Harbourside Golf Course (Longboat Key Club)

The Harbourside Course at the Longboat Key Club opened in the early 1980s as a 27-hole layout designed by Atlanta architect Willard Byrd. Set on a barrier island south of Sarasota, the routing winds through coastal terrain laced with lagoons, canals and Sarasota Bay frontage, so water is in play on the great majority of holes. The three nines each carry their own character and stretch in the mid-3,000-yard range, combining into varied eighteen-hole rounds. Years later the club brought in Florida architect Ron Garl to refresh the course, and the nines were reworked and given their current identities as White Egret, Blue Heron and Red Hawk. Palms, mangroves and abundant birdlife frame the holes, and the bayside setting delivers water views and salt breezes that make Harbourside a distinctly Gulf Coast resort experience.