Originally Forest Hills Golf and Country Club; LPGA legend Babe Didrikson Zaharias owned and ran it as her winter club in the early 1950s, and the City of Tampa reopened and renamed it in her honor in 1974. Recently completed a ~$1M renovation of all 18 greens plus clubhouse work.
"A muni with real golf history — worth playing once for the Babe Zaharias story alone. Same dynamic-pricing model as the other Tampa munis, roughly $35 weekday/$39 weekend; fresh greens post-renovation make it a solid current recommendation."
Opened in 1926 as Forest Hills Golf and Country Club, designed by Philadelphia architect J. Franklin Meehan. In 1949 Babe Didrikson Zaharias — arguably the greatest female athlete of the 20th century, Olympic gold medalist and LPGA founder — bought the course outright, ran it for seven years, played with the Men's Club, and hosted clinics for Tampa golfers. The City of Tampa reopened it in 1974 under the Tampa Sports Authority, which still runs it today alongside Rocky Point and Rogers Park. A 2024 renovation rebuilt all 18 greens in TifEagle with new greenside bunkers. It sits on the Florida Historic Golf Trail.
Anyone in Tampa who wants golf history at muni prices — hickory-golf societies literally seek this course out for its 1920s bones. Great for beginners and quick weekday rounds.
The appeal is the ensemble rather than one postcard hole: compact 1920s Meehan routing, small freshly-rebuilt greens that demand a real short game, and the knowledge that Babe herself played these same corridors daily in the early '50s.
A friendly, walkable, old-school Tampa muni — short by modern standards, forgiving corridors, cheap. One of the best places in the area to learn on real grass.
This is Clubhouse's backyard: about 30 minutes south of Wesley Chapel off N Forest Hills Ave. The rare chance to walk a course a legend owned, for the price of a pizza. Pair a sim session with a real-grass round here.
Not in GSPro — small Florida munis rarely get lidar treatment. But it's 30 minutes from Clubhouse, so play it in real life; in the bay, queue Innisbrook (Copperhead) for verified-local Tampa-area golf in the sim.
Public municipal course in Forest Hills, north Tampa, run by the Tampa Sports Authority. Green fees are modest muni rates; tee times book easily online at babezahariasgolf.net.
Source: web verified · medium confidence
