Streamsong Blue Course
What’s better than visiting family around the holidays? Visiting them for a bit, then sneaking out to play golf at one of the best resorts in America, that’s what. I’ve been aware of the three Streamsong courses for a long time, but being a Michigan and Chicago guy, I needed some major excuse to get away and make that tricky trip. Enter: Snowbird Parents. My good ol’ mom and dad decided their retirement years will be spent in central Florida, and bingo! My shot at a “speed run” became reality, and I booked a round at Streamsong Blue.
You Don’t Have Winter Down Here?
OK, so news to me. Winter up north equals PRIME TIME in the south. Hmm. Who’d have guessed? I now know tee times are a bit tougher to coordinate down here in Novembers. Anyway, I was able to organize a tee time on Tom Doak’s Streamsong Blue course with my brother (the one that shoots his personal best score on THE OLD COURSE) and my sister in law. They’ve both played some nice courses in their day, but neither are as deep into golf course obsession as I am. You bet I saw this as a chance to drag them further into it and become more frequent trip partners…
Most Definitely Not Your Typical Florida Course
One of the challenges about the Streamsong Resort is that it’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Now, I’ve got no problem with that. Some of the best courses in the world take some work to get to! In reality, traveling to Streamsong really is not quite the challenge that some folks have commented on. It’s roughly an hour due east of Tampa and about the same going west from Orlando. From Tampa, you even get to drive through Brandon, Florida which features an amazing Portillo’s restaurant – a beloved Chicago staple.
I really enjoyed the long scenic drive. You get a chance to check out this old phosphate mine, desperate for a quick peek of the courses. (You actually don’t get much of a view at this point.) Immediately I knew I’d be a bit sad we’d only get one round in today, as I knew I wanted to spend about four more days here…
Before I get too far – I wanted to give a huge shout out to the staff at Streamsong. They were great on the phone booking the round along with some other important accommodations. They also helped me a lot with some rental clubs to fill out my backup bag (woods and wedges I sent down didn’t make it through the mail in time). YES, I have a backup set at mom’s – because I’m a genius and she’s got a big enough garage. I also really enjoyed the caddie master that had an amazing, entirely one-sided conversation with me about SEC football – a topic I know absolutely zero about. But he was nice and was having fun, and that’s what it’s all about.
Tom Doak’s Blue Course
I’d had a pretty good run in late 2019. Greywalls, Arcadia Bluffs, Meadow Club, some other fancy and really old classic golf places in Chicago, but Streamsong Blue hit me pretty hard in the first impression department. My fellow Michigander, Tom Doak, has made a name for himself creating playable, versatile courses with spectacular greens, and this is yet another hit. Streamsong has an enormous amount of land here, and I feel they created a very bold and interesting design. You can tell the “bold” part by that 70-foot hill you climb to get to the first tee…
Let’s Tee it Up
We’ll cover a few of the standout holes of the Streamsong Blue Course here, and get ready to read words like “scope,” “roll,” “sandy britches,” and “osprey.” The scope of the first hole is amazing. Not a hard hole, you can hit anything that feels safe into the gigantic fairway. It’s a short one, and I love it when an architect gives you a chance to get acclimated to your round quickly.
The second hole, a par five, sends you off to the left where if you’re not careful, you’ll roll too far off the optimal line. You can reach in two, but only with a perfect drive. Anything other than perfect, Doak forces you play to the right to get back on track. Great hole – lots of options.
Number three asks you to take on a marshy and swampy area. If you’ve got the guts, you’ll have a short approach, but if not, you’re forced into an awkward angle to a small and raised green.
Oh hey, look left and you might see some Ospreys or other big bird guys.
I happened to love the fourth hole. It’s not too long, and I had zero idea what to make of it the first time around. The fairway is pretty generous, but you’re greeted by two gigantic, elevated bunkers. I found the less impressive one on the left, and my brother found the biggun on the right. Obviously don’t leave it short, but you’ve got a football field’s worth of turf to bail out behind. Next time we play the Blue, we won’t leave with as much sand in our britches, that’s for sure.
Our first par three is an excellent wedge shot to a long, narrow green. Wind was down during our round, but I imagine a crosswind here could be pretty terrifying.
Hole six, a shortish par four, with its looming…Florida mountain (?!?!)…in the background gives you a chance to setup a nice wedge shot and a birdie putt.
Here comes the eye candy. Number seven forces the camera out of your bag and gives you the most photogenic snap on the property. It’s a little odd having to cross a bridge considering this has been such a smooth walking course so far. Doak has said before that he tried to find a proper golf hole on this side of the water, but in the end the “island” was the best move. I like it. It gives you a chance to get up close and personal with some gators.
The next hole that really struck me was nine. It gives you a big uphill fairway that slides to the right. You can definitely swing hard, but if you’re not shaping it the right way, you’ll run through the fairway. It’s a really satisfying shot to pull off. I hit a great stinger three wood and it ran for about a quarter mile.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a snap of the halfway house, but yeah, the tacos are legit. Listen to the hype. Don’t mess around. Get multiple.
After the Turn – Fueled by Tacos
Hole number ten is a short par three. It’s fine. It’s likely a convenient routing solution, and gives you a chance to hit another short iron. While not the best moment of the round (see hole thirteen), our funniest moment came on ten. Our group stopped and let a few twosomes play through while we crushed some Grouper tacos.
The halfway house folks told us there was a large group of Canadian guys coming up a bit later, but there would be no chance they’d catch us. So I hit a pretty awful tee shot and I’m off on the left side, lining up my chip. As I take my club back, one of the Canadian guys (probably 30 feet away from me, not paying any attention) yells “OHH, GREAT SHOT, LORNE!!!” I mostly blade the shot, but my bro let out a timely “HEYYY, NICE CHIP, GORDIE!!!” Beyond hilarious. I love my Canadian friends, but I died right there. RIP Jon.
The next standout was the short thirteenth hole. It played about 275 yards or so, and there’s a clear chute up the middle to roll on, but slopes away wildly on the left. Well, we didn’t drive all the way out here to who-knows-where Florida to lay up. I ended up driving the green on this beauty and nearly holed the eagle.
Man, I’m getting warmed up!
I cold-topped two into the lake on fourteen.
It’s a cool hole with some options to get to the green. Or so I hear.
The closing stretch gives you plenty to handle, with a long par three (number sixteen), a long par five (hole seventeen), and a long par-four eighteenth. I really loved seventeen. Hit it as hard as you can, then see if you can do it again. There’s a few slopey bowls on this green that offer up some surefire eagle pins. Great risk/reward hole.
Unfortunately, you’ve got to wrap this thing up sometime. Eighteen’s a monster hole that requires you to hit a long drive, then likely another long club in. Can’t beat the feeling of hitting your final approach close as dozens (or zero) of your fellow resort golfers watch you lock up the last par of the day.
Final Thoughts – Streamsong Blue
With the Streamsong Resort, I see a lot of similarities to Sand Valley. Living so close to Sand Valley, I’ve had the chance to get to know it very well to serve as a solid resort comparison. Both resorts offer an excellent experience from the moment you pull in the driveway. The remoteness of each adds to the appeal, and having multiple distinct golf courses keeps things exciting and fresh. Both have crazy good tacos too, which are clearly a high priority for me.
Streamsong Blue in particular has had no shortage of hype. Sure, I’ve seen the amazing pictures (aren’t we all a sucker for a pretty face? Talking to you, hole seven…) and watched it skyrocket in rankings, but we were all left extremely impressed. It’ll be a longer-term project to set up rounds at the Red and Black, but we can see this becoming an annual family event.
