Golf With a Side of Old Florida

Photography by Katelyn Baker Photography

Florida has no shortage of places to play golf. But some golf destinations offer something that cannot be built overnight: history, character, and a sense of place.

The Citrus Golf Trail offers exactly that. Located in Highlands County, the Trail brings golfers to a part of Central Florida where courses have been part of the community for generations. Here, a golf trip can include nearly century-old fairways, longstanding local courses, and plenty of opportunities to experience Florida beyond the tee box.

For golfers accustomed to large resorts and master-planned golf communities, Highlands County offers a different kind of trip. The pace is relaxed, the history is easy to find, and each day can be as much about where you are as what you shoot.

Nearly a Century of Golf at Pinecrest

Few places tell the story of golf in Highlands County quite like Pinecrest Golf Club in Avon Park.

Pinecrest dates back to 1926 and has connections to legendary golf course architect Donald Ross. Over the decades, the course became part of both local and national golf history. In 1959, Pinecrest hosted what is recognized as the first nationally televised PGA golf tournament, bringing the course and Avon Park to viewers across the country.

Today, golfers can still walk the same property where that history unfolded.

That is part of what gives older courses their appeal. Their character comes from decades of play, mature surroundings, and the stories accumulated along the way. At Pinecrest, the history is not something separate from the golf experience. It is part of it.

Courses That Grew Alongside Their Communities

Pinecrest may have some of the deepest historical roots on the Citrus Golf Trail, but it is not alone.

River Greens Golf Course has been part of the Avon Park area since 1969. Other Trail properties have similarly become familiar fixtures for generations of local golfers.

That longevity creates an experience that feels different from visiting a course designed primarily as a vacation attraction. These are places where regulars have played hundreds of rounds, tournaments have become traditions, and golfers have watched courses evolve over time.

For visitors, that can make a round feel less like checking another course off a list and more like getting a glimpse into the area's golf culture.

It also helps explain why a Citrus Golf Trail trip does not need to revolve around one marquee course. The experience comes from playing several of them and discovering what makes each one different.

See More Between Tee Times

Golf may bring you to Highlands County, but it does not have to fill every hour of the trip.

The area is home to three distinct communities in Sebring, Avon Park, and Lake Placid, each offering another reason to venture beyond the course. Downtown areas, locally owned restaurants, lakes, parks, and longtime businesses provide plenty of options for an afternoon or evening away from golf.

Sebring is perhaps best known outside the area for its motorsports history and the legendary Sebring International Raceway. Downtown Sebring offers another side of the community, centered around the historic Circle and surrounded by local restaurants, shops, and businesses.

Head north to Avon Park, and you will find the city where Pinecrest and River Greens have helped shape the local golf landscape for decades. Travel south through Highlands County, and Lake Placid offers its own small-town character, lakes, and colorful murals found throughout the community.

A Different Side of Florida

Mention a Florida vacation and certain images tend to come to mind first: beaches, theme parks, high-rise hotels, and busy resort areas. Highlands County offers a contrast to that version of the state.

Located in Florida's interior, the landscape is shaped by freshwater lakes, citrus country, natural areas, and communities with histories that stretch back generations. There is room to slow down here, which fits particularly well with a golf trip. It is a simple way to travel, and for a group of golfers, that can be exactly the point.

Come for the Rounds, Remember the Rest

The scorecards will eventually end up in a golf bag or tucked away somewhere at home. What tends to stick around are the other parts of the trip: the course nobody expected to love, the restaurant everyone wants to visit again, the stories told over dinner, and the round that gets brought up months later. The Citrus Golf Trail gives golfers plenty of opportunities to create those kinds of memories.

There are historic courses to discover, different layouts to play, and decades of local golf tradition behind them. But you can also explore all of Florida between rounds.

Sometimes a memorable golf trip is not about finding the biggest resort or packing the most into a weekend. It is about finding somewhere with good golf, good company, and enough character to make you want to come back.