BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation says the public course at Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park in Boca Raton has been named the 2026 NGCOA Municipal Course of the Year. That’s the National Golf Course Owners Association, and the county is calling it one of the industry’s highest honors. Their words, not mine.
Osprey Point just got a national gold star, basically.
It’s an award for public golf done right — “exceptional management,” strong customer and community service, and programs that help grow the game. Not just pretty grass and a decent cart path, but the whole operation. Conditioning, stewardship, programming, service, management, community impact. All of it.
And this isn’t some tiny field. The county cites National Golf Foundation data putting the number of municipal golf courses in the U.S. at about 2,900. So, yeah, it’s a big pool.
County officials say Osprey Point was picked because it hits a bunch of targets at once: elite course conditioning but also environmental stewardship, inclusive programming, strong operational management, and community impact through programs meant to bring in golfers of all ages and backgrounds. That mix is what the NGCOA said it was looking for.
“Providing high-quality sustainable public golf for all ages is incredibly important to our Palm Beach County team,” said Jennifer Cirillo, director of the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department. “It is wonderful their hard work is being recognized at the highest level in the nation.”
Osprey Point is county-owned and county-operated, and it sits inside Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park in West Boca. The course started construction in 2007 and began operating in November 2010, according to the county.
The facility is 27 holes, set up as three distinct nine-hole layouts, so the routing can change and you’re not always playing the same sequence. The turf is Platinum Paspalum (the county calls it “environmentally advanced”), and there’s a large practice facility too. Plus a clubhouse with a food-and-beverage concession area. Simple, functional, it’s there when you need it.
On the environmental side, the county notes the course was recognized by Audubon International as a Certified Signature Sanctuary. That’s part of how they pitch the place: accessibility, environmental stewardship, and a “world-class public golf experience.” Again, their phrasing, but that’s the positioning.
The NGCOA, for its part, describes itself as the leading authority on the business of golf course ownership and management. The association represents golf courses as businesses and economic assets of the game, and it says it’s the only trade association dedicated exclusively to golf course owners and operators. The group offers advocacy, education, information resources, purchasing programs, networking. Business-side stuff. More information is listed at ngcoa.org, or by phone at 800-933-4262.
As for the award moment, the county says the 2026 recipients will be honored at NGCOA’s annual Golf Business Conference, scheduled Jan. 19–21, 2026, in Orlando.
If you’re looking for the local angle, it’s this: a county public course in Boca Raton is being held up as the top municipal course in the country for 2026. That’s the headline.
For more information on Osprey Point and Palm Beach County Gol, visit pbcgolf.com.
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