Under the warm Florida sun, framed by blue sky and emerald fairways, you’ll find the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie.

PGA Village is made up of the PGA Golf Club (with 54 championship holes), the PGA “Short Course”, the Center for Golf Learning and Performance and the PGA Historical Center.

Owned and operated by the PGA of America, the tracks were set up to offer the public some top-notch golf at very fair prices. In fact, there is a family course there where you can roll off I-95 and play for free.

Known as the home course for the 28,000 members of the Professional Golfers Association of America, the PGA Golf Club offers three championship layouts – the Ryder, Wanamaker and Dye courses. Owned and operated by the PGA of America, the tracks were set up to offer the public some top-notch golf at very fair prices. In fact, there is a family course there where you can roll off I-95 and play for free. The “Short Course” (a six-hole layout with distances ranging from 30 – 60 yards long) is open to all who would like to play, especially kids and beginners.

PGA Professional Wes Blevins played with me as we toured the Pete Dye-designed Dye course, a wonderful example of native grasses and large parcels of coquina shell waste areas with pine straw rough. With its many grass bunkers and steep sand traps, it has the distinctive feel and look of a links-style layout. The greens tend to be somewhat narrow, but are very deep from front to back, offering a multitude of tricky pin placements. The course is rated a tough 75.9 with a slope of 147 from the tips and a friendlier 6,250 71/132 from the middle standard tees.

Number two is a par 4 that plays more like a par 5 with the yardage from the back tees at 497. It is still a strong 410 yards from the standard tees with lots of waste area and native grass to avoid.

The sixth hole is a noted par 3 that plays to a very well-protected green with an abundance of bunkers and a lake if you fail to carry all the trouble. Aim for the middle of this long green and don’t get suckered into firing at a tight pin location. The 18th is a par 4 that plays pretty straight away to a well-guarded putting surface that has lots of subtle undulations to trick your eye. The green is the key to this hole.

My favorite is the Ryder course, designed by Tom Fazio and known to have the best greens on the property. It has a more open “Carolina” feel with plenty of rolling hills and pine trees. From the back tees, it plays 7,037 with a rating/slope of 73.9/134. From the standard tees, it is 6,144 and 69.7/126, still a fine test.

The seventh hole, a strong par 3 that plays 238 yards from the back and 199 from the standard tees, is guarded by a large pond on the right so you should aim a little left to be safe.

Number 13 is a burly par 5 with a heavily bunkered green to catch any shots that come up short. Carry the bunkers and you’ll get a chance at a birdie.

The par 4 number 18 is a beautiful finishing hole that moves slightly uphill toward the clubhouse to a speedy, but fair, green. You can make a birdie here with a deft putt. Tom Fazio does a great job on all of his designs, but this is one of his best.

Fazio also produced the third course at PGA Golf Club, the Wanamaker course. This layout is used for most of the important PGA of America tournaments such as the PGA Stroke Play and the PGA Assistants Championship. If you play this track, you’ll see why.

At 7,123 from the tournament tees, it is rated at 74.8 with a killer slope of 144. It is more of a traditional Florida-style course with palm trees and plenty of lakes. The fairways roam through the palmettos and wetlands, making driving and iron accuracy key skills required to beat this course.

The par 4, 18th is a perfect example of this. You must drive to a tight landing area to the left of a large lake. Your approach shot must be precise and land on the proper section of the green, all the while avoiding the lake and the deep bunker fronting the green. The number 6 par 3 is a good-looking hole, downhill over a lake. But again, stay out of the bunker guarding the right side.

Number 13 has a long lake protecting the right side of the fairway with a huge, very steep bunker guarding the left side – this is a tight driving hole.

All three courses have been recently renovated and are in great shape so bring your sticks and have at them. You can spend several days challenging these magnificent tracks.

Since you are a true golfer, you’ll definitely want to take the time to see the outstanding PGA Historical Center, free and open to the publicThe Historical Center is packed with memorabilia and items that show the early days of golf and the beginning of the PGA.

Here, you’ll see the Vardon Trophy that Tiger Woods seems to have a lock on year after year. Trophies of the four major championships (Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and British Open) are on display as well as the actual putter used by young Tom Morris, Jr. to win the British Open multiple times. There is also a large library with over 6,000 hardcover books and 3,000 handbooks and yearbooks for your reading pleasure.

The next stop is the Center for Golf Learning and Performance, a 35 acre teaching and practice area that will allow you to hone your game to PGA Tour standards if you have the stamina. Led by PGA Head Professional Eric Hogge, the center offers a huge range area with more than 100 full swing practice stations. Under the shade of a huge cover, I enjoyed hitting balls so much that I got carried away and beat more balls than I should have as I searched for the perfect swing (I didn’t find it, but I’m still looking).

Then there are the multiple practice bunkers including a grass bunker and others with several types of sand ranging from soft silica, to a dark colored clay mix, to more of a packed variety. You’ll have no excuse next time you land in a trap.

There are two different areas to check out your chipping and pitching skills: a 7,000 square foot putting green and three actual golf holes used for playing lessons with the PGA pros who teach there.

Inside the Center for Golf Learning and Performance in a special back room is the MAT-T (Motion Action Technology) system by TaylorMade Golf. This fitting system is more than the PGA Tour players see out on Tour. With the help of small, light-reflective pods attached to the golfer’s clothing and club, the numerous high-speed cameras will yield an in-depth breakdown of the golfer’s swing characteristics. Many of the pros will travel to one of a handful in the world to have their swing analyzed and then get fitted with the best equipment to enhance their game.

You may contact the PGA professionals at the Center for Golf Learning and Performance and take advantage of this unique device for you to be fit like the Tour pros. Call them at (800) 800-GOLF to get more information.

Directly across the street, a mere pitch shot away, is a great place to stay – the Hilton Garden Inn at PGA Village. After a long day of playing golf or practicing until you have finally mastered the fine technique of a 330-yard drive, you may find that a great meal is in order. Located right in the Hilton Garden Inn is Sam Snead’s Tavern with plenty of superb items on the menu to replenish your strength. Take a walk around the restaurant while they are preparing your meal and peruse all of Sam’s memorabilia that is on display.

After you have gained back your strength you have no reason not to walk back across the road and spend a few more hours perfecting your short game. After all, you do want to shoot under par right?

Selected as one of the “75 Best Golf Resorts in North America” by Golf Digest and rated as “excellent” in Zagat’s America’s Top Golf Courses 2009/2010, PGA Village is the place to go the next time you are putting together a golf vacation in Florida. You’ll have more to do there than you can imagine!

See more at www.pgavillage.com.