Northwest Florida Trip Report Dec 2017

[Argonne69]

I'm down in the Florida panhandle for three days, and six rounds of golf. I'll post reviews on the trip, and photos when I get back home. I'll be playing Sandestin Burnt Pine and Raven, Windswept, Regatta Bay, and Bay Point (Nicklaus and Meadows).

 

I've played dozens of rounds in Florida, but this is my first trip to the Panhandle. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[cardoustie]

too bad, i get down there on the 20th

 

Full report please

 

I will likely do Windswept, Holiday and Hombre and I think a member here is at Regatta Bay ... and trying to get on Camp Creek and Shark's Tooth

 

I've never done Burnt Pine

[Argonne69]

I started the trip with an early morning round at Burnt Pine. I was the first one out, and had the course to myself. With temps in the mid 50's, light winds, and mostly sunny skies, it felt a little like heaven. I'm not quite sure why the locals don't play in this weather, but it was simply delightful.

 

The course looks like your typical Florida course, other than the pine trees lining most of the holes. It routes through the resort, so there are homes on many of the holes. However, the course still feels open. A few of the holes on the back nine play along the bay, and have nice views. The course has a good combination of short and long holes. I thought the par 3's were sufficiently challenging. The course is fairly benign off the tees. If you're in trouble, you hit a bad shot. There's plenty of water on the course, but it's not overdone. The bunkering looks and plays fantastic. These are some of the nicest bunkers I've seen this season. The greens had enough undulations to offer a challenge if you were on the wrong part of the green. The grain was giving me fits at first. Putts into the grain were dog slow, but quite zippy down grain.

 

The conditions were excellent. No complaints whatsoever.

 

I had a solid start to the trip. 12 fairways and 12 greens, with a nice tap in birdie on the 18th. I put a new Ping G400 SFT 5 wood into play, and the club was awesome. It set me up for some good approaches on the par 5's.

 

Overall I'd highly recommend the course. It's a solid layout with few, if any, faults. The only ding is the price. The course requires a stay at the resort, and the dated room was double the price of the local hotels. Factor in the added lodging cost, and the round costs close to $200. Certainly not a bargain.

 

[Argonne69]

I don't belong to a private club, so it was nearly impossible to get on at Camp Creek and Shark's Tooth. Pity, because I've heard great things about both courses.

[Argonne69]

My second round of the day was on the Raven course at Sandestin Resort. The course has a bit of the look of Burnt Pine, but feels much tighter. The homes along the course seem to crowd it, although I guess it could be worse. There conditioning is much scruffier than Burnt Pine, having a more unkept look. I thought it was much tougher off the tee, with more hazards coming into play. Once again a good mix of hole lengths. The 600+ yard par 5 on the front nine is a beast. Otherwise the par 5's were scoring holes. The five par 3's had good variety.

 

The course conditioning were generally good. As noted above, it was a little dried out in some places, and a little too wet in others, but overall it was playable. The greens were in good shape, and rolled with moderate speed. The bunkers were no where near as good as Burnt Pine, but again playable.

 

A bit of a struggle off the tee in the afternoon. My nice draw turned into a nasty hook as I slowly ran out of gas. I finally wised up and started hitting a fade with better results. I still managed 11 greens, primarily thanks to the five par 3's. The only real highlight was a sweet 40 foot birdie putt on the island green par 3.

 

Overall I thought the course was decent, but uninspiring. I can't say I'd recommend it as a destination course, but it is a convenient pairing with Burnt Pine.

 

I'm enjoying a nice Irish Porter at McGuire's Irish Pub in Destin. This place is something. Probably worth a visit just for the atmosphere. Lol.

 

[ef131313]

I’ve had many rounds at McGuires. Good choice. I like Dewey Destin too

[Juan73]

I don't belong to a private club, so it was nearly impossible to get on at Camp Creek and Shark's Tooth. Pity, because I've heard great things about both courses.

 

You can get on both Camp Creek and Shark's Tooth IF you stay at The Watercolor Inn. I did that last year and only played Camp Creek. Loved the course. The Watercolor Inn is NOT cheap, though a beautiful property... which my wife really enjoyed.

 

I also played Burnt Pine...again I stayed at the Sandestin Resort which allowed me to get on the course for a much lower rate. Enjoyed Burnt Pine also.

[cardoustie]

We have a nearby house rented

 

Used to be simple to play both

[titaniumfrost302]

Thanks for the report. I'm in Pensacola but the only one on your list I've played is the Raven. Fred Couples design I believe. Will have to try Burnt Pine now if it's better. You're right about locals not braving 50* weather. Funny.

[titaniumfrost302]

And you're absolutely right about McGuires. Their brews are great.

[Argonne69]

This morning I played Windswept Dunes. The course is roughly ten miles north of the Gulf in a sandy local with tall pines. It reminded me a bit of Streamsong with the wild look. However, it is by no means comparable to Streamsong. The course routes through a residential area, but homes are only visible on a handful of holes. You mainly see the pine trees and sandy scrub.

 

I was rather disappointed with the layout. I thought it was a decent track, but they could have done so much more with the design. Off the tee it's fairly wide open. There are a handful of sweepers, but for the most part the holes play straight. I thought the bunkering was under done, with little trouble off the tee. Same around the greens. Could have used more bunkering.

 

I didn't care for the variety, or lack of it, on the hole lengths. Other than one short par 4, everything seemed to play at roughly 400 yards. I don't think I hit an 8 or 9 iron all day. There was one shorter par 3, but the others were more or less the same length.

 

The greens were fairly benign, and rolled with moderate speed at best. It appears that the greens had recently healed from an aeration. They rolled OK, but looked splotchy.

 

Decent morning ballstriking. 12 fairways, but only 9 greens. For the most part I was coming in with 7 iron or more, and it showed. I did manage a couple of birdies, but not enough to offset the bogies. A handful of scrambles helped keep the round from getting away from me.

 

Overall I'd say the course is worth a visit, but I think they could have done a lot more with the canvas they had. Perhaps playing a combo tee might be enough to mix it up. The course stretches to over 8000 yards, so there is definitely room to stretch or shorten holes while still staying within ones total length window.

[cardoustie]

it's fun off the tips

 

It could be a better course of course .. but fair value and a fun track to let the driver fly ALL DAY LONG

[Argonne69]

This afternoon's round was at Regatta Bay. Definitely the toughest of the four courses yet. Once again the course is bordered by pine trees and wetlands. It's relatively flat, but they've done a good job creating some man made mounding that gives it some character. There's enough water on the course to pose a challenge, but it's not overdone. There are a few homes adjacent to the holes, but for the most part the holes play in isolation. I thought the course could use more bunkering along the fairways. There are enough short holes to provide a good mix. I thought the par 3's were very good, with a variety of length. The 18th is an excellent risk/reward par 5 with water guarding the green.

 

Speaking of greens, they were almost diabolical. Running 12.5 according to the sign near the 1st tee, they were the real defenders of par. They weren't overly undulating, but with the green speeds up, you had to be below the hole. Lol. I saw way too many short putts run 6 to 10 feet past. With the slow speeds at Windswept this morning, it was a difficult adjustment.

 

Course conditions were decent. There were some wet spots from overwatering, but it was very playable for the most part.

 

After this morning's rather pleasant weather, the conditions took a turn downward. The winds picked up, and the temp dropped below 50. Scoring was much harder. I managed 9 fairways, and 10 greens, but birdies were extinct. What would normally be stress free two putts turned into real knee knockers. Nothing worse than a bogey was the highlight of the round.

 

Overall it was a great experience. I highly recommend the course.

[jimwgt26]

Im jealous, enjoy the rest of your trip.

[Argonne69]

My final day started on the Nicklaus course at Bay Point. Poor Jack didn't have much to work with here. It's a boring, flat piece of land that routes through a resort. Holes 5 and 6 are quiet nice, playing along the water, but otherwise meh. Homes are visible on most holes. There's water on 16 holes, but on many it really never comes into play. There are a handful of short par 4's that help mix it up a bit. The greens are typical Jack, with plenty of undulations. They were probably rolling at 10 or 11, and they proved quite challenging. The bunkering looked good, but needed grooming.

 

The course looked rather ragged, other than the greens. They were in very nice shape.

 

Started to run out of gas. The temps in the low 40's certainly didn't help. I managed 11 greens, but only snagged 1 birdie. Jack's greens always present a test.

 

I'm a big fan of Jack, but this course is worth a pass. It has a few highlights, but it's generally forgettable.

[Bonneville85308]

Thanks for the information, Argonne. I am going to be in this exact area for work next month and am considering tacking on a few days for golf on the end of the trip. Apparently this is considered the off-season in Destin as I've been able to find good deals on Holiday Inn type hotels for $75 or less. Had you considered playing Seascape or Emerald Bay? I know nothing about them other than I saw them on a map and their websites say they are open to the public.

 

From what I can gather, the weather in the area typically is nowhere near as good as south Florida but the hotel rooms are like 1/3 of the price. Works out good for the solo traveler who isn't packing a foursome into one room and splitting costs. I'm OK with playing in 45 degree weather (since where I live will be covered with snow) but am a little worried about getting rained out.

[Argonne69]

No, I haven't heard of those two courses. Yes, this is the off season here, and hotel rates and greens fees are cheap, especially when compared to South Florida. If you're willing to gamble with the weather, you can play a lot of cheap golf. It was cold this morning, but it's a beautiful sunny 66 right now. Of course I'm heading to the airport shortly. Next week's forecast calls for rain, so it's definitely a crap shoot. I got lucky this year. It was in the 30's last December when I went to Dallas.

 

[Sean2]

Very nice!

[Argonne69]

I finished my trip, and my golf season, at the Meadows course at Bay Point. Lol. Not sure why it's called the meadows, as it's not quite a wide open vista. A better name would be the Pines. The course is a tight parkland layout that routes through a housing development. The numerous trees are mature, and they put a premium on accuracy off the tee. The greens are very small, and much easier than the Nicklaus course. There are a good mix of holes, but all require precision.

 

The course was in OK shape. The sand in the bunkers was quite fluffy. The greens rolled very nice, but much slower than Nicklaus.

 

I seemed to get a last boost of energy. The warmer temps certainly helped, allowing me to peel off a layer of clothing. I was happy with the 10 fairways and 11 greens on the tight course. Putting was mediocre, but I did manage two short birdie putts, including a nice three footer on the 18th to close the season.

 

Overall I'd say the course is generally worth skipping. It's not a bad course, but it's definitely not a destination course. If I were a local I'd probably frequent it on occasion. That said, I'm probably being a bit harsh. The two rounds at Bay Point cost a grand total of $75. That's good value if you're simply looking to fill out your schedule. I'm glad I saved these for last as I ran out of steam.

 

I'm enjoying a beer at Schooners overlooking the Gulf. Wow, the sand is white. I'll hit a couple of brewpubs as I make my way back to the airport. I'll post some photos tomorrow, and my final comments and rankings on Monday.

[cardoustie]

Agree on both Bay Pointe courses ... 5 out of 10

[Argonne69]

Burnt Pine GC at Sandestin (Front 9)

 

#1. Tough start.

 

 

 

Ah, morning golf.

 

 

#4

 

 

#5 (Par 5)

 

 

 

#6 (Par 3)

 

 

#7

 

 

#8

 

 

#9

 

 

[Argonne69]

Burnt Pine GC at Sandestin (Back 9)

 

#10

 

 

#11

 

 

#12 (Par 3)

 

 

#13

 

 

 

 

#14 (Par 3)

 

 

#15

 

 

#16 (Par 5)

 

 

#17

 

 

#18

 

[Argonne69]

Raven GC at Sandestin (Front 9)

 

#1

 

 

#4 (Par 3)

 

 

#6, the par 3 island green

 

 

The long par 5 7th

 

[Argonne69]

Raven GC at Sandestin (Back 9)

 

#10

 

 

#11 (par 5)

 

 

The short par 3 12th

 

 

#14

 

 

The short par 4 15th

 

 

#17 (Par 5)

 

 

#18

 

[Argonne69]

Maguire's. One of the thickest New York strips I've ever had.

 

[Argonne69]

Windswept Dunes (Front 9)

 

#1

 

 

#2 (Par 3)

 

 

 

#3 (Par 5)

 

 

#4

 

 

#5

 

 

#6 (Par 3)

 

 

#7

 

 

#8 (Par 5)

 

 

#8 approach

 

 

#9

 

 

[Argonne69]

Windswept Dunes (Back 9)

 

#10

 

 

#11

 

 

#12 (Par 3)

 

 

#13 (Par 5)

 

 

#14

 

 

#15

 

 

#16 (Par 3)

 

 

#17

 

 

#18

 

 

 

Looking at the pics, I believe Windswept could use a few elevated tee boxes. With the native junk in front of the teeboxes, the views are somewhat restricted.

[Argonne69]

Regatta Bay Golf and Yacht Club (Front 9)

 

#1

 

 

#2

 

 

#5 (Par 5)

 

 

#6

 

 

#7

 

 

#7 approach

 

 

#8 (par 3)

 

 

#9

 

[Argonne69]

Regatta Bay Golf and Yacht Club (Back 9)

 

#10

 

 

#11

 

 

#12 (Par 5)

 

 

 

#13 (Par 3)

 

 

#15 (Par 3)

 

 

#18 (Par 5)

 

 

Go for it?

 

 

Nope.

 

[coreyl]

Thanks for the report. I'm in Pensacola but the only one on your list I've played is the Raven. Fred Couples design I believe. Will have to try Burnt Pine now if it's better. You're right about locals not braving 50* weather. Funny.

Kelly Plantation is the Couples course.