Palm Aire Country Club (Lakes)

Overview: Palm Aire’s Lakes Course is an 18-hole private, member-owned course at 5601 Country Club Way in Sarasota. Joe Lee designed the layout, which the current course record lists at 6,698 yards and par 72 from the Gold tees. The course is routed through tree-lined fairways and wetland habitat, with undulating greens adding a second layer to the approach game.

History: Palm Aire introduced the Lakes Course in 1982. The club credits Joe Lee with designing the course around the existing wetlands and notes his broader portfolio of more than 200 courses, including three at Walt Disney World. Palm Aire remains a member-owned private club with two 18-hole courses and a full practice facility.

Did You Know? The Lakes Course was designed to preserve wetlands rather than flatten them away. That decision is part of the course’s identity: the natural habitat is not just scenery, but a routing constraint that shapes the lines into and around the greens.