a great course to play. Everyone is very friendly and it is very challenging.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Course conditions

Course conditions were fair to poor. The greens had pits and spots all over along with crab grass. Fairways had clippings in clumps stopping roll on the fairways.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once every three months
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fine

Course is nice, well kept. Pace of play was quite enjoyable. Parking and getting your clubs set up on your cart is a hassle. Same when returning the cart. Zero water coolers, and never saw an on course drink vendor during play. Paid just under $60, might consider again for a deal around $40.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 50
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Best in Tampa ? .. maybe so

Since I've played all the top courses in the Tampa Bay area I am asked which is best ? ..well .. World Woods was #1 before Cabot bought it and now it's under construction and not open ... Saddlebrook/Saddlebrook is now the #1 Public Golf Course in Tampa Bay and vicinity . The facility and course conditions are magnificent and even if you didn't play golf and just to rode around Saddlebrook is worth the day out . The course is lined with the most magnificent trees in all of Florida and no other course in Tampa Bay is so awesome just to be on . PLAY this course and you'll see why Saddlebrook/Saddlebrook is the #1 Course in all Tampa and you'll thank me later .. P.S - The Palmer Course at Saddlebrook is not this review so remember to book Saddlebrook-Saddlebrook ONLY !!!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 22
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

An adventure

You gotta know where to go, and it’s not self explanatory… but once you get to the course it did not disappoint. The Valet lot was full so we had to retreat to an auxiliary lot and ride the shuttle back to the resort center where we carried our clubs a few hundred yards before reaching the cart staging area. Everyone was very kind and helpful throughout our visit. The course is in very nice shape and we played in just over 3 hours. Didn’t see much of anyone out on the course mid morning on a weekday. Would definitely go back and feel much more confident in navigating now that we’ve been there once. Lost lots of time in the parking scramble debacle so didn’t warm up or putt at all. It was a steal at the Hot Deal rate!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 30
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Wet weather
Used cart

technical course, great challenge

The course was great. Even though it had rained a lot overnight, greens had no puddles, they were just wet since it was still early morning. It was HOT. Only disappointment was with the amenities- there were practically none. No cart girl selling drinks or water, no restaurant (calls to pool bar were unanswered, later we found out they were "closed for weeks"). Note to bring your own water/drinks or grab a gatorade at the shop if you play on a Friday AM as nothing will be offered on course.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Too Hot

Nothing to do with the course but this is difficult weather to play golf in. The heat is bad but its the humidity that gets you wet, effects grip and vision.

The course is very challenging as sandtraps are located exactly where if you make good contact but are 25 feet to left or right, you will find yourself in the sand. The sand is very hard, not easy to control the shot.

Course layout is one of the best I've played in the Tampa Bay area. I would like to play here when it hasn't rained so much as the rough ate up balls. Grass was so thick balls dissappeared. Greens I thought were a little slow and some have bare spots and weeds. Tee boxes and fairways were fine.

It is a beautiful course and I enjoyed playing it. Now that I know how the greens roll, next time I will have a better day with the putter.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 7
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 38
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
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