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If you’re thinking of travelling to Tampa or to Orlando in the future, then add some days onto your schedule and head to The Streamsong Resort. Writes Graham McKenzie
Located on a 16,000-acre former phosphate mining site near Fort Meade, Florida. Yes, a former mine field has become one of the top golfing destinations in the whole of the USA and it’s only a 45-minute drive from the major tourism hot spots of the sunshine state.
With its dramatic terrain of towering sand dunes, deep-water lakes, and expansive landscapes shaped by mining operations, Streamsong offers a unique and fabulous golfing experience.
The resort features three celebrated courses, Red, Blue, and Black, has a fourth concept course called the Chain and is developing a fifth course to expand its world-class offerings.
HISTORY AND MINING HERITAGE
Streamsong’s land was once part of Florida’s “Bone Valley,” known for prehistoric fossils. The Mosaic Company, a major phosphate supplier, owned the site and used it for strip mining.
In 2012 company executives, probably golfers themselves, recognised the potential of the land’s unique contours and transformed it into a golf resort reminiscent of Scotland’s and Ireland’s coastal links courses. Certainly not links but nevertheless it is a golfing paradise that blends industrial history with natural beauty.
THE COURSES
RED
Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the Red Course is an 18-hole masterpiece that challenges players with its dramatic landforms and strategic design.
It was the first one I played, and it is an absolute delight with the elevation changes, fast greens, due to the Bermuda grass, and very clever design taking into account the abundance of hazards both solid and liquid.
The opening par-4 is a special challenge if your game of the tee is not up to snuff as it requires a long carry over water while the shorter holes provide scoring opportunities.
BLUE
Tom Doak designed the Blue Course with a minimalist approach that emphasizes natural contours wide fairways lined with wild grasses, massive irregular bunkers shaped by wind, and undulating greens.
BLACK
The Black Course by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner is currently the daddy of them all. A par-73 championship course stretching 7,331 yards with five par-5s of varying lengths. With some of the biggest greens in golf that seem to go on for ever, dramatic elevation changes and bomb crater bunkers. Its not a course for somebody with a bad slice.
THE CHAIN
Opened in 2023 as an innovative short course designed by Coore & Crenshaw it has , unusually 19 holes that range from 90 yards to 240 yards. Often used as a ‘’fun’ course or as a warmup it offers a unique challenge and can be played by individuals of varying skill levels as you can choose your own tee off position.
Sounds bizarre but it does work and is a golf course of immense quality. Diverting from the creative naming routine of basic colours from the rest of Streamsong the chain is called such after the equipment used on the former mining area.
NEW COURSE
The story does not end there though as David McLay Kidd, of Bandon Dunes fame, is designing Streamsong’s fifth course.
If precedent is anything to go by it will be called Green or Yellow but we may all be surprised. Speaking to ‘those in the know’ it is expected to be the longest course at the resort, dunes and ridges will feature heavily but designed in such a way to make the most of the wind that can affect this part of Florida.
We are not talking a 55mph easterly on the shores of the North Sea but a gentle breeze that can alter your club selection and mess with your brain.
It will certainly be located between Red and Black courses so maybe it will be called Roulette and will share the same magnificent club house that offers vista over not just the estate but right across this part of Florida.
So, if you are coming to play Golf here, and why play only one course when soon five will be available, there is an option to stay over and enjoy the facilities.
Streamsong offers luxurious lodging to complement its golf facilities. Streamsong Lodge is a 216-room hotel featuring restaurants, a spa, rooftop lounge, fitness centre, and lakeside pool.
The Clubhouse is a smaller facility with 12 guestrooms, a golf shop, and a steakhouse-themed restaurant. If you are travelling with non-golfers, there are other activities available. Guided bass fishing, hiking trails, bird watching, and sporting clays.
Without over egging it Streamsong Resort is redefining a golf break in Florida by transforming an industrial site into an extraordinary golfing destination.
With its existing courses ranked among the best in the U.S. and its upcoming fifth course promising even more excitement, Streamsong continues to attract players from around the globe. It stands as a testament to innovative design and sustainable land use.
For further information visit www.streamsongresort.com
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