Tiburon Golf Club Naples: Gold vs Black, Ritz-Carlton guest access and the tour weeks

Tiburon Golf Club Naples is two Greg Norman courses, the Gold and the Black, wrapped around The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon. It is a membership club, and the practical way for a visitor to play is to stay at that hotel or at the sister Ritz-Carlton, Naples on the beach and book tee times as a resort guest. Green fees are dynamic and not published.

It is also the busiest tour venue in Southwest Florida, with three professional events between November and February. This guide covers who can get a tee time, how the Gold and Black compare, what the published numbers say, and which weeks to avoid. Facts were checked November 3, 2026; rates and access rules change, so confirm when you book.

Quick facts

• Access: guests of The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon and The Ritz-Carlton, Naples; membership club otherwise.
• Book: the club's ezlinks system (tiburon.ezlinks.com) or the golf department, 239-254-3340. Club line 239-593-2200.
• Courses: Gold (1998) and Black (2001), both par 72, both Greg Norman with Tad Burnett.
• Back tees: Gold 7,382 yards, 76.0/137. Black 6,949 yards, 74.6/147.
• Address: 2620 Tiburon Dr, Naples, FL 34109.
• From downtown Naples: about 21 minutes, 10.2 miles.
• Google rating: 4.7 from 911 reviews (shared by both courses).
• Tour events: CME Group Tour Championship (Gold, Nov 19-22, 2026), Grant Thornton Invitational (Gold, Dec 11-13, 2026), Chubb Classic (Black, listed Feb 11-14, 2027).

Who can play Tiburon Golf Club Naples

The Tiburon Gold Course and the Tiburon Black Course sit inside a membership club, and the hotel on the property is the visitor's way in. The Ritz-Carlton's FAQ says hotel guests have access. Guests of the beach hotel use a free shuttle and book as resort guests too.

GolfNow and TeeOff have facility pages for both courses, but the research could not confirm that a non-guest can book in season, and GolfPass lists a resort stay as required. So plan Tiburon as stay-to-play. Book your tee times when you book the room, and get the guest green fee in writing.

That puts Tiburon in the same small group as LaPlaya Golf Club and the Rookery at Marco: good golf a visitor can only reach through a hotel. Our guide to private golf clubs in Naples explains the other routes onto members' courses, and the LaPlaya Golf Club guide covers the other guest-only course a few minutes away.

Gold vs Black: which Tiburon course to play

Both are flat, wide Norman resort courses with no rough. Misses end up in waste areas of crushed coquina, coquina-wall bunkers or lakes. Beyond that they play quite differently.

Women's ratings: Gold Middle 73.2/130 and Forward 69.6/119; Black Middle 73.0/136, Forward 69.9/117 and Family 64.7/98. The tee data comes from GolfPass and was not checked against the national rating database.

The Gold is the big one, 7,382 yards from the back, and the tournament course for the LPGA finale and the Grant Thornton. The research rates it 3 out of 5 for difficulty: long from the Championship tees but forgiving with no rough.

The Black is shorter but tighter, with more water and coquina. From the Back tees at 6,465 yards it still slopes 144, which is why the research rates it 4 out of 5 and says it plays much harder than its length. Reviewers rate the Black higher.

For most visitors, the Tiburon tees (about 6,100 yards on both) are the sensible choice. The Black's Family tees at 3,975 yards make it one of the few high-end Naples courses that work for a beginner partner or for kids. If you stay three nights, the research's advice is simple: play both.

What Tiburon costs

There is no public rate card. Pricing is dynamic through ezlinks. These are the only figures in the files, all labelled:

Treat the green fee figures as a guide only (seen November 2026; rates change). Carts are reported as included, but that was not confirmed. The resort fee includes daily range access for two, according to Booking.com. For how Tiburon compares with the courses anyone can book, see Naples golf rates.

The tour weeks at Tiburon

Three events land here in four months, and each closes one of the courses to resort play for its week and setup.

• CME Group Tour Championship (LPGA): November 19-22, 2026 on the Gold, pro-am November 17-18. The Tiburon hotel and North Naples hotels fill, and Vanderbilt Beach Road and Livingston Road traffic is heavy.
• Grant Thornton Invitational (PGA Tour and LPGA mixed team event): December 11-13, 2026 on the Gold, per ticket listings; one site gives a December 7-13 window including practice and the pro-am. When the Gold is closed, the Black usually carries resort play, but that was not confirmed for 2026.
• Chubb Classic (PGA Tour Champions): listed for February 11-14, 2027 on the Black. It falls on Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day weekend, so North Naples rooms and restaurants are at peak demand. Confirm the dates at chubbclassic.com.

The Naples Winter Wine Festival is also held at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon, on January 29-31, 2027 (one listing says January 30 to February 1). It fills both Ritz-Carlton properties but has little effect on golf.

If you want to watch, all three events are ticketed. If you want to play, check the dates before you lock your trip. Our Naples golf events guide lists everything else that moves prices, and Naples golf in November covers the early-season weeks around the CME.

Best time to play Tiburon

January to April is peak season across Southwest Florida, with the highest fees and the busiest tee sheets. Early December, between the CME and the Grant Thornton, is the research's sweet spot for weather before full peak pricing, though both events touch Tiburon in that stretch. Summer is the cheapest time, with afternoon storms and lightning delays, so play early.

The courses are bermuda. Tiburon's 2026 summer aerification dates were not published, and most courses in the area close a week or more in summer for it. Hurricane Ian in 2022 flooded the Tiburon cart tunnel, according to Troon. See the best time to golf in Naples for the month-by-month view.

Where to stay for Tiburon

The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon is on the course, about 5 minutes and 1.2 miles from either first tee by the map's estimate. It has 295 rooms including 37 suites, the Reservoir lazy-river pool complex, a spa and a seasonal Caddie Concierge from November to April. Rooms and the lobby were renovated from May to September 2026. The catches: it is not on the beach, the $66.60 resort fee and parking add up, and no live nightly rate was published.

The Ritz-Carlton, Naples is on the Gulf at Vanderbilt Beach, with the same $66.60 resort fee. Golf is a shuttle ride of about 15 minutes. The research flags guest booking at Tiburon from this hotel as inferred from the shared shuttle rather than read on an official page, so confirm when you reserve. It suits couples where one plays and one heads for the beach.

Compare both with LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, the JW Marriott Marco Island and the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Naples golf resorts.

Public courses near Tiburon

If you are not staying at a Ritz-Carlton, North Naples is mostly private clubs. The closest public option in the files is ArrowHead Golf Club off Immokalee Rd, about 25 minutes from downtown Naples. It is flat, has 16 lakes and plays 6,832 yards at 73.1/130 from the back. GolfNow showed a summer afternoon deal at $51.99 with cart in August 2026. See the ArrowHead course guide, or read public golf courses in Naples for the full list cheapest to dearest and North Naples golf for the neighbourhood.

For course pages with tees and the hole map, open the Tiburon Gold course guide and the Tiburon Black course guide. If you have played a tour venue in the desert, our PGA West Stadium Course guide shows how a bookable resort course on a tour rota compares.

Is Tiburon worth it?

For a golf-first couple or a small group who want two polished Norman courses outside the door, yes, if the room rate works. You get guaranteed guest tee times, a 36-hole property and a tour pedigree. The trade-offs are clear: you pay luxury hotel prices plus the resort fee, the green fees are unpublished and reported among the highest in the area in season, and the tour weeks take a course out of play in November, December and February.

Plan it on the map

Open the Naples golf map to see both Tiburon courses with their tees, the two Ritz-Carlton hotels and the public courses nearby. The $30 plan puts Tiburon on the right day of your trip, clear of tournament weeks.