Ave Maria Golf: Two Courses Worth the Drive East

Most golfers visiting Naples or Fort Myers stick to the coast, which is understandable. There's no shortage of options within 20 minutes of the beach.

"One of best in Fort Myers/Naples area. Scenic well designed tour quality Jack Nicklaus course. Difficult to score well but enjoyable and challenging. Must play."

krv1950, GolfPass review

But if you're willing to drive 30 minutes east on Oil Well Road, you'll find two public-access golf courses sitting inside one of Florida's most unusual communities, Ave Maria, that most visitors never make it to. That's part of the appeal.

Ave Maria golf gives you a different kind of round. The courses are spread out, the pace of play tends to run smooth, and the community around them has a character that makes the whole trip feel worth doing.

This guide covers both courses, what to expect on the ground, and why the drive east from Naples deserves serious consideration if you're putting together a real golf itinerary for Southwest Florida.

What Ave Maria Actually Is

Before getting into the golf, it's worth understanding where you're going, because Ave Maria isn't just a residential golf community. It's a fully planned town developed in the early 2000s by Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan and Barron Collier Companies, built around Ave Maria University and a substantial Catholic church at the center of the town square.

The university, the church, and the surrounding residential development all went up together, which gives the town a coherent, intentional feel that's genuinely rare in Florida real estate.

The population has grown steadily since the first residents arrived in 2007. Today Ave Maria has thousands of residents spread across several neighborhoods, a town center with restaurants and shops, and two golf courses that serve both the community and outside players.

Lennar developed much of the residential component, and the golf courses operate as part of that broader development, open to the public, but positioned as a lifestyle amenity for homeowners as well.

Getting there from Naples is straightforward: take Immokalee Road east, pick up Oil Well Road, and head east until you see the town. The drive takes about 30 minutes from central Naples under normal traffic conditions.

Coming from Fort Myers or Bonita Springs, you'll add a few minutes depending on your starting point.

The National Golf and Country Club, Ave Maria's Premier Layout

The National Golf and Country Club is the higher-profile of Ave Maria's two courses. Gordon Lewis designed it, and the layout reflects his approach to Florida terrain, he doesn't fight the flatness or try to import drama that doesn't belong here.

"Very open to drive and approach shots. Greens were consistent."

GolfPass reviewer, GolfPass review

Instead, the course uses water intelligently, with lakes and preserves shaping hole corridors rather than just filling in the gaps between fairways.

The National plays to a par 71 and stretches past 6,800 yards from the back tees. That yardage number actually understates how the course plays, because Lewis built green complexes with real slope and some demanding pin positions that make the approach game the critical factor rather than length off the tee.

Players who hit the ball a long way but struggle with mid-iron precision tend to find The National more challenging than the scorecard suggests.

The conditioning has been a consistent point of praise from players who make the trip. The clubhouse is modern and well-appointed, the cart paths are clean, and the overall feel of the facility matches what you'd expect from a Lennar community where residents are paying dues year-round, there's consistent financial investment in maintaining the product.

Green fees at The National vary by season and tee time. Peak season rates, roughly January through April, run in the $80 to $120 range depending on when you book.

Summer rates drop noticeably, often into the $50 to $70 range for morning rounds. Those numbers put The National well below the pricing tier of top public courses closer to Naples, which is a real consideration if you're making multiple rounds part of a longer stay in Southwest Florida.

Gordon Lewis has been one of the most prolific golf course designers working in Florida over the past three decades, with dozens of courses across the state. His reputation is built on layouts that are enjoyable for a wide range of handicaps rather than tests designed to challenge only low-single-digit players.

The National fits that profile, it has teeth, but it's not punishing.

Golf Club of the Everglades, The Second Course Worth Knowing

Golf Club of the Everglades sits within a different neighborhood of Ave Maria's residential development, and while it shares a designer and a general philosophy with The National, it plays differently enough that golfers who make the trip to Ave Maria should consider which course better fits what they're looking for on a given day.

The Everglades course leans into its natural surroundings more visually. The name isn't just marketing, the course corridors open onto preserve areas that give you a genuine sense of the Big Cypress watershed that sits to the south and east of the Ave Maria town boundaries.

Wildlife sightings during a round are common, and the back nine in particular has stretches where the course feels genuinely removed from the surrounding residential development.

From a design standpoint, Lewis gave the Everglades course a bit more visual variety than The National. The par-3s are strong, several of them play over water to greens with false fronts or run-off areas that make club selection matter more than distance.

The par-5s are reachable in two for longer hitters on several holes, which creates genuine birdie opportunities and keeps the course from feeling purely defensive.

Green fees track similarly to The National, with seasonal variation bringing peak rates into the $70 to $110 range and summer pricing dropping below that. The two-course setup means that visitors planning a full golf day in Ave Maria can play both layouts back to back, mornings at one, afternoons at the other, if they have the legs for 36 holes.

That's a reasonable way to spend a full day east of Naples, and the combined cost for both rounds will still come in below a single peak-season round at most of the premium public courses in the Naples core.

Why Gordon Lewis Is the Right Designer for This Location

Gordon Lewis designed both Ave Maria courses, and his background helps explain why they work as well as they do in this specific landscape. Lewis grew up in Florida and has spent his career building courses that fit the natural character of the state rather than imposing an aesthetic that belongs somewhere else.

His designs don't try to look like Pinehurst or Augusta transplanted to a flat subtropical setting. They look like Florida, which is actually the right call when you're building golf in the middle of Collier County's agricultural interior.

He's known for routing courses around existing vegetation and water features rather than starting with a cleared site and engineering topography from scratch. That approach tends to produce courses that feel more naturalistic and that age well, the surrounding landscape grows into the design rather than competing with it.

Both Ave Maria courses reflect that sensibility. The mature vegetation along the property boundaries, the native grasses framing fairway edges, and the way water hazards function as natural elements rather than manufactured drama all point to a designer who understood the site before he put a routing on paper.

For context on how Lewis fits into the broader story of golf course architecture in Southwest Florida, our guide to the best public courses in Naples covers several other designers whose work defines the region's public golf market.

How Ave Maria Compares to Other East-of-Naples Golf Options

The stretch of Collier County east of I-75 has more golf than most visitors realize. Old Corkscrew Golf Club on Corkscrew Road is the standout, a Jack Nicklaus Signature design with no housing development along the fairways and public access.

It's consistently rated the best public course in the region, and it's worth including in any east-of-Naples golf day if you haven't played it. Old Corkscrew is about 20 minutes from Ave Maria, which makes a same-day pairing realistic.

Beyond Old Corkscrew and the Ave Maria courses, the eastern Collier County market is mostly private clubs tied to residential communities, the kind of places you access through membership or a member's invitation. What makes Ave Maria notable is that its two public-access courses give players without those connections a legitimate reason to drive east, especially when pricing is factored in.

If you're coming from the Bonita Springs or Estero corridor, the drive to Ave Maria runs about 45 minutes to an hour. That's longer, but the combination of lower green fees and the novelty of the community itself still makes a compelling case.

Our complete guide to golf in Bonita Springs and Estero covers the options in that corridor for anyone building a multi-day golf trip across the region.

According to the Florida Gulf Coast University research on Southwest Florida regional development, eastern Collier County has seen significant population growth over the past decade, with Ave Maria functioning as one of the primary nodes of that expansion. That growth has also meant more golfer traffic at both courses, which has driven continued investment in conditioning and facilities, a positive feedback loop that works in visitors' favor.

What Public Access Actually Looks Like at Ave Maria

Both courses at Ave Maria operate as semi-public facilities under the Lennar development model. Residents of Ave Maria neighborhoods pay into an amenity fee structure that gives them preferred access and pricing.

Visitors from outside the community can book tee times through standard online reservation systems, the same tools you'd use to book any public course in Southwest Florida.

Walk-up availability varies by season. During peak season (January through April), early morning tee times fill up from residents and advance bookings, but afternoon slots are typically available.

Summer months see much lighter traffic, and same-day booking is usually straightforward. If you're planning a peak-season round, booking a week or two in advance is the right approach.

The courses do not have reciprocal arrangements with private clubs in the region, so there's no advantage to being a member of another course when you show up at Ave Maria. Everyone who's not an Ave Maria resident pays the same published visitor rates, which keeps the pricing transparent and predictable.

Cart fees are included in the green fee at both courses, which is standard for Florida public courses. The practice facilities, range and putting green, are available to paying customers before and after rounds.

The clubhouse at The National has a restaurant and bar, and post-round food and drinks are easy to arrange if you're making a day of it.

Making the Most of the Drive East

The honest case for Ave Maria golf is a combination of factors that add up to something more than any single element. The courses are good, not elite, but genuinely well-designed and well-maintained.

The pricing is accessible. The community itself is worth seeing once if you haven't been there.

And the stretch of eastern Collier County between Naples and Ave Maria offers a side of Southwest Florida that most golf visitors never get to because they never drive past I-75.

The Ave Maria community website has current information on events, dining, and any seasonal programming that might coincide with your visit. Worth a quick look before you go, particularly if you want to add lunch or a walk around the town center to your day.

For serious golfers building a full trip around Southwest Florida's public course options, the eastern Collier route, Old Corkscrew, Golf Club of the Everglades, The National, covers three rounds that are meaningfully different from one another in character, pricing tier, and design philosophy. That's a good three days of golf that won't feel repetitive.

Round it out with something on the Gulf side and you have a week's worth of itinerary that covers the full range of what this region offers.

The Golf Course Architecture profile of Gordon Lewis is worth reading if you want deeper background on his design philosophy before playing either Ave Maria course, it gives context for the decisions you'll notice on the ground.

If you're still filling out your Naples-area itinerary, our Naples public course guide covers the full field of options within closer range of the coast, with current pricing and access notes for each course.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the Ave Maria golf courses open to the public?

Yes. Both The National Golf and Country Club and Golf Club of the Everglades accept outside visitors.

You can book tee times online the same way you would at any public course in the area. Ave Maria residents get preferred access and pricing, but public tee times are available and straightforward to reserve.

How far is Ave Maria from Naples?

Ave Maria is approximately 30 miles east of central Naples via Immokalee Road and Oil Well Road. Under normal traffic conditions, the drive takes 30 to 35 minutes. From Bonita Springs or Fort Myers, plan for 45 minutes to an hour depending on your starting point.

What are the green fees at Ave Maria's golf courses?

Rates vary by season and tee time. During peak season (January through April), visitor green fees typically run in the $80 to $120 range at The National and similarly at Golf Club of the Everglades.

Summer rates drop to the $50 to $70 range. Cart fees are included.

Booking in advance is recommended during peak season, particularly for morning tee times.

Who designed the golf courses at Ave Maria?

Both courses were designed by Gordon Lewis, a Florida-based golf course architect with a long track record of building courses that work with the state's natural terrain. Lewis has designed dozens of courses across Florida and is known for layouts that play well for a wide range of handicaps rather than purely penalizing higher-handicap players.

Is Ave Maria worth visiting just for golf, or is there more to do?

Ave Maria has more to offer than golf. The town center has restaurants, a coffee shop, and a farmers market.

Ave Maria University and the Oratory church at the center of town are genuinely worth a look. The community has a distinct character that's unlike any other planned development in Southwest Florida, and most golfers who make the drive come away feeling the trip was more than just a round of golf.

What other public golf courses are near Ave Maria?

Old Corkscrew Golf Club is the closest high-profile public option, about 20 minutes west of Ave Maria on Corkscrew Road. It's a Jack Nicklaus Signature design and the top-rated public course in Southwest Florida.

For golfers coming from the northern end of the region, our Bonita Springs and Estero golf guide covers the courses in that corridor, and our Naples public course guide covers the full range of options closer to the coast.