Streamsong (Red)

Streamsong (Red) – Played October 2015

• Rankings: Golf Magazine #52
• Location: 1000 Streamsong Drive, Streamsong, Florida
• Year: 2012
• Architects: Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw
• Course Access: Resort
• Walking Rules: Carts & Caddies Available (Walking Only at Certain Times)

Score Card Information:

• Green: 7,148 yards, Par 72, 74.2 Rating/130 Slope
• Black: 6,584 yards, Par 72, 71.7 Rating/125 Slope
• Silver: 6,094 yards, Par 72, 69.4 Rating/119 Slope
• Gold: 5,184 yards, Par 72, 70.0 Rating/122 Slope

This marked the real meat of my Florida trip.  I was getting to play both Streamsong courses on weekdays.  The only thing that could make it better was if the wife or some buddies could have joined me.

On the Monday of my trip, I got to take on the Streamsong Red.  It was designed by the dream team of Coore & Crenshaw.  I still haven’t found one of their courses that I dislike.  The course goes through large sand dunes and other scenery.  I think the architects were very happy with the piece of land they got to work with.

Due to the newness of the course, there is not much in the way of history.  I think that will change as more people get to play the course.  As the years pass, I think it will rack up considerable accolades.

I was paired up for this round with a very nice couple from Argentina.  The wife got a caddy and I was very interested to learn that he caddied for Roland Thatcher for many years.  I asked some questions about life on tour for a caddy and it made for some interesting conversation.  It’s always nice to hear some stories when you’re on the course.

Let’s get into the course tour.  Below is the scorecard.

I played the black tees and all the hole distances will reflect that.

Hole 1 – 464 yards – Par 4

Streamsong Red doesn’t start with a lackluster hole at all.  Look at this tee shot!  The carry is not an issue and the fairway is quite wide.  You will still need to rip one though due to the distance.

The second shot is all uphill.  While it is a long shot, the green is open in front and is quite wide.

The greens are massive here to accommodate the wind and create some interesting challenges.  You can see the size below.

Hole 2 – 508 yards – Par 5

Let’s just say there is no letdown so far.  The longer you hit it the further right you can go.  There is plenty of room to the left though if you are shorter off the tee.  Lots of options here.  The carry is much easier than it looks if you go left.

The second shot is all out in front of you.  You do need to avoid the fairway bunker in the middle.

Here is a closer view of what you would face on the third shot.

The green is massive and very receptive to shots played along the ground.  There is a good bit of slope in the green as you can see.

Hole 3 – 391 yards – Par 4

I hate to keep getting excited, but these holes are great!  The carry here is not as long as the photo makes it look.  There is plenty of room to hit a draw or fade.

The second shot plays slightly uphill.

Below you can see the wild sloping of this green.  My ball is on the left and this putt broke at least four feet.  The pin here is in a bowl.

Hole 4 – 312 yards – Par 4

This hole can be reached if you have a favorable wind or if you are a big hitter.  You can barely make out the green to the right of the bunkers in the middle.

Here is the second shot if you didn’t go for it.  The greenside bunker is no place to be.

The shape of this green is quite interesting.  You will have a difficult putt if you are on the front, left of the putting surface with this pin.

Hole 5 – 344 yards – Par 4

This is a short hole, but there is plenty of trouble.  You obviously don’t want to miss to the right, but if you go a little left there is high grass and sand waiting.

The fairway is very rippled and a big mound guards the front of the green.  You can see it obscuring the view of the pin below.

The back of the green is guarded by bunkers.  Also, there are some big slopes in this putting surface.

Hole 6 – 143 yards – Par 3

The first short hole is no picnic with the wind blowing as it was on this day.  Let’s just say I hit my 200-yard club here.  Thankfully the green is a big target.

This is a particularly tough pin.  There is a lot of slope to negotiate for any putt coming from the right or center of the green.

Hole 7 – 521 yards – Par 5

This hole calls for a draw off the tee.  There is a good bit of room out there so let it rip.

The second shot leaves you with some decisions if you are within range.  There is no clear way to run the ball on certain parts of the green because of dunes.  There is a hazard on the left side so be wary.

Below you can see the dunes I was referring to on the second shot.

Here is another angle of the green.

This one of the most unique greens I have seen.  There is a big portion to the left of the dune and then it wraps around to another piece.

Here is the green from the back right side and shows just how much room is back there.

Hole 8 – 119 yards – Par 3

I have noticed that Coore & Crenshaw always love to put a short par three in their courses.  The eighth is it on Streamsong Red.  It may be short-yardage, but there are plenty of bunkers to avoid.

Here is a side angle of the green with a little bit of finger in the shot.  Whoops!

The green is shaped like a figure eight and thus narrows in the middle.  As would be expected on a hole this short, distance control is important.

Hole 9 – 271 yards – Par 4

Another template hole the C&C boys like is a short par four.  This one plays longer than the yardage because it is all uphill.  A favorable wind makes this one reachable.

The green has a false front so you need to be sure to carry your ball far enough into the green.

Hole 10 – 385 yards – Par 4

The landing area is blind on this tee shot.  The hole moves to the left so a draw is favorable here.

Below is the view of the second shot.

The green is massive as you can see below.

Hole 11 – 403 yards – Par 4

This hole plays quite a bit uphill.  The safe play is out to the right.

You get no reprieve on the approach shot.  It is probably necessary to take an extra club to reach.

Below is the side view of the fairway bunkers from the last photo.  You don’t want to flirt with these bad boys.

This green is not as undulating as some of the others.

Hole 12 – 450 yards – Par 4

This hole was playing brutish on this day.  It was dead into the wind.  I basically had to play it as a par five.

The hole bends around the left for the second shot.  As I said I was a long way back with the wind.  I couldn’t get home in two from here.

Thankfully my third wasn’t too long but needed to be kept low under the wind.  There is some slope here for sure.

Here is a closer look at the putting surface.

Hole 13 – 451 yards – Par 5

Same length here as the last hole, but one more on the par.  There is plenty of fairway out there to hit.

It really helps to have a caddie on shots like these where there isn’t a clear aiming point.

Here is a closer look at the green past the huge blowout bunker.

And here is another angle.

Here is the putting surface from just off to the side.

Hole 14 – 150 yards – Par 3

This can be a devilish little hole.  You cannot miss long here.  The bunkers aren’t much better with their depth.  Luckily the green is pretty large.

The green is relatively flat.

It may be flat, but it is quite large.

Hole 15 – 402 yards – Par 4

This is a tough tee shot visually.  Your eyes are drawn to the large bunker on the left, which is death.

The second shot is uphill to an open green.  You must avoid the bunkers.

Here is a closer look at the green complex.

The green slopes are very evident in the photo below.

Hole 16 – 160 yards – Par 3

This is probably the craziest hole on the course.  Over the water to the most undulating green of the 18.  We were into the wind so it player longer.  The bunkers in the front are very deep.

Do you see what I mean by a crazy green.

You have to really wack it to the back pin location if you are on the front section of the green.

The photo below gives you some perspective on how big the hill is.

Hole 17 – 343 yards – Par 4

This hole is on the shorter side and provides a good opportunity for birdie.  A nice drive should give you a short iron or wedge for the second shot.

The approach shot is very enticing when the flag is in the middle.  From this angle, everything seems to funnel to the middle.

Here is a side view of the green.

You can see below that the green is not as much of a punch bowl as it looks from the fairway.  It is quite flat.

Hole 18 – 443 yards – Par 5

The course finishes with a short par five that is definitely reachable in two.  We played it downwind and it was playing really short.

Here is a look at what would be a longer second shot.

This was my second shot.  I am not long by any means, but I was left with a gap wedge.  The green is elevated and you must carry it on a little bit to avoid coming back down the hill.

I liked the picture below looking back from the green.  This is the top of the resort.

This round was incredible.  Quite simply Streamsong Red is like no other course I have played.  If you can get down to Florida, play this track.  It doesn’t need any more explanation than that.