ATTN: Florida Golfers - Going to Destin next week

[pkuhr9]

Heading to Destin, FL next week for spring break with freinds.

 

We are looking to play at least 3 times within 30-40min drive or less.

 

has anyone been there recently or live close by?

 

High price courses on my radar are:

Camp Creek - $150, is there a cheaper online option? if so how?

Sharks Tooth - private? if so how do you get on?

Kelly Plantation - heard its a little overrated

The Raven

 

Medium price courses:

Regatta Bay

Windswept

Eglin AFB golf courses

Sandestin golf courses

 

low price courses:

The Links

Rocky Bayou

Santa Rosa Golf Club

 

thanks for the help guys!

[pkuhr9]

anybody played The Club at Hidden Creek?

Golf Digest has is rated at 4.5 starts
[url="http://courses.golfdigest.com/l/29793/The-Club-At-Hidden-Creek-Hidden-Creek"]http://courses.golfdigest.com/l/29793/The-Club-At-Hidden-Creek-Hidden-Creek[/url]

[Bubb]

I agree that Kelly Plantation is overrated. Camp Creek is the best in the area, but it's the wrong time of year to get online deals there. All of the Sandestin courses are good. Emerald Bay is decent and can be had for $44 on EZLinks.com. Skip Seascape.

[dennis4190]

I played Kelly Plantation last September, nice course but not worth $99.00 IMO. and that was an afternoon rate. They also charged $25.00 for my wife to ride along!

[pkuhr9]

I think we will try to play three courses

Camp Creek if I can convince the other people playing with me it will be worth the price

then a Sandestin Course - Raven for Twilight rates or the Links

and The Club at Hidden Creek is very interesting to me, its only $22 (golf now) and is highly rated on Golf Digest

[cardoustie]

Camp Creek and Shark's Tooth are must plays .. pretend you are interested in housing for deals

Both are three times better than the others in the area

Kelly blows as does Regatta IMO

Windswept Dunes is not too far away and is OK. Longest course in FLA I believe, fun to play

[hacker101]

[quote name='pkuhr9' timestamp='1364219172' post='6687541']
Heading to Destin, FL next week for spring break with freinds.

We are looking to play at least 3 times within 30-40min drive or less.

has anyone been there recently or live close by?

[u]High price courses on my radar are[/u]:
Camp Creek - $150, is there a cheaper online option? if so how?
Sharks Tooth - private? if so how do you get on?
Kelly Plantation - heard its a little overrated
The Raven

[u]Medium price courses[/u]:
Regatta Bay
Windswept
Eglin AFB golf courses
Sandestin golf courses

l[u]ow price courses[/u]:
The Links
Rocky Bayou
Santa Rosa Golf Club

thanks for the help guys!
[/quote]



To me Sharks Tooth is the nicest course in the panhandle. Had a member get me on. Camp Creek is supposed to be as nice but more difficult. Hidden creek is usually in pretty good shape and good value. Another medium price is Indian Bayou. Pretty fair and usually in good shape. I like Regetta more than Kelly. Never played Rocky Bayou but it has a good reputation. Windswept Dunes is a whole lot of golf course. Very long from the rear tees and if the wind blows.....usually in pretty good shape.

[lumberman2462]

Camp Creek & Shark's Tooth are the best in the area.

Burnt Pine & Raven at Sandestin are the only two on the resort that are really great.

Kelly & Regatta are....ok. I've played them both many times but just cannot get fired up about playing again.

A hidden gem -- depending on conditioning -- is Emerald Bay. FYI: DO NOT GET INTO A BLIND MONEY GAME OUT THERE. There is a group of locals that will play for any amount you want to try. $20K-50K on matches. Not kidding. It crazy.

[fsutanker]

camp creek via ezkinks. com. The pro shop there can book you a time at Sharks Tooth. two great courses.

[OK_Golf]

[indent=1]Hello All.[/indent]

[indent=1]I'm headed to Destin in late July and had a few questions:[/indent]

[indent=1]1. Maintenance schedules: when do Destin area courses aerate? Am I safe in late July?[/indent]
[indent=1]2. We were thinking Raven, Kelly Planation and maybe Burnt Pine ... can you get on here if you're not staying at Sandestin? Is it any better than the others?[/indent]
[indent=1]3. Is Regatta Bay better/worse than any of the above?[/indent]
[indent=1]4. What's the best method/site for deals: golfnow, ezlinks, call the course and negotiate?[/indent]

[indent=1]We probably are NOT driving to Camp Creek or Sharks Tooth, but if anything else should be considered, let me know.[/indent]

[indent=1]Thanks,[/indent]
[indent=1]OK_Golf[/indent]

[OK_Golf]

Hello All,

Just a bump for my old question. I'll boil it down a litte:

1. Regatta Bay or Kelly Planation?
2. Should we push to get on Burnt Pine or just be happy with Raven at Sandestin (we aren't staying at Sandestin)?

Thanks Wrxers

[lumberman2462]

Regatta vs Kelly is [i]Six vs Half Dozen. [/i]The Rangers at Kelly can be.....grumpy.

Burnt Pine is much better than Raven, IMO. I wouldn't pay the money for the rest of the Sandesin Courses.

You may not wish the drive - but Camp Creek is worth it.

FYI: I've been playing golf in Destin since the 80s.

[OK_Golf]

Thanks Lumberman!

Can you get on Burnt Pine if you aren't staying at Sandestin?

If we are playing two rounds between Kelly, Regatta and Raven, which two should we play? I think I got from your last post that you would avoid Raven ... was that rigth?

How long does it take to get to Camp Creek from close to Sandestin (we are staying in a house kind of close to the Outlet mall)?

[lumberman2462]

There's nothing wrong with Raven. But the last time I was there the green fees had gone through the roof - for what it is.

Getting on Burnt Pine can be tricky if you're not staying at Sandestin and depending on the time of year. Not impossible but I really think they determine their policy based upon how they feel on a given day.

30 minutes to Camp Creek depending on traffic and worth the drive. Take all of your game with you.....you'll need it.

Staying in Destin then I rank 'em this way - Kelly/Regatta = Tie. Play them both and decide which one you like better. Burnt Pine has it all over Raven. Emerald Bay is a quirky little track but is pretty fun.

Avoid the rest of the Sandestin courses. Although I talked with someone recently who told me they'd done some work on those [i]other [/i]SanDestin courses and they're ok now. I've avoided everything but Raven & Burnt Pine for the last decade.

[bcflyguy1]

[quote name='lumberman2462' timestamp='1372086810' post='7312896']
30 minutes to Camp Creek depending on traffic and worth the drive. Take all of your game with you.....you'll need it.

[/quote]

Camp Creek isn't the local US Open qualifying site for nothing. No other golf course I've played looks so straight-forward and yet plays so incredibly tough.

[coreyl]

The 20-30 minute drive from the outley mall to Camp Creek is worth it. Kelly/Regatta/Raven are not worth half what they charge.

[fsutanker]

Call camp creek and see if they can set you up with18 there followed by 18 at sharks tooth.

[OK_Golf]

Greens at Emerald Bay? Maintenance schedule around Destin?

All, I saw three recent (last month) reviews in a row on Trip Advisor that the greens at Emerald Bay were in terrible shape. does anyone have any current feedback on the playing conditions at either Emerald Bay or Regatta Bay? I'll be traveling to the area the last week of July and wondering what conditions I should expect at these courses.

What is the aerification schedule in the Destin area? When will most couses be doing maintenance on their greens?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

OK_Golf

[lumberman2462]

I have no idea about maintenance down there. I play 99% of my Destin golf in the fall & winter. If it's any help -- the greens are really nice that time of year.

Only thing I can think of is to call whichever course(s) you decide to play and just ask 'em straight up.

[bcflyguy1]

[quote name='OK_Golf' timestamp='1373460739' post='7423432']
Greens at Emerald Bay? Maintenance schedule around Destin?

All, I saw three recent (last month) reviews in a row on Trip Advisor that the greens at Emerald Bay were in terrible shape. does anyone have any current feedback on the playing conditions at either Emerald Bay or Regatta Bay? I'll be traveling to the area the last week of July and wondering what conditions I should expect at these courses.

What is the aerification schedule in the Destin area? When will most couses be doing maintenance on their greens?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

OK_Golf
[/quote]

Definitely need to call before going anywhere. I don't know about the courses in Destin, but my club just across the bridge will be doing an aeration at the end of July. The local courses tend to keep similar maintenance schedules, so it would be best to call around.

Conditions were excellent at Regatta Bay last I heard, but we did have a 10"+ dump of rain since then. Can't speak for Emerald Bay...played there once for free and still felt like it was a waste. Most of the greens are comically small.

[Matsui]

Played Indian Bayou last week for $40 plus tax on Golfnow for mid AM weekday time. Course is very nice shape. Greens smooth. Would go back.

[Matsui]

Don't play Emerald. Greens like the side of hot dog weenies. Talking with pro shop at Indian Bayou and they said most, if not all courses, are finished with their aeration schedules.

[schwollo]

went to Destin last week and got a chance to play Camp Creek. Awesome course, one of my favorites. Reminds me of Barton Creek but prettier and a tougher. Great mix of holes, doglegs, uphill downhill etc. Greens were huge which is something I didn't expect. Played at 1 pm for 95 dollars and finished in 4 hrs with a threesome. In great shape as well. Probably the friendliest starter I've ever met as well.

[tngolferguy]

[quote name='schwollo' timestamp='1375493429' post='7594662']
went to Destin last week and got a chance to play Camp Creek. Awesome course, one of my favorites. Reminds me of Barton Creek but prettier and a tougher. Great mix of holes, doglegs, uphill downhill etc. Greens were huge which is something I didn't expect. Played at 1 pm for 95 dollars and finished in 4 hrs with a threesome. In great shape as well. Probably the friendliest starter I've ever met as well.
[/quote]

Played there last Saturday and your review was spot on. Hands down the best course in the area.

[OK_Golf]

All,

I was in Desin several weeks ago and thought I'd post a short review. We played Regatta Bay and Sandestin-Raven.

It rained quite a bit the week before we arrived and early in the week we were in Destin. We were worried the courses would be too soggy to play.

Regatta Bay: fairways and greens had drained pretty darn well, some low lying areas off the fairways had standing water and most of the bunkers were unplayable, but all in all I was pleased with how the course handled the deluge of the rain the area had. I really enjoyed this course. Friendly staff, nice range, relatively small putting green that was not in great shape. On course conditions conditions were nice. The greens seemed relatively slow. I haven't played much golf in Florida, so this may have been "grain", but the ball seemed to stop VERY quickly once it slowed down. We started on the back, so we finished with 7, 8 and 9 which i thought were pretty good finishing holes (I liked #9 because it was my only birdie of the day) ... #17 and #18 were good holes also.

Sandestin-Raven: this course did NOT handle the rain particularly well, very soggy fairways and rough surronding the greens. The course looks beautiful from the tee, beaitful green fairways, lined with pine trees, with pine straw on the covering the areas off the fairway ... made me think of how Augusta National looks on TV. I was NOT a big fan of the greens and pin placements the day we played. Several greens were ridiculous the small size and amount of internal movment in the green made some of the greens unplayable (in my opinion). Pin placements added to this issue with several mere steps from the edge of greens or just off severe slopes. The course isn't terriblly long, so maybe they thought to increase challenge they had to move hole placements to "tour positions". We had one hole where the pin was cut just a yard or two over a bunker, at the bottom of a severe slope, on the far right side of the green. It was easier to get up and down from that bunker than to two put from the middle of the green. We had another hole where if you hit the middle of the green where from the middle the green you needed to putt the bull up into the fringe for several feet in order to get close to a hole on top of slope about one yard from the edge of the green. Also #18 seemed a little tricked up on the approach shot. With water left of the green, a stand of trees right of the green and a bunker short of the green, the correct approach shot seems to be a high fade that starts out of the water and cuts back or a really high draw that clears the trees, but isn't "overcooked" into the water hazard. I think the trees may have grown too far out over time ... 10 years ago they probably provided the right amount of challenge, but now they really impact the lines of play. Bottom line on Raven is that the course looked beautiful, was pretty fun off the tee and is probably a decent course if they don't over-do the pin placements. Regatta Bay was a far superior experience, in my opinion.

We loved the area and the drive from Oklahoma was not too bad. If we go back, i'd like to try staying in Seaside or Watercolor and playing Camp Creek, Sharks Tooth and/or Hombre.

I wish we would have tried Indian Bayou in Destin, how does it compare from a conditioning and layout standpoint?

[lumberman2462]

[quote name='OK_Golf' timestamp='1375715371' post='7607906']
All,

I was in Desin several weeks ago and thought I'd post a short review. We played Regatta Bay and Sandestin-Raven.

It rained quite a bit the week before we arrived and early in the week we were in Destin. We were worried the courses would be too soggy to play.

Regatta Bay: fairways and greens had drained pretty darn well, some low lying areas off the fairways had standing water and most of the bunkers were unplayable, but all in all I was pleased with how the course handled the deluge of the rain the area had. I really enjoyed this course. Friendly staff, nice range, relatively small putting green that was not in great shape. On course conditions conditions were nice. The greens seemed relatively slow. I haven't played much golf in Florida, so this may have been "grain", but the ball seemed to stop VERY quickly once it slowed down. We started on the back, so we finished with 7, 8 and 9 which i thought were pretty good finishing holes (I liked #9 because it was my only birdie of the day) ... #17 and #18 were good holes also.

Sandestin-Raven: this course did NOT handle the rain particularly well, very soggy fairways and rough surronding the greens. The course looks beautiful from the tee, beaitful green fairways, lined with pine trees, with pine straw on the covering the areas off the fairway ... made me think of how Augusta National looks on TV. I was NOT a big fan of the greens and pin placements the day we played. Several greens were ridiculous the small size and amount of internal movment in the green made some of the greens unplayable (in my opinion). Pin placements added to this issue with several mere steps from the edge of greens or just off severe slopes. The course isn't terriblly long, so maybe they thought to increase challenge they had to move hole placements to "tour positions". We had one hole where the pin was cut just a yard or two over a bunker, at the bottom of a severe slope, on the far right side of the green. It was easier to get up and down from that bunker than to two put from the middle of the green. We had another hole where if you hit the middle of the green where from the middle the green you needed to putt the bull up into the fringe for several feet in order to get close to a hole on top of slope about one yard from the edge of the green. Also #18 seemed a little tricked up on the approach shot. With water left of the green, a stand of trees right of the green and a bunker short of the green, the correct approach shot seems to be a high fade that starts out of the water and cuts back or a really high draw that clears the trees, but isn't "overcooked" into the water hazard. I think the trees may have grown too far out over time ... 10 years ago they probably provided the right amount of challenge, but now they really impact the lines of play. Bottom line on Raven is that the course looked beautiful, was pretty fun off the tee and is probably a decent course if they don't over-do the pin placements. Regatta Bay was a far superior experience, in my opinion.

We loved the area and the drive from Oklahoma was not too bad. If we go back, i'd like to try staying in Seaside or Watercolor and playing Camp Creek, Sharks Tooth and/or Hombre.

[color=#ff0000]I wish we would have tried Indian Bayou in Destin, how does it compare from a conditioning and layout standpoint?
[/quote][/color]

I play in a pro-am every fall at Indian Bayou and it's ok. Not as plush or well conditioned as the Burnt Pine, Raven and not even close to the same level at Camp Creek or The Tooth. It's an older club golf course - but it's nice. Fun track for a pro-am. Not knocking it at all. Greens putt pure in the fall and it's full of nice people.

[ckrupala]

We just returned from Destin last week and played Emerald Bay and the Raven.

Emerald Bay: The course itself was in good shape but the greens were tiny and in pretty rough shape. looked like they had a hard time handling all the rain. When you fixed divots the greens actually came apart. I would have been upset if we had payed the full green fees.

Raven: Course was in great shape, still had a couple of soggy spots but nothing to bad. Fun course with lots of different looks to keep it interesting. I would certainly play again, we found an early tee time and payed half price of the normal greens fees and was well worth the discounted price.

All and all both days were still a bunch of fun and golfing anywhere is better than working.

[rshiffer]

[quote name='pkuhr9' timestamp='1364219172' post='6687541']
Heading to Destin, FL next week for spring break with freinds.

We are looking to play at least 3 times within 30-40min drive or less.

has anyone been there recently or live close by?

[u]High price courses on my radar are[/u]:
Camp Creek - $150, is there a cheaper online option? if so how?
Sharks Tooth - private? if so how do you get on?
Kelly Plantation - heard its a little overrated
The Raven

[u]Medium price courses[/u]:
Regatta Bay
Windswept
Eglin AFB golf courses
Sandestin golf courses

l[u]ow price courses[/u]:
The Links
Rocky Bayou
Santa Rosa Golf Club

thanks for the help guys!
[/quote]


Camp Creek - semi private. very nice course in very good shape reminds me of Southern NJ courses. More expensive then it should be
Sharks Tooth - private unless you are staying at watercolor hotel, haven't played it but I have seen it, very nice
Kelly Plantation - very nice course usually in good shaped
The Raven - Sandestin nice course in good shape but not as great as the write ups
Sandestin Burnt Pine , semi private can get on if staying at the resort , very nice and in very good shape

Emerald Bay - Nice course usually in good shape
Regatta Bay - very nice course usually in very good shape, maybe the best for the fee amount
Sandestin The Links - very nice course, usually in good shape, Note very narrow and water on 14 of 18 holes
Sandestin Baytown - nice fairly good shape

Rocky Bayou - don't know
Santa Rosa Golf Club - just ok, in summer it is often not in very good shape

[SoonerChris]

So the consensus here is that Camp Creek should be choice #1 is Sharks Tooth isn't an option? Is there anyway to get on Sharks Tooth without being a member? If I was a member of a private CC in Oklahoma would it be any help getting on ST?

[lumberman2462]

[quote name='SoonerChris ' timestamp='1390497922' post='8516957']
So the consensus here is that Camp Creek should be choice #1 is Sharks Tooth isn't an option? Is there anyway to get on Sharks Tooth without being a member? If I was a member of a private CC in Oklahoma would it be any help getting on ST?
[/quote]

Yes. Your Pro could probably wrangle it for you. There are a few places that you can stay that will give you access to Sharkstooth. I believe WaterSound/WaterColors but not completely sure. If you stay at the new hotel The Pearl they can get you on. Take your wallet....not cheap.