On November 11, 1926, the City of Lake Worth opened nine holes of golf on fill pumped up from the lagoon. One hundred years later, the municipal Lake Worth Beach Golf Club is marking the anniversary with a Centennial Gala on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, a 1920s-themed night that starts at the clubhouse on the Intracoastal and rolls by trolley to the Casino Ballroom on the beach. Tickets are $100, and the proceeds go to the club's junior golf program.

How the night is laid out

The gala is split between the golf course on the lagoon and the beachfront casino building. It opens with a cocktail hour from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Beach Club Restaurant, the bar and grill inside the golf club at 1 7th Ave. N., on the west bank of the Intracoastal Waterway. From there, guests ride a trolley east to the Casino Ballroom at 10 S. Ocean Blvd., where dinner, a program and dancing run from 6:30 to 11 p.m.

According to the club's invitation, the evening includes live music and a plated dinner, and guests are encouraged to come dressed in 1920s attire. The $100 ticket covers one drink ticket at each of the two venues, and a cash bar is available at both. The invitation frames the night around three themes: the course's history, the community around it and its next hundred years.

A course built out of the lake

The golf course is older than many of the buildings around it. According to the Florida Historic Golf Trail, a program of the Florida Department of State's Division of Historical Resources, the City of Lake Worth approved a proposition in 1923 to build a municipal golf course along its lakefront. The plan called for dredging the bottom of the Lake Worth Lagoon to build up the shoreline where the fairways would go.

Captain H.H.C. Tippett, a golf architect from Miami, took over construction early in 1925. The first nine holes opened on Nov. 11, 1926, at a cost of $400,000. At the opening ceremony, Mayor A.D. Clark handed the clubhouse keys to the club's golf professional, Cameron Trent, and the day closed with an amateur tournament and an exhibition match among local pros. A round cost $1 a day, or $15 for the month.

The course grew to 18 holes after World War II. Architect Dick Wilson redesigned the original nine and added nine more, and the full course opened on Nov. 6, 1948, when Mayor J.T. Barton hit the first tee shot on a layout that then measured 5,808 yards and played to par 68.

The course today

Today the Lake Worth Beach Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-71 public course that runs along about 1.2 miles of the Intracoastal Waterway, with views of the Palm Beach skyline. The club describes an old Florida design shaped by mature banyans and other native trees, with doglegs and a layout built for players of every level. Walkers are welcome, and the club offers annual memberships for both residents and non-residents, along with seasonal memberships, a pro shop and lessons.

Where the money goes

Gala proceeds benefit the club's Junior Golf Program, so the night that looks back at the course's first century also helps pay for the young players who will carry it into the next one. The club's Director of Golf, Marty Caifano, a PGA member, offers lessons for golfers of all abilities, juniors included.

How to get tickets

Tickets are sold online through the City of Lake Worth Beach website, which the golf club links to from its 100 Years Events page. The city's special events office answers questions at [email protected], and the golf club can be reached at 561-582-9713. Since the trolley carries guests from the first venue to the second, plan to arrive at the Beach Club for the 5 p.m. cocktail hour.

  • What: Lake Worth Beach Golf Club Centennial Gala, marking 100 years since the course opened in 1926
  • When: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. Cocktail hour 5 to 6:30 p.m.; dinner, program and dancing 6:30 to 11 p.m.
  • Where: Beach Club Restaurant, 1 7th Ave. N., Lake Worth Beach, then by trolley to the Casino Ballroom, 10 S. Ocean Blvd., Lake Worth Beach
  • Cost: $100 per person, including one drink ticket at each venue; cash bar available
  • Dress: 1920s attire encouraged
  • Benefits: The club's junior golf program

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