Courses in Panama City, FL

[rmgr]

What are some good golf courses near Panama City, Florida? I plan on going there in August, and I'm not sure if to stay at a hotel with a golf course, or just stay on another hotel without a golf course and simply go to one nearby. Help me out with links and stuff

[philipy]

I grew up 40 miles from there. There are some great courses in PC. I'd say the best is what used to be called the Lagoon Legend. It's now the Nicklaus Course at Baypoint ( http://baypointgolf.com/baypoint.asp?id=16&page;=439 ). They also have an easier course called the Meadows at the same location.

The Hombre is a great course also. I'm pretty sure the lesser tours have hit it several times.

There is also a Greg Norman course, but it's private and I've never played it.

Dropping down from those top tier courses, you've got Holiday Golf Course. It's pretty nice and will cost a little less. Bay Dunes is an acceptable course, but nothing really special.

Drive a few miles west to Destin and Sandestin and you're in golf heaven. The Links, The Raven, Baytowne are great courses to name a few. The senior tour played a month or so ago on The Raven.

[i-Guy]

I'd say the best is what used to be called the Lagoon Legend. It's now the Nicklaus Course at Baypoint (

I second that but if the new Nicklaus course is hard as the Lagoon course was you better bring plenty of balls unless you are a single digit handicap. The Meadows course is a very good course and is fun to play. The Legend is difficult but runs along St. Andrews Bay and has some beautiful holes. Have fun!

[philipy]

Good point about bringing plenty of balls. Water, water, water, water everywhere mixed in with miles of sand. Very challenging.

[Striper]

I was there a few months ago and played Holiday, Hombre, and Meadows at Baypoint. The Meadows was, by far, the nicer of these three courses.

The new Norman course is called Sharks Tooth and is on the west end. It's private but they'll let you play if you tell them you are considering buying property.

[Divot Master]

I was also in PCB (Panama City Beach) this past spring.

Hombre is typical subdivision golf and mediocre conditions. They have three nines, called Good, Bad, and Ugly, all about 3400 yards par 36 from tips except Good is a bit shorter and par 35. Lots of water in play virtually every hole and plenty of white stakes. Average difficulty, slope ratings about 130. Lost three balls, though.

Nicklaus Course is a major renovation of the old Lagoon Legend course. When was the last time someone hired Nicklaus to come in and make a course easier!?!? IMHO, the course is now much more playable / enjoyable, not crazy difficult anymore, with slope around 145/140 and 7152/6330 yards (black/blue tees). Generous landing areas now, albeit not always visible from the tees. Good conditions on most holes as new turf matures. Only lost one ball.

I did not play the Meadows course, took a drive around it and it looked like boring subdivision golf, every hole flat and straight with houses down one side and the road down the other.

Hope this helps.

[philipy]

Wow - I guess the Hombre has really gone down hill since I've last played it (it's been close to 10 years). But it was in beautiful shape. How much did it cost this year? It is worth the $?

[Divot Master]

If I recall correctly, Hombre was about $59 green fee including cart this past April for a weekday morning. Probably a fair price for what you get. By comparison Nicklaus course was a good deal at $99, I think Meadows was $79 and didn't look worth it.

[rmgr]

Looks like I'm going to be playing Hombre for sure, since it's about a minute from the resort I'll be staying at, and perhaps I will also play the Nicklaus Course, but it's about 16 minutes away.

By the way, I'm going in early October now.

[rmgr]

Anyone played Hombre before? How was it?

[Rynofskie]

It's a great course....I played it once about 8 years ago. Holiday is a really great course, and just minutes from the beach too... It's on Back Beach Road. My whole family lives in Panama City, and my Uncle (extremely good sub-par golfer) played that course religiously...Now he's a member at The Sharks Tooth , the course Greg Norman designed for The Wild Heron development....it's pretty fancy, and impressive. 7,204 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 74.9 and it has a slope rating of 136. My grandparents have two condos there, and I have visited there several times......What a course, I've never played it, as it is well out of my leauge.