The Tides Golf Club

Par 68s have a reputation for being afterthoughts, but The Tides Golf Club in Seminole earns its place on the Florida golf calendar through sheer playability and the particular charms of a layout built around shorter holes done well. Seminole sits on the Pinellas County coast, wedged between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, and the coastal atmosphere — salt air, afternoon sea breezes, and the flat, open terrain typical of this stretch of Florida — shapes the experience from the first tee.

The low par signals a course that leans heavily on par 3s and short par 4s, which in Florida's coastal conditions can play far more demanding than their yardage suggests. Wind off the water is a real factor here, turning what looks straightforward on a printed card into a genuine test of shot selection and creativity.

Seminole itself is a quiet residential community sandwiched between St. Pete Beach and Clearwater, well off the resort-golf circuit. The Tides reads as a local's course — the kind of place regulars return to not for bucket-list credentials, but because it suits their game and fits their afternoon.