A golf trip with a beach

01Why golf from here

A golf trip usually means a golf resort, and a golf resort usually means the course is the view. From OASENA the view is the Atlantic, and the courses are a short drive west and north. That order matters at the end of the day: the drive back ends at a balcony twelve floors above the beach, a residents' pool and whirlpool, a fitness centre, and a spa with a hydrothermal circuit built for tired legs.

The residence sleeps six across a king suite, a queen suite and a sofa bed, which is a foursome and two partners, or three couples. The dining table seats eight, the kitchen island seats four, and the building has four restaurants for the nights nobody wants to cook.

02The courses

Palm Beach County's golf sits in three bands from the residence, and the golf guide covers each course in detail with how to book.

• Close, about fifteen minutes. North Palm Beach Country Club is the town's public course, a Jack Nicklaus Signature design on the Intracoastal side, and the natural first round of the trip.
• Palm Beach Gardens, about twenty-five minutes. PGA National is the region's tour stop, home of the PGA Tour's event in the Palm Beaches each late winter, with several courses and the famous closing stretch on the Champion. Resort guests and outside play are handled by the resort; check its current policy.
• West Palm Beach and south, about twenty-five to forty minutes. The Park West Palm Beach is the newer public course in the city, Palm Beach Par 3 is the short course by the ocean, and the county's municipal courses fill the gaps.
• Jupiter, about thirty minutes. Abacoa is the public course among the private clubs of the Jupiter golf belt.

Tee times in the winter season should be booked before you arrive, especially at the public courses on weekends. The resort's concierge can help; so can the courses' own booking pages.

03The shape of a golf day

Florida golf is a morning sport for most of the year. The heat builds by noon in summer, and in winter the first tee times go to the people who booked earliest. A typical day from the residence looks like this.

1. Coffee on the balcony from the built-in machine, and breakfast from the kitchen or the breakfast guide.
2. Tee time within half an hour's drive; the valet brings the car up from the residential lobby.
3. Lunch at the course or back on the island; the island restaurants guide has the casual places.
4. The pool or the beach in the afternoon, with chairs and towels included with the stay.
5. The spa for the ones who want it: the hydrothermal circuit, or a sports massage booked with the resort at preferred rates.
6. Dinner at the table for eight, on the balcony, or across the bridge.

04Recovery below the residence

The spa's menu reads like a physiotherapy list, which suits a golf group. The hydrothermal circuit alternates hot and cold pools and finishes in a sauna. Sports and deep-tissue massage are on the menu, along with myofascial release for the back and shoulders that golf tightens. Cold plunges and red light are there for the ones who like recovery with a bit of ceremony.

The fitness centre has a Technogym floor for the early risers. None of this is medical treatment, and the guides say so, but a cold plunge after eighteen holes in August is its own argument.

05For the non-golfers

A golf trip works best when the people who do not play have a better day than the ones who do. From the residence that is easy. The beach is downstairs. The reef under the Blue Heron Bridge is ten minutes away. Palm Beach's Worth Avenue and the museums are twenty minutes south. The spa is below, and a sunset cruise leaves from the marinas across the bridge.

Then everyone meets back at the residence for dinner, which is the part of a golf trip that the golf resort never gets right.

06When to come

The winter season, November to April, has the best golf weather and the busiest tee sheets. Late February and early March bring the tour event to PGA National and a crowd with it. Summer golf is cheaper and emptier, played early, with afternoon storms that clear by evening; the pool and the spa fill the afternoons. The when to visit guide has the month-by-month picture, and the events calendar has the tournament.