An 1897 layout, renewed for the hotel’s own guests.
The Ocean Course sits beside The Breakers on the island of Palm Beach and claims to be the oldest golf course in Florida. Alexander Findlay laid out the first holes in 1897 for the hotel, and Rees Jones rebuilt the course in 2018. It is short, a par 70 under 6,000 yards, and it is private: only hotel guests and club members play. For a visitor, that makes this a hotel decision first. If you are staying at The Breakers, the Ocean Course is a relaxed round a short walk from your room, not a tournament test.
The Breakers (Ocean Course) green fees and tee times.
The Breakers says both its courses are private and reserved for resort guests and club members. Tee times, club hire and other golf reservations go through one line, (877) 724-3188, and the same number handles pricing for events and tournaments. Green fees are not published online, so ask for the guest rate when you book your room or call the golf office before you travel. The hotel does not list a handicap requirement or a booking window. Lessons with the John Webster Golf Academy are booked separately on (561) 659-8474. If you are not a hotel guest, there is no public way to play the Ocean Course; Palm Beach County’s public courses are the alternative.
The courses at The Breakers (Ocean Course).
Ocean Course
The par-70 course next to the hotel, with four tee sets from 5,778 to 4,131 yards. Its short length and wide paspalum fairways suit mixed groups, and the 32,000 sq ft Ocean Clubhouse, with Flagler Steakhouse, sits beside it.
The Breakers Rees Jones Course
A longer par 72 at Breakers West, about 10 miles inland. Built in 1968, it reopened in December 2022 after a full Rees Jones renovation and measures 7,104 yards from the black tees (rating 74.5, slope 143). It has the same guest-and-member rule.
The round, in perspective.
Two roads split the site into four sections, so Jones kept the routing and changed nearly everything else. Golf Course Architecture reports that he increased the green area by almost half, added slopes that act as backstops, and cut the number of bunkers to about two-thirds. Fairways, tees and rough are now salt-tolerant paspalum, with TifEagle bermuda greens, so the course no longer closes to overseed. The black tees measure 5,778 yards, and four sets of tees go down to 4,131. Jones has said you could hit driver on almost every hole. The 6th is a 383-yard par four that curls around a lake. The raised 10th green gives a glimpse of the Atlantic. The 16th, a 197-yard par three with water right and long, is the hardest of the short holes.
Know before you go.
Access
Hotel guests and club members only
Tee times
Golf office, (877) 724-3188
Green fees
Not published; quoted on request
Lessons
John Webster Golf Academy, (561) 659-8474
Make the trip work.
With two courses on the same guest-only terms, a three-night stay leaves room for one round on each. Book the Rees Jones Course early in the day and allow travel time to Breakers West. The Ocean Clubhouse also sits beside 10 Har-Tru tennis courts, which suits a group where not everyone plays golf.
Palm Beach International (PBI) is about 15 minutes away by car, across the Intracoastal Waterway from West Palm Beach. Fort Lauderdale (FLL) is about an hour south. Brightline trains stop at West Palm Beach station, a short taxi ride from the island, with fast connections from Miami and Orlando.
Golf here requires a room at The Breakers, the oceanfront hotel Henry Flagler first opened on the site in 1896. Because access depends on the stay, ask the hotel about golf when you book, rather than after you arrive. If The Breakers is beyond your budget, West Palm Beach across the bridge has a wider range of hotels, but you will not be able to play either Breakers course.
Make a trip of it.
PGA National Resort, about half an hour north, has the Champion and the Bear Trap for its own guests. Trump National Doral, about an hour and a half south, sells Blue Monster tee times online. Off the course, Worth Avenue’s shops are a short drive south on the island, and the Flagler Museum at Whitehall, Henry Flagler’s 1902 house, is a few minutes away.
Find your season.
November to April is the Palm Beach season, with dry weather and the hotel at its busiest. Summer is hot and humid with frequent afternoon storms, and hurricane season runs from June to the end of November. Since the 2018 rebuild the course no longer goes through an overseeding cycle, according to Golf Course Architecture, which helps conditions stay steady into the autumn.
Can non-guests play the Ocean Course at The Breakers?
No. The hotel says both the Ocean Course and the Rees Jones Course are private and reserved for resort guests and club members. Staying at The Breakers is the only route for a visitor.
How much are green fees at The Breakers?
The hotel does not publish green fees online. Guest rates are given by the golf office on (877) 724-3188, which also books tee times and club hire. Ask when you reserve your room, as rates vary through the season.
Is the Ocean Course really the oldest in Florida?
The Breakers calls it Florida’s oldest golf course, dating to Alexander Findlay’s layout of 1897. Belleair Country Club, near Clearwater, also traces its West course to 1897 and calls itself the state’s oldest continuously operating club, so the title is disputed.
How long is the Ocean Course?
It is a par 70 of 5,778 yards from the black tees, with whites at 5,308, reds at 4,823 and greens at 4,131 yards. Its length rewards accuracy around the larger, contoured greens more than power.
Last checked 10 November 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
