TPC Sawgrass: THE PLAYERS Stadium Course
Northeast Florida is known as Florida’s First Coast, and this special stretch of land that stretches across 100 miles features everything from pristine beaches, exceptional dining, world-class resorts, and of course, bucket list golf.
While there are over 70 golf courses available to play in this area, we’ve taken the liberty of highlighting a few of the best courses in Northeast Florida for you to play during your next golf vacation here.
TPC Sawgrass: THE PLAYERS Stadium Course (Ponte Vedra Beach)
It’s impossible to mention this region of the country without leading it off with the home of THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Tour’s Headquarters. THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is an incredible experience from the moment you arrive at the massive clubhouse as the customer service levels are impeccable. Even your warmup session at the range will get you prepared for your special round as it features an island green that gets you ready for the famous 17th hole experience.
With three of the best finishing holes in golf, it can be easy to overlook how all 18 holes at this course are unforgettable. Designed by Pete Dye with some nice contributions from the advice of his wife Alice, the course came into existence when former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman wanted to create an iconic venue for THE PLAYERS Championship and over the years the course has only continued to get better.
This course rewards great play, and it can severely penalize a mishit shot. Nowhere is that more evident than when you look at the past winners of THE PLAYERS. In recent years, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler have overpowered the course as they are known as great ball strikers. In the years prior to that, the course saw the likes of Cameron Smith and Webb Simpson win here who are more known for their putting excellence and short game prowess. The course is a perfect test as it isn’t set up for any one type of golfer, but more of a test of your game no matter how you attack a course.
While the experience here is one of the more expensive rounds of golf that you’ll find in the United States, we do feel that it is worth splurging to play here as it’s a round you certainly won’t forget and with other great golf nearby that is a great value, the overall blended price doesn’t end up being too bad when you book a golf vacation here.
TPC Sawgrass: THE PLAYERS Stadium Course
Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa: Oak Marsh Golf Course (Amelia Island)
With a planned reopening date of May of 2025, we are so excited to see the Oak Marsh Golf Course at the Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa reopen after Beau Welling has put his finishing touches on Pete Dye’s original design. This course embodies the spirit of Amelia Island as you’ll be able to play a variety of tree-lined holes that weave in and out of the nearby marshes to create a beautiful test of golf. Accuracy is the name of the game here, especially off the tee, as many holes do not necessarily need to be overpowered but require a precise placement to put you in position to attack the severely undulated greens.
The redesign wasn’t focused on a reimagining of Dye’s vision, but more to focus on improving the infrastructure of the course including improving the drainage and irrigation under the course, re-grassing of the fairways and greens to improve the consistency of the experience, rebuilding the cart paths, and enhancing the practice facilities.
It’s a wonderful layout that is very friendly to a variety of golfers, and when you combine a round or two here with the incredible experience that the Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa has to offer, it makes for a perfect homebase for a relaxing golf getaway.
Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa: Oak Marsh Golf Course
World Golf Village: King and Bear (St. Augustine)
The King Arnold Palmer, and the Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus. If all you knew about this golf course was that it is the only golf course in the world that was ever co-designed by these two legends, then that should be enough to get you excited about playing here.
These two icons have designed over 630 golf courses between the two of them over the years, and when you combine that design prowess with their incredible ability on the course it resulted in a power of the minds coming together for one of the best golf courses in this area of the country.
The owners have recently put $2.5 million into the course which included resurfacing all 18 greens with TifEagle Bermuda grass, improving the practice areas, and upgrading the irrigation and drainage systems. These are the types of spends that don’t drastically change the design of the course, but more importantly allows their team to deliver a consistently great experience whenever you decide to visit here.
We love the feel of this course, and more importantly the value of a round of golf or a stay and play package here is through the roof as it is great on its own, or it pairs very well with playing at TPC Sawgrass. Look at our drone footage of the course here, and you’ll see what we are talking about.
Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa: Nicklaus Ocean Course (Palm Coast)
With the distinction of being the home to the most oceanfront holes in the state of Florida with 6 holes that play along the coast, the Nicklaus Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa is a stunning course that features perfectly manicured fairways and greens, a difficult Nicklaus design, and the oceanside breezes provided by Mother Nature that create one of the most beautiful tests of golf in the Southeast. The routing of the courses brings you out to the ocean, then back inland, and finishes up back along the coast giving you a memorable collection of holes that will challenge every part of your game. Your round finishes up with a 4-hole stretch known as “The Bear Claw” after its famous designer, and as the moniker suggests you’ll have to bring your A-game at these finishing holes to post a score here.
Access to the courses at Hammock Beach Resort are available only for guests of the resort or members, and it’s a great location to serve as the homebase for your golf trip as it caters perfectly to couples, families, and buddies groups alike. With rental homes, villas, condos, and the main Lodge Tower available for rooms, you can cater your lodging to your group’s needs and we suggest that you be sure to include some time on the beach or at the fantasy pool complex to soak up some of the Florida sun after your round.
Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa: Nicklaus Ocean Course
World Golf Village: Slammer and Squire (St. Augustine)
Like its sister course at the World Golf Village, the Slammer and Squire brought together two legends of the game with Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead to combine their insight with legendary architect Bobby Weed to create the perfect complement to the King and Bear course. The Slammer and Squire has a more natural feel, as this iconic duo set out to create a course that rewarded shot making while also preserving the natural feel of the area. As you’ll see in our drone footage below, the layout is friendly off the tee with ample landing areas on most holes, and the highly contoured putting surfaces will test your approach shot accuracy and reward those with a deft touch around the greens.
Once again, the value for the experience here is exceptional. You can book rounds of golf here only, or they also offer a multitude of lodging options for stay and play packages including the World Golf Village Renaissance Hotel.
TPC Sawgrass: Dye’s Valley Course (Ponte Vedra Beach)
Designed by Pete Dye with the help of Bobby Weed and player consultant Jerry Pate, the Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass is the sister course to THE PLAYERS Stadium Course and provides a welcomed balance to your overall experience here with just enough “bite” to be demanding but certainly provides an easier test than the Stadium Course. Featuring water hazards on most of the holes lined by bulkhead, a signature Pete Dye trait, this course requires a lot of accuracy off the tee as the tree-lined fairways can feel quite tight on certain holes.
TPC Sawgrass: Dye’s Valley Course
The Amelia River Club (Amelia Island)
The Amelia River Club is a fun layout to include in your Northeast Florida itinerary. It’s a layout that rewards good course management as there are several tee shots that require hitting a fairway wood or long iron versus a driver as proper placement means more than an extra 20-30 yards off the tee on these holes such as the dogleg right par-4 2nd hole or the dogleg left par-4 9th hole. Another fun feature you’ll find during your round here is that the long par-5 13th hole runs parallel to the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport so you may see some high rollers taking off or landing on their private jets mid-round. The par-3 17th hole features a peninsula green that will remind you of another famous par-3 we may have previously mentioned in this article.
The Amelia River Club is a great option for groups targeting a stay in Amelia Island as it is a great add-on round if you are staying at the Omni or the Ritz-Carlton, or perfect on its own if you’re staying in the area looking for a great value round of golf.
Amelia River Club
Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa: Watson Conservatory Course (Palm Coast)
You’re probably seeing a theme here as many of these amazing courses all have a great complementary golf course at the 36-hole golf facilities in Northeast Florida. Hammock Beach epitomizes this with their Tom Watson-designed Conservatory Course. This inland design that features a links-style routing that is synonymous with a player who has had so much success at the Open Championship over his career, and this is certainly the toughest test of the sister courses that we have previously mentioned in this area.
While the design certainly has design elements that you will find on many courses across the pond, it also features an Americanized version of links-style golf as you’ll find over 70 acres of manmade lakes, sparkling streams, and even some waterfalls throughout your round. The course tips out at just under 7,800 yards, and with the nearby ocean breezes coming into play it’s a proper test of golf and an excellent complement to the Nicklaus Ocean Course.
Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa: Watson Conservatory Course
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island: The Golf Club of Amelia Island (Amelia Island)
The private club life is a good life, and The Golf Club of Amelia Island allows you to visit the area and enjoy one of the best private clubs in Northeast Florida. Available exclusively to members or guests staying at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, this Mark McCumber and Gene Littler design isn’t overly long as it tips out at just under 6,700 yards. While the length isn’t too overbearing, the course is far from easy, and it features a great collection of par 3s and some wonderfully varied par 5s. When you pair this excellent golf with all of the luxurious amenities of The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, it creates a fantastic destination that is perfect for couples or families to enjoy.
The Golf Club of Amelia Island
Recommendation
This region of the country offers an embarrassment of riches when it comes to great golf. Beyond the course, this region is also known for amazing restaurants, live events including the famous Florida/Georgia annual football game or Jacksonville Jaguar home games and THE PLAYERS Championship, incredible beaches, and so much more.
It’s a great destination for any type of getaway, and most of the courses are located within a short driving distance of one another so it’s very easy to plan a trip here and tee it up at multiple locations. We also love this region as you can play some exceptional golf at incredible rates such as the courses at the World Golf Village and The Amelia River Club, or you can splurge at some high-end, bucket list facilities like THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Or, as we prefer, you can blend some of these together so you get the best of both worlds!