Boca Royale Golf & Country Club

I would like to preface this review and say that I am not one to typically leave negative reviews and will try to be as fair as possible. I will say that the course is a perfect blend of beautiful and challenging. However I am 100% confident I will never return to the establishment, which is a shame because again I did truly enjoy the course layout and conditions. Last, I was raised proper and carry my self with manners, I am polite, and always dress with appropriate golf attire...no matter the course.

That being said my experience with the staff is where this round got ugly. Other than the yardages being way off on every hole anywhere 25-50 yards in every instance with no consistency. Upon pulling into the course the signage is terrible for getting to the golf club house. By the time I was out of my car and realized I was all the way at the wrong end of the parking lot I figured, "hey its a beautiful morning Ill just walk, nbd." I made it approx. 1/4 of the distance to where the nearest golf carts were when a greeter (didn't get his name i was so taken back) walks out into the middle of the parking lot and stares at me. and stares at me. and stares at me. Not breaking eye contact the entire walk until i was maybe 50-100 ft away when the first thing out of his mouth is "where the h**l did you come from" Rather than hoping on one of the many available golf carts to come pick me up as he sees i'm carrying my bag, he continued to dig into the fact of how "strange" and "weird" it was that I parked where I did. Frankly of the some odd 1000 rounds of golf I've played at every type of course this was by far my worst greeting experience of any course I've ever played. Being that this is a country club with memberships I was even more taken back. What if I was there to consider becoming a member? It got to the point where I had to ask the anything-but-gentleman "if there was a problem with where I parked? And if he and I had an issue." At that stage I think he may have realized how out of line he was to speak to a patron in such a manner. Not that he would know this but this was a round for my Birthday, and not that I deserve any special treatment for that but really was not what I had hoped for or come to expect from country club staff at any other course I've ever played. One would think someone would at least say welcome to our course or ask a friendly question about where I had traveled from (over 35 minutes) to pay to use their facility.

At that point I learned there was no driving range but could use the hitting nets and putting green. Once arriving there obviously no one had cleaned up the balls and it was a total mud pit. once I finished warming up the long game i turned to see the chipping green no one mentioned. I scattered balls anywhere from 10 yards to 30 yards away from the green to work on the best part of my game. I was consistently around the pins I was targeting. It was after maybe 10 balls the tennis pro came out from his court and literally yelled at me "you cant hit that far back! That's pitching not chipping" Now I obliged but was disgusted by his tone and approach. Shoot, I had never been to this course before and there was no signage specifying the area was not supposed to be used for chipping. No, "excuse me sir" or "i'm sorry to bother you" or "im sorry for the inconvenience." Just stern tone and elevated voice.

Moments later, 25 minutes before my tee time, the same rude greeter/starter from before, grunts "are you ready to go the guys we had you paired with already took off." I politely said, " well I've hit about 10 chips and haven't even putt yet so no." It appeared he was disgruntled by this through his body language. Even though I had a scheduled tee time that I built my morning and round preparation around.

Once finished I hit the course. But before doing so the same obnoxious started says to me, "oh just so you know the course plays a lot longer that whats on the card." I'm old school and don't like to use range finders but there wasn't a single instance where the yardage wasn't off significantly from that depicted in the card. I had no idea how challenging it would be but I can certainly say anyone who has played the game and tries to play well knows that it takes a tremendous amount of focus to score well on a new and challenging course. I take responsibility that I couldn't get my mind off the ridiculous experience I had just had however I do believe that it is the greeting staffs' responsibility to create a warm and welcoming environment that allows golfers to relax and not be distracted from the task at hand. It is not their responsibility to make the game any harder with multiple distractions.

I will make this very clear unless you have very strong mental game you will struggle here. I give you my word, this was my first experience at this course and It will certainly be my last. Proceed with caution in membership or a summer public round.

Management I strongly suggest you take a good hard look at how your customer facing staff in golf or tennis areas are treating your patrons.

Extremely disappointed and if it weren't for the tremendous efforts of your greens staff my overall review would be 1 of 5 stars.

Was harassed by the ranger for not playing fast enough.He said we should be playing 9 holes in One hour and thirty to one hour and fourty five minutes.We did each side in one hour and fifty minutes.I sure you have two hours per side.Ranger followed us for two holes.Don’t play this course.Course was in tough shape.

Tee boxes were a mess. Rough fairways. Extremely fast greens Price should be lower as it took a beating from Ian.

Been playing at Boca for 2 years. It keeps getting worse. Tee boxes, fairways, roughs and greens are all in poor condition. Weeds, crab grass, and brown patches are taking over the entire course. Cart paths are bumpy with busted up concrete throughout. Sandhill cranes are drilling holes in the greens and fairways. The pro shop is in a temporary trailer and the clubhouse is closed and has been closed for 7 months. There is some outdoor dining with minimal shade covering. The food and service is good which is Boca’s only redeeming quality. Overall golf course rating is very poor.

The course needs work. Fairways exceptionally. Greens work in ok shape and running fast

One thing is not good, that the drivingrange is only for members.

The course had major damage from the hurricane. Lost a lot of trees and damaged fairways and cart paths. The last time I played three years ago it was a wonderful course. The greens were fast but consistent. The remaining course was poor fairway grass and weeds. We teed off at 12:30, 15 minutes early but pace of play was super slow. We quit on 16 because of slow play.that was 4:30. The other players quir on 9. The course was not even worth $40/person !!!

Boca Royal was hit hard by the hurricane but they have brought the course back to a playable condition. Many trees down and had to be removed. You may not recognize the layout. They have changed some hole locations but it is still a nice place to play. They need to water some more but one fix at a time. The proshop and the club house are closed as they renovate but when they are finished it will be a joy to go there. One thing to know is that the green's are lightning fast. Enjoy.

If you are not a member of Boca Royale, I'd suggest you find another course nearby. For starters, you cannot use the driving range unless you are a member. Secondly, the starter will scream at you (yes, he actually shouted at us) for being even 1,000 yards (the tee box or first hole was not even possible to see it was so far away) near the first tee box if your tee time is still 6 minutes or more away. Nobody had teed off for 25-30 minutes, he still would not let us tee off early because "we purchased through GolfNow", which I can be ok with! Yet then a twosome teed off at 12:30, he would not let us (a threesome) go to the tee box a single second before 12:40. In between this time he berated, smoked about 15 cigarettes, and belittled us for not being members. After that, we teed off at 12:41, and he let a single (member of course proven by their custom golf cart) go RIGHT behind us, proving his strict regard for tee times only was important for non-members.

I'm not done! The quality of the course (I've golfed at 25+ local courses in the last year) is below-average at best. Texture of the fairways isn't anything to boast about, tee boxes are typically filled with divots or overly long grass (there was only one DECENT tee box), many of the greens have burnt out spots, and chipping/pitching around the greens isn't easy with the texture of the grass being poorly manicured.

If I have golfed at 25 courses in the last year within an hour drive of this course, id choose 23 of them over this one. Do yourself a favor if you plan to golf here, google "golf courses near me", and I promise you will find at least 5 courses within a 5 mile radius that are in better condition, more welcoming by the employees, and more challenging!!!

Having played this course about a dozen times in the past 2 years yesterday will be the last time, not that they care at all. I probably wouldn't even be writing this rule if it were not for the ignorant starter. First , when we approached the range area we heard someone yell from under a tree " you cant go past me until 12:40 ( our tee time was 12:45 ). We asked " well can we use the range"?. NO members only. Ok then, can we go off early ? No, you booked a hot deal i cant let you go until your assigned time. Stupid rule, which i find out is the gm' s rule. All other courses i have played in sw Florida they have zero issues with golf now, zero issues with teeing off early ( there was nobody else in front or behind us at all). Also range is never off limits, even at truly private courses that are much better courses than this place. Starters usually greet you and are friendly and courteous . This guy was just concerned with staying under a tree while chain smoking cigarettes and spouting off the rules to us. Bottom line is, they can not like Golf now app ( which he pretty much stated). They can also restrict non members from using facilities etc. But, i can also choose to never play here again. There is plenty of other places to play in our area that are friendly and in way better shape than boca royale. Stuffiest place i have played in 2 years since moving here.

I have now lived full time in Venice Fl. For 4 yrs and I’m completely tired of playing courses during the summer that let the course go to rags. The people that support you all year round have to play courses that are barely maintained. This is just another example of not caring about the regulars that pay their bills during the summer.
Worst condition I have ever seen it

I normally don’t post reviews but the previous review from the cry baby local is completely untrue. This is actually the best shape the course has been in since I can remember. The tees and fairways are healthy and well maintained. There are about three greens that have some trouble spots but don’t affect the roll of the ball. They are rolling about 10.5 and are smooth as can be. All in all this is the best shape the place has been in for at least the last 10 years if not ever. you can tell they are actually spending money not letting it go. Maybe that last guy should stay in Venice.

This course is always in good shape with a great layout. Greens are fast, but true. Staff is great.

the rough was high on front 9,directions on golf now are wrong sends you in a construction area.

Really a pleasure to play a great course while are scared off by the heat. Plenty of room to try different shots. Fun time with very friendly and helpful staff.

I had a 12:45 tee time.
I arrived early at 12:15 and since between 12-12:45
no tee times were reserved, I asked to go out early.
I was told I had to go at 12:45.
Please explain.
thank you
.