Destin advice

[paulmtalleyjr]

Regatta Bay or Emerald Bay??

[Dr.Frankenputz]

No experience with emerald bay. Regatta bay was in good shape a few months ago & had a great time. Pretty sure there’s a Destin thread or two with more information. 

[cardoustie]

Both good

[hammergolf]

Emerald is much tougher, but both are good tracks. If you can only play one, Regatta is prob more fun. 

[spdrcrx]

Kelly Plantation

[AdamHermsdorfer]

At the lower cost tier, the Links in San Destin is a good value.  I feel it had more holes on the bay than Kelly's or Regatta.  

[cleverprimate24]

On 6/14/2021 at 6:42 PM, paulmtalleyjr said:

Regatta Bay or Emerald Bay??

Regatta Bay is rated better, Emerald Bay is one of the lower ranked "Sandestin Resorts" courses. 

 

I played the Raven a month ago and really enjoyed it. It's the best publicly available of the "Sandestin Resorts" family of courses. Other options to consider, Kelly Plantation, has tremendous views of the bay, and Indian Bayou while not as scenic as the others, is a really good track and a bit more affordable. 

 

 

Note: I've played, Raven, Kelly Plantation, and Indian Bayou. I went off of the Grint course ratings to compare and choose which ones to pay.

 

Regatta Bay is supposedly great too, but ended up with Raven bc of the price vs rating comparison. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by cleverprimate24

[gmayo11]

If you are open to go inland a little, Windswept Dunes is fantastic.  It has been my favorite course to play in the area when comparing price, design, and conditions.  It has always been well kept when I have played, and it is a fun, big ballpark to play.  It is in Freeport, so about 30 minutes from the coast.

[danglingangler]

Like others, I’d say that Regatta Bay is the better choice here. I play it every year on our vacation. Sometimes throw in Kelly Plantation as well. Can’t go wrong with either of those. 

[hammergolf]

On 6/29/2021 at 9:38 AM, gmayo11 said:

If you are open to go inland a little, Windswept Dunes is fantastic.  It has been my favorite course to play in the area when comparing price, design, and conditions.  It has always been well kept when I have played, and it is a fun, big ballpark to play.  It is in Freeport, so about 30 minutes from the coast.

I played that from the tips once..... Never make that mistake again. I think it's like 7,800yds. Felt like 10,000

Edited June 30, 2021 by hammergolf

[vandyfan]

Windswept Dunes - in good/great shape, nice variety of holes, and has WIDTH unlike the courses closer to the gulf. A little bit of a drive but very much worth it. It is in a housing community but the homes do not really encroach on the golf course like many other Florida courses. This is my favorite course in the area if I have time to make the drive to Freeport.

 

Regatta Bay - I played there last year and they was a lot of construction going on with homes around the golf course that was a bit annoying. The course at times is in a swamp-like forest, then right by hwy 98 then among a bunch of houses and feels sort of disjointed as a result. I think the best thing about the course is they have a very handsome range. I think you could pay a little more and have a better experience at Kelly Plantation. I think Regatta Bay is fine but it almost aspires to be like Kelly Plantation to me and falls short. Whereas Emerald Bay seems to embrace its footing as mid tier golf course. 

 

Kelly Plantation - to me this is the best "resort" golf in Destin. Course is in great shape and has an excellent view of the bay on a couple of holes. Has an extra par 5 (and, as a result an extra par 3) which makes it more fun to me. Can be tight in some places but overall a fair test. If money was no object I would play here all the time. 

 

Emerald Bay - I tend to like emerald bay. It is not super high end but has some interesting holes and the greens are typically in good shape. Pace of play out here is my one gripe as there tend to be a lot of slow golfers out here (maybe it is just bad luck on my part). This is a decent option. Water comes into play on a number of holes. 

[KingstonGolfer]

Regatta 

[vandyfan]

On 7/6/2021 at 1:40 PM, blackbdmillsaps said:

Regatta Bay - I played there last year and they was a lot of construction going on with homes around the golf course that was a bit annoying. The course at times is in a swamp-like forest, then right by hwy 98 then among a bunch of houses and feels sort of disjointed as a result. I think the best thing about the course is they have a very handsome range. I think you could pay a little more and have a better experience at Kelly Plantation. I think Regatta Bay is fine but it almost aspires to be like Kelly Plantation to me and falls short. Whereas Emerald Bay seems to embrace its footing as mid tier golf course. 

 

Based on what was said in this thread I am actually going back to Regatta in a few weeks when I go to Destin. In reality, I don't think I care that much that the course is disjointed and from a time perspective the only courses that I can play and then get back to my family in a reasonable amount of time are: The Sandestin Courses (Links, Raven, Baytowne), Emerald Bay, Kelly Plantation and Regatta Bay. KP is topping out at like $160 right now which feels like too much. For some reason there are no tee times available in a few weeks at Baytowne (I wonder if they are aerating early or having an event?), Links at Sandestin is just cartoonishly tight (for me) in too many places. So it comes down to Emerald Bay (I like the layout even if conditions are a little scruffy in some areas), Raven and Regatta. Ultimately, I want to try Regatta again because it is fairly open for a destin course without too much water or home encroachment. I will likely also play Emerald Bay just because I have played it almost every time I go down there. Anyway, just wanted to adjust my opinion a bit as I think I judged Regatta harshly during a transition period. 

[vandyfan]

I am finally going to play the Links at Sandestin after going to Destin 2x per year for 5 years now. I have always been scared off by the tightness of the course and looking at it on Google Earth, I am pretty sure I will not be hitting driver on ANY hole out here, which is amazing. I mean, for everyone who says "resort" golf is easy, please explain this hole to me which is 375 yds from the SENIOR tees (which I think I will be playing because of the aforementioned tightness). Just look at this hole:

 

The water comes in at 220+. So you have to hit a 200-215 yd shot and the reward is a 165-175 shot into a green with water left long and right. Also, if you notice, if you tried to layup 15 yds short, the landing zone is EVEN narrower. Again, this is from the SENIOR tees. This is just a nasty, mean spirited hole that I am already mad about and I haven't even played it yet. I would imagine if someone was on vacation and only played golf 5-10 times per year comes out here and tries to hit driver they are going to get nuked. 

 

[hammergolf]

9 hours ago, blackbdmillsaps said:

I am finally going to play the Links at Sandestin after going to Destin 2x per year for 5 years now. I have always been scared off by the tightness of the course and looking at it on Google Earth, I am pretty sure I will not be hitting driver on ANY hole out here, which is amazing. I mean, for everyone who says "resort" golf is easy, please explain this hole to me which is 375 yds from the SENIOR tees (which I think I will be playing because of the aforementioned tightness). Just look at this hole:

 

The water comes in at 220+. So you have to hit a 200-215 yd shot and the reward is a 165-175 shot into a green with water left long and right. Also, if you notice, if you tried to layup 15 yds short, the landing zone is EVEN narrower. Again, this is from the SENIOR tees. This is just a nasty, mean spirited hole that I am already mad about and I haven't even played it yet. I would imagine if someone was on vacation and only played golf 5-10 times per year comes out here and tries to hit driver they are going to get nuked. 

 

I’ve played there many times since our company was based in Ft. Walton beach. We “affectionately” called that hole the skunk stripe… We tried playing it every way. But in the end realized it was best to hit driver as far down as you can. If it went in the hazard, so be it you could hit your 3rd on the green. If by the grace of good you hit the skunk stripe you had a short in and if it went in the water you had a short chip. Easy bogey. We called it the shortest par 5 in FL.

[vandyfan]

10 hours ago, hammergolf said:

I’ve played there many times since our company was based in Ft. Walton beach. We “affectionately” called that hole the skunk stripe… We tried playing it every way. But in the end realized it was best to hit driver as far down as you can. If it went in the hazard, so be it you could hit your 3rd on the green. If by the grace of good you hit the skunk stripe you had a short in and if it went in the water you had a short chip. Easy bogey. We called it the shortest par 5 in FL.

 

Thank you for responding! This is one of the most intimidating holes I have ever seen. I was legitimately thinking I would hit hybrid and then try to layup 50 yds short of the hole, haha. I have played many of the Destin courses except this one and the Raven so it feels like I should at least give it a fair shake. I am seriously considering not even bringing my driver because I am not sure where I would even hit it (I have a 40+ yd lateral dispersion with my Driver). 

[cardia10]

On 5/3/2022 at 1:59 PM, blackbdmillsaps said:

I am finally going to play the Links at Sandestin after going to Destin 2x per year for 5 years now. I have always been scared off by the tightness of the course and looking at it on Google Earth, I am pretty sure I will not be hitting driver on ANY hole out here, which is amazing. I mean, for everyone who says "resort" golf is easy, please explain this hole to me which is 375 yds from the SENIOR tees (which I think I will be playing because of the aforementioned tightness). Just look at this hole:

 

The water comes in at 220+. So you have to hit a 200-215 yd shot and the reward is a 165-175 shot into a green with water left long and right. Also, if you notice, if you tried to layup 15 yds short, the landing zone is EVEN narrower. Again, this is from the SENIOR tees. This is just a nasty, mean spirited hole that I am already mad about and I haven't even played it yet. I would imagine if someone was on vacation and only played golf 5-10 times per year comes out here and tries to hit driver they are going to get nuked. 

 

I just played the Links for the first time last week. Hit driver more than I expected but did hit a lot of long iron/hybrid layups. Houses shouldn't come into play....saying that, I hit 3 houses harder than I ever have in my life! Don't try to cut the corners with driver! Not sure why but the greens were super slow, honestly maybe rolling like a 6. I enjoyed the course but it was near $100 and based on the greens, I wouldn't pay that much to play it again.

[vandyfan]

 

42 minutes ago, cardia10 said:

$100 and based on the greens, I wouldn't pay that much to play it again.

 

I will be playing the very end of the aeration period which is $55. How did 18 play? Was it windy? I am almost looking forward to the carnage that may ensue out there. Will definitely humble me. 

[cardia10]

2 hours ago, blackbdmillsaps said:

 

 

I will be playing the very end of the aeration period which is $55. How did 18 play? Was it windy? I am almost looking forward to the carnage that may ensue out there. Will definitely humble me. 

Wind was gusting pretty good all day. 18 wasn’t too bad but other than the 3 times, I hit it well off the tee which is rare for me. I would love to play it again. Not sure what was up with the greens. Maybe just due for a good cut but played the next day in Panama City and it was golf as normal on the greens.