The Founders Club
This private traditional community offers 262 homes, 200 with direct golf course vistas of fairways, wetlands and natural preserves. Home sites start from the $400,000s. Opened in February 2005, the 18-hole championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. is set against a backdrop of centuries-old oaks, pines and palms and offers three par 5's and three par 3's on each nine. Amenities include a driving range, putting green, chipping green, pro shop, lessons, clubhouse with a main dining room and private dining rooms, fitness facility, and massage therapy treatment room. A recreational facility highlights basketball, sand volleyball, a picnic gazebo and grills, and two Har-Tru tennis courts.  Click here to search The Founders Club real estate.

Gator Creek
Gator Creek is a quintessential country gentlemen’s community of 66 upscale homes. Fourteen miles east of downtown Sarasota, this quiet community features abundant wildlife, including bald eagles, bobcats, foxes, hawks, deer and, of course, alligators. A bridle trail rims the community. Homes tend to be snapped up as soon as they hit the market. This exclusive men’s club features an 18-hole course built in 1972 and designed by Joe Lee. Features include generous landing areas in the fairways and well-maintained greens that are large, undulating and fast. The course's signature hole is the scenic #15 hole, a 380-yard, par 4 which features water flowing down the right side of the fairway. Guests must be accompanied by a member.

Lakewood Ranch
A city onto itself, Lakewood Ranch is an award-winning, master-planned community laid out in five distinct villages offering single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes.  Lakewood Ranch has two golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer:  The Legacy, an 18-hole daily-fee course, and a 36-hole, members-only private course.  The Legacy has received a 4 ½-star rating from Golf Digest magazine.  The Club’s 42,000-square-foot Italian villa-style clubhouse offers rooms for casual and fine dining and a large ballroom.  Amenities include 16 Har-Tru and two red-clay lighted courts, 100 miles of trails and sidewalks, 400 acres of lakes, a restored 41-acre wetland preserve, a protected 2,000-acre conservation easement and numerous parks. 

Laurel Oak Country Club
Laurel Oak features more than 400 homes on 800-plus acres surrounded by two 18-hole, par-72, championship golf courses designed by Gary Player:  The West course, the first Gary Player Signature Course built on Florida's west coast in 1990, and the longer East course, opened in 1994.  Another 18 holes by Rees Jones are scheduled to be completed in December 2005.  The club also features 12 clay tennis courts using the “Hydro” irrigation system, with six courts lighted for night play.  Other amenities include a swimming pool, complete golf instruction programs, two driving ranges, putting green and clubhouse with dining and banquet facilities. Click here to search Laurel Oak Country Club real estate.
 

The Oaks
The Oaks offers three distinct low-density communities with golf-course homes, waterfront estates and condominiums.  Its private equity country club features two popular courses bordered by Little Sarasota Bay:  The Eagle, a Ted McAnlis design that runs fairly straight and narrow along the perimeter of the 1,000-acre property, and the more intensely challenging interior Heron Course designed by William Byrd.  Amenities include The Oaks’ 30,000-square-foot Georgian clubhouse, 14 Har-Tru tennis courts, a Junior Olympic-sized swimming pool and dining facilities.  Click here to search homes in The Oaks.    

Palm-Aire Country Club
Palm-Aire comprises 1,300 acres with condominiums, estate-sized homes and wooded villas.  It features two 18-hole, par-72 championship golf courses:  the original, the Champions, designed by Dick Wilson to challenge the such legends as Gary Player, Sam Snead and Ken Venturi; and the Joe Lee‑designed course, The Lakes, ranked as one of the best courses in Florida by Florida Golfweek magazine.  Both courses have tee box locations at each hole to accommodate players of every skill level.  Amenities include 14 lighted Har-Tru tennis courts, an Olympic-sized pool, a clubhouse, and a beautiful Spanish-style clubhouse overlooking the lake at the Champions’ 18th green which features a formal dining room, casual grille, lanai and lounge.

Palmer Ranch
Palmer Ranch is a master-planned community consisting of 1,000 acres.  A wide variety of residential options ranges from maintenance-free villas and condominiums to single-family homes and sprawling estates.  Palmer Ranch is home to the Tournament Players Club (TPC) at Prestancia, which took over the Country Club of Sarasota in 1984.  Added to the Country Club’s existing 18-hole course was a second 18-hole, par-72 championship course designed by Mike Souchak and Ron Garl. 

The Meadows
The Meadows features single-family homes, condominiums, villas and the Meadows Country Club, offering 54 holes of championship golf on three distinctive 18-hole courses:  The Groves, a par-65 Arthur Hills Walking course, The Meadows, a par-72 course remodeled by Ron Garl, and the par-72 Highlands.  Amenities include 16 Har-Tru lighted tennis courts, three restaurants, swimming, racquetball, cycling and jogging trails, and stocked lakes. 

Tournament Players Club (TPC) at Prestancia 
Part of the Palmer Ranch master-planned community, the TPC at Prestancia was created when the PGA Tour took over the Country Club of Sarasota in 1984.  Added to the Country Club’s existing 18-hole course was a second 18-hole, par-72 championship course designed by Mike Souchak and Ron Garl.  Beautifully landscaped communities offer golf, nature and lake views.  Amenities include a clubhouse, dining, banquet room, swimming, tennis, golf practice facility, men’s and women’s locker rooms and golf shop. Click to search real estate in Prestancia.

University Park Golf & Country Club
A gated, master-planned community, University Park offers maintenance-free single-family homes, patio homes and custom-designed estates, many overlooking lakes, preserve areas or the golf course.  The 27-hole golf course designed by Ron Garl has received 4 stars from Golf Digest magazine and has been called one of America's best by Golf Week and Florida Golf News.  It is one of the best fairways for women according to Golf For Women magazine.  University Park’s tennis and fitness center includes 11 lighted Har-Tru courts and tennis pro shop.  Other amenities include croquet, golf pro shop, golf instruction and a large golf practice area. University Park also features the Braden River Nature Trail and Fitness Park.  Click to search real estate in University Park. 

Venetian Golf & River Club
A gated, master-planned community, Venetian Golf and River Club, near Venice, FL, offers maintenance-free single-family homes, villas and estate homes, many overlooking lakes, preserve areas or the golf course.   In addition to a chamionship golf course, residents of River Club enjoy one main and two additional dining rooms, lounge, cabanna bar without outdoor grill, day spa, aerobics, fitness center, tennis courts, pro shop, two resort swimming pools, nature park and canoe launch.

Click to search real estate in Venetian Golf & River Club Properties. 

BOATING COMMUNITIES

Grand Mariner on Longboat Key
An exclusive gated yachting community, Grand Mariner consists of 14 luxury condominiums ranging from 3,150 to 3,600 sq. ft.  A naturally protected private harbor offers 20 deepwater slips for vessels of up to 70 feet with power and cable, an 80-foot guest dock, and a small boat launching ramp. Amenities include a bayfront pool and spa, indoor reflecting pool with landscaped walk, resident's gathering room with balcony and fitness facility.  Click here to search Grand Mariner condos