Florida's Streamsong Golf Resort: Unique in every way

The story of Streamsong Golf Resort is one that makes you realize how serendipitous the world can be.The resort was created by the Mosaic Company, which has owned thousands of acres of land in Polk County, Fla., for more than 50 years. 

The land that is now Streamsong was not originally purposed to create one of the best golf resorts in the United States but to mine for phosphate. With a strong commitment to land stewardship, the Mosaic Company is also known for its restoration of the land that they mine for public recreation or environmental use. 

If you’ve played golf in Florida before, you know the state is known for beautiful, parkland-style courses – but almost all of them are known for being relatively flat. Conversely, during the mining process, the Mosaic Company’s efforts formed natural, large sand dunes throughout the area.  Once the mining process was complete and the land lay dormant for many years, an outside-the-box idea of reclaiming the site and making a positive economic impact took shape. 

Luckily for us, their team saw the opportunity to develop a golf resort with a unique look and feel that is nothing like you’ll find in the Eastern United States.

A change in ownership

In more recent good news, the Mosaic Company announced in early January 2023 that they had sold the resort to Lone Windmill LLC, a subsidiary of KemperSports Management LLC that has been involved in the management of Streamsong since before it first opened its doors in 2012.  For those unfamiliar with KemperSports, they serve over 150 golf courses, private clubs, sports venues, and destination resorts nationwide, including some other marquee properties such as Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and Sand Valley.  We are excited to see what the team at KemperSports brings to this iconic property, and we will be sure to keep you in the loop as plans develop under their stewardship of this wonderful resort. 

As it stands today, Streamsong now boasts 54 holes of exceptional golf with the Tom Doak-designed Blue Course, the Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw-designed Red Course, and the Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner-designed Black Course.  With these three design firms at the helm, you may be asking yourself, which is the best course on the property?  There’s nothing better than being at one of the bars on the property and listening to groups recap their trip as each of them shares a completely opposite ranking of their favorite course at Streamsong. That’s the sign of a great golf resort. 

To inspire that conversation is everything to a resort ownership group, and the team at Streamsong takes that responsibility to heart and has spared no expense to ensure you and your group will enjoy each of these memorable designs.

Streamsong Black

Streamsong Red 

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.  If that’s all you knew about Streamsong Red, it should be enough to get you jazzed up to tee it up here as this duo has created some of the best courses in the game, including Bandon Trails, Kapalua Plantation Course, the restoration of Pinehurst No. 2, Bandon Preserve, the Sheep Ranch, Cabot Cliffs, and Sand Valley, just to name a few.  This duo knows what they are doing, and their work at Streamsong is exceptional. 

Coore and Crenshaw created a design that feels like it was naturally carved out of the land rather than manufactured. As you traverse your way around the course, you’ll see that the course is more demanding off the tee than the Blue or the Black courses and features the most distinct water features on the property. That is very clear right from the start as the first hole features water on both sides of the fairway on your opening tee shot, and the second hole features a forced carry over water, with water lining the right side of this par-5 that is reachable in two for the better player.   

You’ll also encounter distinct bunkering throughout that frames many of the holes and seamlessly blends into the base of many of the natural dunes to create a look that feels more like you are playing in Scotland or Ireland versus Central Florida. They’ve also utilized fairway and greenside pot bunkers throughout the round that add that extra element of course management that will reward players who think their way around this course. 

Another key feature of this course is the variety of the holes, especially the par-3s and par-4s.  They give golfers ample fairways and plenty of bail-out areas on the longer holes while creating challenging short holes that, on a scorecard, look like they’d be gettable. But the second you get on the tee, it becomes evident that you better bring your A-game to these holes.  

A perfect example of this is the 8th and 9th holes. The 8th, a par-3 that maxes out at 147 yards, would seem like it’s an easy hole, but the second you see this green, you know that’s not the case. The green is shaped somewhat like a lightning bolt, and it features water left, two pot bunkers short in the middle and right, and one additional pot bunker long in the middle that forces you to control your approach shot, or a disaster could be looming for you here. 

The 9th, a 312-yard par-4, once again would appear to be an easy hole.  That all changes once you see the massive bunker that runs up the right side of the hole that features that soft Florida sand which makes getting on the green nearly impossible and could potentially leave you with a difficult approach out of the bunker.  Coore and Crenshaw do give you a little bit of a break on the green here as this massive green is protected by three bunkers short, but anything long, left or right gives you plenty of space to get up and down. 

A favorite to many who visit here, Streamsong Red is a marvel in modern golf course architecture in the state of Florida. 

Streamsong Red

Streamsong Blue 

Designed by the legendary Tom Doak, Streamsong Blue provides golfers with a blend of visually challenging holes that somehow provide you with the sense of being quite playable. That can all change on your approach shot, though, as Doak and his masterful team at Renaissance Golf Design have created incredibly interesting green complexes that feature some massive square footage that can give you a false sense of hope as you hit the green in regulation only to find incredibly imagined undulations throughout each complex. 

More forgiving off the tee than Red, the Blue course has much more subtle challenges that can be found throughout your round, as Doak is known for bringing hazards into your key landing areas that are just large enough to make you think before you pull the trigger on your next swing. Examples of this include the par-4 3rd hole that has the tiniest pot bunker in the center of the fairway, making the large landing area feel smaller, as well as the long par-4 8th hole that features one lone bunker in the middle of the fairway that is just big enough to give you pause on the tee box. The same can be said for the par-4 11th hole that features a skinny bunker centered in the fairway, once again requiring you to think your way around how to best hit your tee shot. 

This course creates an incredible sense of place while you are here, as the extensive landscape and lush greens and fairways will be the only sights to be seen. No need to worry about the hustle and bustle of city life, as the drop best encapsulates this pure golf experience shot par-3 7th hole, which is one of our favorite holes on the property. A stunning 50-foot downhill tee shot over a diagonally angled water hazard to a well-guarded green that sits among the natural dunes makes for a difficult approach. There is still ample space to miss the green and have a challenging, yet makeable, up and down. The walk across the bridge to the green here is one of the best feelings you’ll have during your visit, and hopefully, that walk includes you examining a birdie putt instead of a treacherous up and down. 

Enjoyable from start to finish, this design packs quite a punch at the end of your round with a 237-yard par-3 16th hole, a 690-yard par-5 17th hole, and a 478-yard par-4 18th hole that features a great view of the clubhouse in the background as your round comes to a close.

Streamsong Blue

Streamsong Black

The latest course at Streamsong is the Black Course designed by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner–  major forces in today’s movement that gets away from the course design of the last millennium that focused on making courses incredibly hard.  Instead, Hanse and Wagner provide golfers with an experience that provides larger landing areas and multiple ways to play safer shots while also keeping the bite in the design for the lower handicap player, especially if they play the back tees. This course can be best described as big as it takes up almost as much land on the property as both the Red and Blue courses combined.   

The Black Course has its own clubhouse facilities separate from the Red and Blue courses and is also home to The Gauntlet, a 1.2-acre putting course, and The Roundabout, a fun little 7-hole short course located next to the practice facility that is free for all resort guests to play. 

Hanse and his team utilized influences from the Sand Belt Region of Melbourne, Australia which is evident in the design of the opening hole. The first tee shot is framed by a massive bunker up the left that features that Australian influence. For tee shots that find the fairway, you’ll find all kinds of bumps and knobs that give you anything but a flat lie that can make you second guess how you play your approach or lay up on this gettable par-5.  Right away, you’re met with a massive green complex that features crazy undulation, and the scene has been set for the rest of your round. 

The signature icon of the course is the windmill that first comes into a dominant frame when you get to the second hole. The unique par-4 doesn’t require a ton of length off the tee but has a shallow, elevated green that runs from front to back at an angle from left to right with a very deep bunker short right. 

Big and bold is the theme that is easily felt throughout your round here, and nowhere is that more evident than the par-4 9th hole. Off the tee, you are greeted by a massive fairway, and the hole feels very unassuming, but the second shot makes the hole unique. Golfers will hit a blind approach into a massive punchbowl green that features raised surfaces around the edge of the green creating a wonderful sense of variety on how you can attack your approach shot depending on where the pin is that day.  It’s such a unique experience, and you’ll be dying to play the course again after seeing how the ball reacts and how many ways you can utilize this unique surface. 

Big, bold, unique…you’ll be saying those words repeatedly throughout your round here as the Black Course serves as the perfect complement to the Red and Blue courses during your stay.

Streamsong Black

The Chain 

Streamsong recently announced the name and routing of the fourth course to be built on site, known as The Chain. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are partnering again to deliver this project that features a combination of 6- and 13-hole loops that, when combined, make a 19-hole experience.  And the first tee is mere steps away from the Lodge at Streamsong. 

The 3,000-yard layout will give golfers a wonderful variety as holes will range in length from 90 to just over 275 yards. The first six holes are designed to be playable for even beginners, and the longest hole tops out at around 145 yards and is situated amongst an impressive grove of natural live oak trees.  The 13-hole loop requires a higher level of competency as the holes range from 125 to around 275 yards.  Players are encouraged to create their own experiences, as they are welcome to tee off from their desired position on each hole. 

This area will also be home to a second putting course known as The Bucket, which will be roughly twice the size of The Gauntlet found near the Black course. 

Accommodations and the resort 

Streamsong Golf Resort offers two main lodging options for guests, including the 216-room Lodge, where most guests stay, and the exclusive 12-room Clubhouse Experience available at the Red and Blue Clubhouse. The rooms in the Lodge incorporated wonderful colors and were designed to represent a oneness with nature.  Four distinct zones flow through the architecture: Submersion that includes the AquaPietra Spa, Breezeway, and SottoTerra fine dining; the Bank encompassing the lobby, the Leaf Lounge, and Fin and Feather restaurant; the Canopy consisting of the rooms in the Lodge with custom wood features and distinct paintings; and the Sky, which is made up of the Rooftop 360 Bar & Lounge and Pegasus Room. 

This design has a wonderful vibe that will serve as the perfect place for you and your group to rejuvenate for the next day’s round. 

In addition to the wonderful golf onsite, Streamsong also features nine restaurants, bars, and pubs, the AquaPietra Spa, sporting clays, guided bass fishing, archery, and a lakeside infinity pool for guests to enjoy. 

 

Recommendation 

Streamsong is a special destination, and there is nothing like it in the Eastern United States. The resort is situated in Central Florida and is a little over an hour’s drive from both Tampa and Orlando, so it’s extremely accessible for drive-in golfers as well as golfers looking for a direct flight into one of these major markets. 

One thing we are always sure to tell golfers is that once you get here, you are here.  What we mean by that is the resort has provided everything for you that you could possibly need during your stay, and we do not recommend going offsite for anything as it’s quite a drive to find different dining options.  Quite frankly, you won’t want to go offsite to eat as their team does an excellent job on the culinary choices. 

If you’ve never been to the property before, be sure to give it a look when you’re considering your next golf getaway, as we know you won’t be disappointed.Â