5 Best Public Golf Courses Near Fort Lauderdale for a Bachelor Party

Golf works on a Fort Lauderdale bachelor weekend for a simple reason: four hours of trash talk, side bets and beers before the night even gets started. Around Fort Lauderdale you can play a relaxed muni, a polished public course or something hard enough to expose every shaky swing. These are the five spots I would look at first.

This is not a ranking of the fanciest names on a golf website. It is a list of places I would actually consider for a group of guys coming into town. Some are better for serious players, some are better for mixed skill levels, and one has a bar that may end up being the most popular part of the round. Check the course links before you send the big group Venmo request because tee times and course work can change.

1. Pompano Municipal Golf Course (Pompano Beach Golf Club)

Best for a fun golf day, mixed handicaps and a standout post-round bar

The city-owned Pompano Beach Golf Club is the fun pick for a crew that cares more about a great day together than chasing the fanciest country-club atmosphere. Its Pines Course is an 18-hole, par-72 layout stretching beyond 7,100 yards, while the Palms Course is a shorter par 71 that has served local golfers for more than 50 years. That flexibility works especially well when the bachelor party includes both regular golfers and once-a-year players.

Then there is Galuppi’s. This is a full restaurant and patio bar overlooking the golf-course greens, with handcrafted cocktails, happy hour and live music throughout the week—not a basic clubhouse snack counter. For a bachelor party, it belongs in the conversation with the best golf-course bars you will find anywhere, and it gives early finishers a place they will actually want to wait for the last foursome.

Keep an eye on the sky, too. The Goodyear Blimp operates from a 45,000-square-foot hangar at the adjacent Pompano Beach Airpark. Timing and flight operations are never guaranteed, but a lucky group may get to watch the blimp take off or return while they are at the course—a bachelor-party golf story that is hard to top.

One heads-up for 2026: pipeline work is messing with the normal routing. The city currently lists closures on Pines holes 15 and 16 and Palms hole 14. Pines is using a modified 18-hole loop, while Palms has a nine-hole option that may be played twice. Check the course alert when you book so nobody shows up expecting a layout that is not available that day.

2. Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club

Best all-around public course for a polished group day

If the group wants something that feels a little more private-club without needing a member, Plantation Preserve is probably the safest bet. It is a par 72 that can stretch to 7,148 yards, but five tee boxes mean the whole group does not have to suffer from the same distance. The Everglades-style wetlands look great, and the island green on nine gives everybody one hole they will remember.

There is a real practice area, plus a clubhouse, bar and terrace for the post-round recap. Under the current course policies, public tee times open five days ahead, and rental clubs are available. If you need several foursomes together, call the course before the online window opens instead of hoping everybody can grab neighboring times at once.

3. Jacaranda Golf Club — East Course

Best for stronger golfers who want a tournament-style test

If half the group keeps an actual handicap and starts talking about a money game before breakfast, send them to Jacaranda East. The course was fully renovated in summer 2025 with new Bimini Bermuda turf, rebuilt bunkers and upgraded cart paths. Five tee choices run from 4,923 to 7,245 yards, so the serious players can go deep while everybody else makes a smarter decision.

The one thing to know: the West Course is closed for renovation and is expected back in November 2026. For now, plan on playing East and check Jacaranda’s tee-time page before you promise the guys anything else.

4. Hollywood Beach Golf Club

Best for a freshly rebuilt course and new clubhouse experience

Hollywood Beach Golf Club is the shiny new option on this list. It reopened in April 2026 after Richard Mandell reworked the course with new greens, new bunker shapes, updated contours and several tee options. The clubhouse and dining space are new too, so the whole place should feel like part of the bachelor weekend rather than just somewhere you squeezed in a round.

Booking is the only part that takes some organization. Public nonresident times open five days ahead, prices move around, and the reservation has to be paid in full. Put one guy in charge, give him the final head count and do not make him chase twelve people for answers after the window opens.

5. The Club at Emerald Hills

Best for a challenging round or an organized golf outing

Emerald Hills is for the group that wants the scorecard to matter. There is plenty of water, plenty of out-of-bounds and enough trouble to keep the bets interesting. The practice area is excellent too: full driving range, two putting greens, plus separate spots for chipping, pitching and bunker work. Get there early and let everybody figure out whether that first-tee wager was a good idea.

Once you get to 12 golfers, call the event team. Emerald Hills handles organized outings from 12 to 144 players, which is much cleaner than trying to build three or four separate online reservations and hoping the times line up. Smaller groups can book the normal way and should confirm rental clubs before they arrive.

Three things that will save the group chat

First, get a real player count. “I’m probably in” does not buy a tee time. Then group the foursomes by pace instead of putting every good golfer together and leaving one group to spend six hours looking for golf balls. If the skill levels are all over the place, play a scramble and keep it social.

Second, sort out rental clubs and rides before the trip. Put the exact tee time, dress code and cancellation terms in one message. Shared transportation is worth it; nobody wants the first foursome warming up while the last group is still standing in the hotel lobby.

Third, respect South Florida weather. A morning tee time helps, but heat and fast-moving storms are still part of the deal. Check the forecast and lightning guidance, listen to the course when lightning gets close and do not put an expensive dinner reservation thirty minutes after the round is supposed to end.

If you are still deciding whether golf belongs on Saturday or Sunday, the original Fort Lauderdale bachelor-party golf weekend guide has a simple day-by-day outline for fitting the round around dinner, nightlife and the rest of the trip.

After the round, get the whole crew back together

Golf splits the bachelor party into foursomes. The next day is a good time to get everybody back together. While you are in Fort Lauderdale, definitely check out Freaky Tiki and get the whole crew on the water. Play the round, give the guys time to recover, then let the boat be the part of the weekend nobody has to keep score for.