Streamsong Resort - Page 3

@ The Humble Golfer:    

If you're looking to walk the course(s) and want a great Caddie that knows golf, and knows the Red and Blue Courses very well..    don't hesitate to ask for Chris Cat/C Cat.       It's certainly a great test of golf, in a setting that leaves nature untouched, and the golfer no where near city noises, and distractions of any sort.          Feel free to buzz me at 215 870 3060 if you want to chat about either course.     
 

I just got back home from my day at Streamsong. Let me just say this at the top - that was the most awesome day I have ever spent on a golf course. Ever. Where to start....

Okay, at the beginning.  We arrived at the course a little after 8am. This was the grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony. The architects - Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw & Tom Doak were there. We were greeted by eager, professional staff who took care of our clubs. I was asked my shirt size & later, when the round started, there was a goodie bag with a shirt, hat & a sleeve of Titleist ProV1's in it. 

I walked around the clubhouse, met a few people, then walked out on the veranda overlooking the putting green. I looked to my left & there was Ben Crenshaw. I walked up to him & said "I want to shake the hand of a two-time Masters Champ." He could not have been nicer, and was very proud of Streamsong. He spent a good ten minutes talking to me about the land, the work he, Bill & Tom did. Total gentleman.

We were then treated to a great buffet breakfast, then a Q&A with the architects. After that, they went out to do the ribbon.cutting, then hit ceremonial tee shots. Ben ripped one about 270 down the middle. :)

Finally it was time for golf...but not before we got treated to lunch! We just ate breakfast two hours earlier, but they once again went all-out with a lunch buffet. Finally we get to our carts, where the aforementioned goodie bags were there. Then came the next treat - we had caddies!  ChrisCat - my caddy was Billy Green, and he was awesome. Here's a pic of us on, I think it was #7 Red course -

That dude knew that course, and I totally let him guide me around it - "Where do you want me to put this, Billy?" was my standard phrase to him. 

Now, the course. So many adjectives I could use, but when you distill them all down, the most appropriate, although not the most scintillating one is, unique. I have never played a course like that before, and certainly not in Florida. That wasn't a Florida course. It most closely resembles Scottish link-style course, with the absence of trees, undulating fairways & multiple shot options. The greens, they said they were Bermuda, but that was the fasted freekin' Bermuda I've ever played on! It took me a few hole to adjust to the speed, as I 3-putted 2 of the first 3 greens. Btu I didn't 3-putt another one after that, and on 16, which is one of the signature holes, a 195-yard par 3 over water to a HUGE, three tiered green, I hit a 3-hybrid to 25 feet & got the speed down perfectly on the putt & ran it in for a very satisfying birdie 2.

As has been stated, the site is an old phosphate mining site. They haven't mined there in almost 50 years, however, and since then Mother Nature has softened the harsh angles of a mining operation into a sloping, windswept, dunes-framed jewel of pure golf. Below are a few pics I took, but the pics previous posted are better, so I won't go overboard with them. 

This is a total first-class operation in every aspect. The powers behind this effort have staked major coin in creating Streamsong, and they make no bones about the fact they want it to be like Bandon Dunes - they referenced BD a number of times. They are banking on well-heeled golfers to travel far off the beaten path - and trust me, this is WELL off the beaten path - to go to the middle of nowhere, plunk down a lot of money, and play golf in a very purist, pristine environment. But, I have to add, that even though the grass part of the course is as good as anything I've ever played, the course is framed by wild, unkempt grass and sand. That's by design. Streamsong definitely is rough around the edges...which it should be.

As for my game, it wasn't too bad. Two birdies (yay) 3 doubles (I didn't always put it where Billy said to). I shot an 81. But that didn't matter. It was an awesome day. I can't wait to go back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipazoid 

I just got back home from my day at Streamsong. Let me just say this at the top - that was the most awesome day I have ever spent on a golf course. Ever.

Thanks for the post and pix. Did you play both Red and Blue? If so, which did you prefer and why? What are the differences between the two? Prior to yesterday, what was your favorite?

It's not as "off the beaten path" as compared to Bandon or Ballyneal. You have two international airports in Tampa and Orlando a little more than an hour away so it should get a lot of play from avid golfers.  Have you played Bandon or Ballyneal (among my U.S favorites). If so, what made Streamsong "more awesome"? I am looking forward to playing there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisCat2013 

Hi All..    I'm brand new to The Sand Trap..     but wanted to weigh in on Streamsong Resort...           

 

I know the Resort, the property, and both Red and Blue Courses better than anybody.

 

I'm a top Streamsong Caddie.       

 

I'm one of the most trusted and depended on Caddies at Streamsong. 

 

I already know the course like the back of my hand after only 20 or so times around both courses.

 

Chris Cat

Streamsong Looper

but not very self confident

I'll e-mail you before I come down and hope to find out if you're as good as you say.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabram 

Thanks for the post and pix. Did you play both Red and Blue? If so, which did you prefer and why? What are the differences between the two? Prior to yesterday, what was your favorite?

 

It's not as "off the beaten path" as compared to Bandon or Ballyneal. You have two international airports in Tampa and Orlando a little more than an hour away so it should get a lot of play from avid golfers.  Have you played Bandon or Ballyneal (among my U.S favorites). If so, what made Streamsong "more awesome"? I am looking forward to playing there.

I played the Red, the Coore/Crenshaw design. Every guest was assigned one or the other.

Heh, one thing I noticed as I listened to conversations, were comments like 'You played the Blue? You GOTTA check out the Red...' and then 'The Red is great, but wait til you play the Blue...' When the architects were doing the Q&A they talked about they integrated their designs - the courses 'intertwine' each other - it's not like the Red's over here & Blue's over there. or example, #7 Blue & #16 Red are next to each other. One caddie said he likes the Red more. Another said the Blue.

I've never played Bandon or Ballyneal, so I can't compare Streamsong to them. The 'off the beaten path' is relative to what we Florida golfers are used to - our courses are either near the ocean or major cities/highways. Sreamsong isn't. It's about 20 miles south of Mulberry & there is NOOOOO-THING around it. I mean, it's not like after your round you're gonna go over to the TGI Fridays for a beer. Once you're there, you're staying there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by David in FL 


Wow. Now I've GOTTA get over there! Thks Zip!

David, I ran out of adjectives to describe it. In fact, when we got to #16, they were interviewing the golfers, filming it & so on. And when I was asked what I thought of the course, that was my answer - "I ran out of adjectives three holes back!" You just find yourself standing on, for example, one of the elevated tees, hands on your hips, mouth open, saying 'Wow....' Tom Doak said 'When I first saw this piece of property, Florida was about my 47th guess as to which state I was in.'

Couple other things I left off in my excitement of posting my review last night. The course is very playable & very fair. Generously wide fairways & large greens. The challenge comes when you get off the 'green' part of the course - heh, my caddy pointed out some high wild grass next to #13 & told me, "I saw an Eastern Diamondback in there the other day." I said don't worry, Billy. If I hit it in there I'll take a drop!

The other challenge is the subtlety of the greens. They can be very difficult to read. Often Billy & I disagreed on the read - 'Billy I'm seeing two balls outside left lip' - 'More than that Boss, four balls.' On one hole I read the putt as left to right, then got over the ball & it looked the exact opposite - right to left, so I adjusted my aim to two balls outside right lip, hit the putt...and it broke right. So trust your reads once you get over the putt. And there's a lot of grain on them - our playing partners were from Iowa & were befuddled by the speed. I asked them if they're familiar with Florida courses & told them about grain. I said 'Trust your caddy on the speed read.'

Here's a few more pics to give more of the 'flavor' of the terrain. This is a pic of Crenshaw talking on the veranda of the clubhouse. Look at that terrain behind him -

Here he is hitting the ceremonial drive on the first hole of the Red (a 470 yard par 4!) -

And here's #7 on the Blue, taken from the first tee of the Blue, which is on top of a sand dune -

well going back to one of the original questions in this thread of is this course worth the $$ - it appears to me from comments and pics that is fairly priced and should do very well...can't wait to check it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefty-Golfer 

well going back to one of the original questions in this thread of is this course worth the $$ - it appears to me from comments and pics that is fairly priced and should do very well...can't wait to check it out.

I guess it depends on what price you pay whether it's worth it. I see on their website that it's $399 for, basically, an all-day play. So is it worth 400 bucks to play? Depends on the individual & whether they are willing to part with that kind of money. 

I know that sounds like a cop-out answer, but what I mean is, this is a new course without all the buzz of a Bandon Dunes or Whistling Straits. But those are courses it's being compared to. 

It also depends on what kind of experience you're looking for. For me, it was damn near perfect. That's my style of course - no trees, windswept dunes, multiple shot options. AND...no houses. Anywhere. This isn't a 'residential/real estate' thing. This for golf purists. 

When the developers spoke at the Q&A in the morning, their longer-term vision is to have fishing/skeet as the other activities once the lodge is built (presently under construction), as well as charters to either coast for deep-sea fishing. 

But for now, you got two courses in the middle of a phosphate mine not close to anything. I think for some it's gonna take a leap of faith to give it a try until enough people come back with favorable impressions of the experience. But one thing about golfers - we will go to the ends of the freekin' earth for unique experiences, and I think the brains behind Streamsong realized this. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipazoid 

 

I guess it depends on what price you pay whether it's worth it. I see on their website that it's $399 for, basically, an all-day play. So is it worth 400 bucks to play? Depends on the individual & whether they are willing to part with that kind of money. 

 

I know that sounds like a cop-out answer, but what I mean is, this is a new course without all the buzz of a Bandon Dunes or Whistling Straits. But those are courses it's being compared to. 

 

It also depends on what kind of experience you're looking for. For me, it was damn near perfect. That's my style of course - no trees, windswept dunes, multiple shot options. AND...no houses. Anywhere. This isn't a 'residential/real estate' thing. This for golf purists. 

 

When the developers spoke at the Q&A in the morning, their longer-term vision is to have fishing/skeet as the other activities once the lodge is built (presently under construction), as well as charters to either coast for deep-sea fishing. 

 

But for now, you got two courses in the middle of a phosphate mine not close to anything. I think for some it's gonna take a leap of faith to give it a try until enough people come back with favorable impressions of the experience. But one thing about golfers - we will go to the ends of the freekin' earth for unique experiences, and I think the brains behind Streamsong realized this. 

for a golf trip of several days - yep it seems to me that it is a no brainer. i don't get the impression they have any interest in the low market. you summed it up with the competition being more regional as in Pinehurst, Kiowa Island, Myrtle Sea Island etc. having been most of those places these golf courses appear to be on same level or higher depending on which location you want to reference. 400 a day for quality seems fair. #2 is 400 for the round. The ocean course was 300 or there about...so yea looks good.

Just saw this posted on YouTube - this guy rated Streamsong as his 19th best public course in the country - 

...and this is a good vid with panoramic views of the courses -

I have to get there. The pictures I've seen evoke memories of Bandon. And I'm sure it's a lot easier to get to.