Streamsong Resort - Blue Course

First time on blue and it did not disappoint. Definitely takes the top spot for me out of the 3 courses.

and the tacos were great at the turn!

First time to visit and first time to play any of the course at Streamsong. Today (May 28, 2024) I played the Blue Course. It was as nice a ceruse as I have ever played. The first tee is at an elevation and dramatic. The Blue course continues to unfold with wide fairways and difficult approaches. Fairways bunkers are placed just in the right place to catch a misplayed shot but many are both far enough not to reach if you are a shorter hitter and some close enough to carry for the same player (I generally hit 205 carry and 220 total). Either way, the bunkers frame the tee shot and direction very well. The greens were fast and again for me (a 16 index) were difficult to hold as they roll unless you hit the best of shots. However, just off side to side, you can easily putt from off the green or chip/pitch from a fairly good lie. Most of the greens have some type of drop off and even a false front or uphill grade for approach. Several in my group hit short or short front and the ball pulled back several yards from a short approach. Again, the greens were fast and many undulations but I would not call them unfair , just a real challenge. My average putts per round is 31 and I had 34 putts on the Blue. My group had an opposite opinion with many putts running 8-10 ft too long.

The resort rests on an abandoned mining field, in the middle of nowhere. Close to Tampa, Sarasota and other central/west Florida cities with good roads from many directions to drive. And the course is well worth the drive or a stay at the modern looking resort hotel.

I am excited about future visits with a hope to visit the Red (Crenshaw/Coore) course next. Until then...

Blue has some of the most memorable holes on the property with #1 tee shot and the par 3 7th hole. I rated this as my 2 course of the Streamsong big courses

The lower the stakes, the more fun arguments tend to be. It’s hard to think of a lower-stakes debate than “Which of Streamsong’s golf courses is the best?” My latest round on the Blue confirmed its status as my favorite. Because it shares land so closely with the Red, the Blue wins out by a few hairs on the variety of its par 3s, the complexity of its par 5s and the fact that it has the best hole on the property: the sublime long par-4 11th.

This review is for the Black course. Played there 2 weeks ago. Apparently they have a fungus on the fairways, and it is bad. Possibly the WORST fairways I have ever played on. It was mud. Every hole.
The wonderful caddy we had, said we should have played one of the other courses. I mean this was awful. You had to pick your ball off this muck/mud every hole and find some grass.
Note to Streamsong management: Close your course till you get it right. Greenskeepers in the north are fired for way less than these conditions.
Dont waste your money guys on this one, till they fix it.
The greens were fabulous,and the biggest I have ever played.

Our tee time was fairly early in the morning and we found ourselves hitting our first shots into the mist. The first tee is perched on a tall dune and played straight down to a wide fairway. On any day it is a dramatic setting, with the foggy conditions it was surreal. We hit, and saw no golf balls off the tee, thankfully they had a couple guys down in the fairway listening for balls landing and we were able to find all of our shots. On this trip we opted to not have caddies. Blue did not offer any holes where we could not figure out where to hit, so I will say we were fine without assistance except when we couldn’t see.

The conditions on Blue were great like all of the other courses on property. The new Mach 1 Bermuda green were nice and smooth, and I’d say a tad slower than the greens on Red, but still very good.

By the middle of hole 2 the fog had lifted and we could see the expanse of this beautiful golf course before us. Large rolling fairways and bunkers that appear to by meticulously carved out of the ground. The setting is unique and pristine. Blue is one of those courses that feels like it fits the land to perfection.

The 4th hole at Blue is a great design. The tee shot must be kept a bit right to avoid the bunkers left, and shot 2 is straight up a big hill to the green. There is an enormous bunker guarding the green on the right and any ball left slightly short of the green middle or left will roll all the way down the hill leaving a long (and blind) pitch back up to the putting surface. The par 3 5th is a fun shot from the plateau just above the 4 green.

After the short par 4 6th the signature hole of the entire resort awaits. Hole 7 is a medium length par 3 which plays downhill over a lake. It’s not too tough but it is framed beautifully by the surrounding dunes and the footbridge over the lake. I dare you not to take a picture from this tee box! After we hit our shots we walked towards the green and saw several large gators swimming and sunning themselves near the footbridge. A good reminder to stay away from the water in these parts.

Holes 8 and forward play among the interior of the Red course. It is easy to see the differences of design style between Doak and the team of Coore/Crenshaw. It is a treat to have this much good golf by these great designers in one spot. The meat of this course works its way around a few lakes so there are some possible hazards out there especially with some fairways having some dramatic pitch to them. On hole 13, a drivable par 4 you need to hug the right side of the fairway to have any chance of hitting the green or end up well below it left.

The holes closing out the Blue course are pretty tough. The long, uphill par 5 17th requires a second shot over a huge band of bunkers crossing the fairway. Hole 18 is the best closing hole of the three courses on property. This is a mammoth par 4 with an uphill tee shot. With a good tee ball you will be able to see the green down the rolling hill, but you will likely have a long iron in hand. I thought a hit a good drive and had to press a 5 wood to get my second shot to the putting surface. I love tough closing holes, maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment!

It was a tough call for me, but Blue wins out for me amongst the three courses at Streamsong. I feel it overall offered great views, most interesting holes, and best layout at the resort. You should decide for yourself though. Make sure you play all three!

Streamsong Blue is my 2nd favorite golf course I have ever played (As of writing this review, I have played 95 different courses).

Everything e is exactly what you would want from a golf experience. The resort is in the middle of the middle of nowhere in Central Florida. When you get to the entrance, it's kind of a "we're not in Florida anymore" moment. Massive sand dunes, water, and a massive resort greet you, followed by your first views of the golf courses.

There is a shuttle to pick you up from the parking lot and take you to the clubhouse (Blue and Red share a clubhouse). The range and short game facility are not amazing, but exactly what you need.

In terms of the actual course, it is simply incredible. There is just something about playing golf in a remote location with absolutely nothing to worry about except your next shot. The fairways are firm and fast, as are the greens. I've never played true links golf in the British Isles, but I can't imagine it is much different than this.

Some of my favorite holes/shots are the tee shot on #1. You tee off from a 100 ft sand dune on a drivable par 4. #6 is another drivable par 4 with the same dune you tee off on #1 surrounding the green. #7 is the "signature" hole and is an awesome par 3 over water. On the back, #13 is the 3rd drivable par 4 on the course (I really like drivable par 4s). #14 is a uphill par 5 around water with a massive fairway where you can tee it high and let it fly.

I took a day trip to Streamsong, but I would love to take a trip here for 3-4 days and play every course a couple of times. It one of the best golf destinations there is.

Blue was the first Streamsong course I played, about four years ago. In the interim, I've played the delightfully weird Black a few times. Recently, I played the Red and Blue in a day in order to get a look at their new (excellent) Mach 1 Bermuda greens, as well as to see which one I preferred.

In the end, I give the slight edge to the Blue. I think the holes and features themselves exhibit a bit more variety, and there's a bit more quirk or cheekiness on display from Doak's work than from Coore & Crenshaw's. The par-4 11th is a masterpiece of subtlety in an otherwise pretty wild environment, and overall I enjoy the more freewheeling and daring green contours on the Blue. Both courses are excellent but that's merely my justification for preferring the Blue. Anyone who has been to Streamsong by now knows it is a great place to play golf for a few days, and three different golfers can come out with three different favorite courses. That's the sign of a winner to me.

I wish I could rate the course higher; however, my forecaddie experience was horrific. My caddie didn’t seem to care about me at all, focused on other three in group. He single handedly led to a 5 hour pls round and we were the second group off!!!! When done he was more concerned about making sure he got every cent and making me goto the parking lot to settle up and not near the Red course’s tee box as I had another tee time. As a result I missed my tee time. I sent an email to course and heard nothing back!!

We played the Black, Red and Blue courses on a recent trip to Streamsong. My thoughts:

The good/great:
- Course layout of all three courses was great
- Black has the most difficult greens, very fast. No, VERY fast. They were a challenge but a good challenge and very interesting.
- Greens at Blue and Red were what I would call normal resort course speed. Quickish, but certainly fair.
- In order of preference...Blue, Black and then Red. Blue and Black are neck and neck. Nothing wrong with Red, the other two just fit my eye better.
- Restaurants at the clubhouses as well as P2O5 were solid. We didn’t try the more upscale options.
- Rooms at the lodge are first rate
- Shuttle service from the lodge to the clubhouses was quick and easy

The negative
- Walking the courses with pull carts, quite frankly, is a challenge. There are long walks from green to tee, plenty of elevation change, very little signage indicating where tee boxes might be and you’re walking in shifting sand at times. All while trying to keep up with groups who chose to drive carts and marshals gently urging you to go faster. At this price, I don’t want to be rushed and I felt rushed. It took us five hours to play the Blue and I simply couldn’t do it any faster on foot. We weren’t waiting to play until our approach on 18. The group behind waited briefly, occasionally.
- Botton line, have a caddy carry your bag or take a cart

I believe the greatest thing man can do to add beauty to God's creation is build a golf course. The Blue at Streamsong lives up to the challenge of that conviction. Tom Doak built a golf course that may not quite have the shot values of the Red or Black, but it gives you views that will take your breath away. For me, that makes a course worth playing. Don't get me wrong. The Blue is an outstanding course and will offer you an unbelievable experience. I think the 18th hole is one of the best on the property. I say "think," because we played it in the dark! Had to finish.

I had the chance to play Blue again as part of the recent Golf Advisor Getaway to Streamsong. Blue is a very good course, but it ranks third out of three for me at the resort. The greens are huge with a ton of undulation and a lot of fun to play if you have the right mindset. In my opinion, Blue has the least memorable holes of the three courses on property (outside of the awesome Par 3 #7). Also, the course really needs some directional signage. We didn't have caddies and found ourselves not knowing where to go multiple times. I would still recommend playing the course to others, but I'm partial to Red.

I'm rating this golf course first as it was the first of three (Red, Blue, Black) that we played as part of a GolfAdvisor getaway package.

About the getaway itself: our group had done Bandon the previous three years in a row and wanted to try somewhere new so fell on Streamsong. We came in with high expectations, and overall the trip did not disappoint: the golf was great and pretty reminiscent of Bandon (except the alligators!) , and the amenities were top notch.

As for the Blue course, it was probably my least favorite of the three, but that could be just because the other two are more recent in my memory, honestly. It was in great shape and had some amazing moments like the par 3 7th, in particular. The greens were fast and big and really challenged you to find the right tier.

In general, I would highly recommend the course and Streamsong as a destination.

Streamsong Blue was the first course we played during our visit. It was fun and very playable. Each hole was interesting and they all flowed together nicely. The course was in great shape and the staff was attentive and helpful. Would love to return.

While there was no ocean or large body of water nearby, the dunes and man made lakes evoked a feeling of playing Whistling Straits on Lake Michigan or even a Scottish course. There were a lot of elevation changes which you don’t usually experience in Florida. Walking the course with a caddy was a delightful way to experience this course.

The course was generally in good condition, with my only objection being to the sand traps. The sand was not consistent, with some traps having an over abundance of sand. The traps had not been groomed my machine which also made them inconsistent.

I very much like and would recommend all three Streamsong courses, and I rank them: 1. Red, 2. Black, 3. Blue. The Blue Course makes great use of elevations throughout. It plays up and down various hills and through dunes. Water is in play on a few holes but not that many. There are a handful of excellent holes- the photogenic par 3 over water 7th, the elevated green 4th, the 12th tucked behind a stream in part of the fairway, a long, narrow par-3 set on a hillside at an angle to the tee, a good cape-style hole over water, and more. It has some great short par-4s that make you consider distance and placement. The greens have wonderful internal mounds and some with good tiers. I’ve read some say the greens are too severe but I didn’t think so. They are more mounded and rolling than the Red but not as crazy like the Black, and some are nicely set right up to the dunes. One aspect of the course that detracts for me is that despite some great holes, many holes are too wide and straight off the tee. Only a couple of par-4s or par-5s have any significant bending or movement of the fairway from tee to green, or make you think of your angle of your tee shot. Another minor point is that the bunkering didn’t seem as aesthetically pleasing as the Red. From 150 yards and in, the course is excellent, and beyond there are a few great and memorable holes.

In my rankings of on-course food shack options, the grouper tacos on the Blue course come in first!

Loved everything about this course. You would never think you're in Florida. You will not be disappointed playing this course!!

Amazing golf course to play and even more beautiful to just look at. I've never played Florida golf like this.

Our caddy was knowledgable and friendly and we would have had a tough time reading the greens without him.

The resort promotes walking and their philosophy is "Although carts are available, we believe that the limited visibility, noise and distractions of riding in a cart are all factors that contribute to an inferior golfing experience."

The only thing that ruined an otherwise perfect buddy trip were the marshals rushing us along to keep up with the group of carts in front and behind us.

Five stars across the board if we were allowed to walk at a normal pace.