Stillwater Golf & Country Club – Played January 2024
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 64 Round Robin Run, St Johns, Florida
- Year: 2021
- Architect: Bobby Weed
- Course Access: Semi-Private
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Green: 6,745 yards, Par 72, 71.6 Rating/127 Slope
- Blue: 6,314 yards, Par 72, 69.8 Rating/122 Slope
- Black: 5,797 yards, Par 72, 67.5 Rating/117 Slope
- White: 5,288 yards, Par 72, 65.1 Rating/110 Slope (Men’s), 69.5 Rating/121 Slope (Women’s)
- Red: 4,760 yards, Par 72, 66.6 Rating/113 Slope
Before entering my busiest work season, I wanted to see some new golf courses. Stillwater Golf & Country Club fit the bill and was the first stop on this short trip down to Jacksonville.
The club is built to be an over-55 community, but it was allowing some outside play while they are still working on the additional amenities. A friend and I took advantage of this to see the course on a sunny winter’s day. Let’s get into the tour of this Bobby Weed course.
Hole 1 – 414 yards – Par 4
The first hole at Stillwater is no pushover. You’ll need a good drive and approach to hit the green on this slight dogleg left.
Hole 4 – 165 yards – Par 3
This green is obscured due to the topography. It’s a decent sized target but a shallow one. With most pins, but especially this one, it’s imperative to stay out of the pot bunkers on the right.
Hole 5 – 523 yards – Par 5
This hole plays straightaway with the main concern being the water on the right which affects the drive and second shots. The greensite is pretty open for attack should you hit a good drive.
Hole 6 – 279 yards – Par 4
With the water directly in front of this green, going for it is a risky play. If you lay up, make sure it’s to a comfortable yardage since the water isn’t going anywhere.
Hole 7 – 403 yards – Par 4
Here is a substantial dogleg right where you’ll want to favor the right side of the fairway to shorten the approach shot. From personal experience, I don’t recommend playing from the left rough.
Hole 8 – 501 yards – Par 5
A generous fairway and green awaits you on this straight shot par five. Two good shots should get you home.
Hole 9 – 312 yards – Par 4
If you’ve got the firepower, there’s no reason to hold back. The front left bunker is not a bad place to be.
Hole 10 – 187 yards – Par 3
This can be a beefy hole into the wind. Additionally the green is slightly domed and can give you some difficult putts.
Hole 11 – 553 yards – Par 5
On the previous par fives, good tee balls would allow you a chance to get home in two. On most days, this hole will not give you that chance. That’s doubly true when it plays into the wind, like it did for us. Keep your ball up the left side of the hole and you can walk out of here unscathed.
Hole 12 – 374 yards – Par 4
The main obstacle here is pretty easy to decipher. An optimistic view is that the homes aren’t built yet, so there’s a second fairway way right. Don’t ask me why I thought about that!
Hole 13 – 437 yards – Par 4
This is one of the tougher holes at Stillwater. You must keep the tee shot from going too far left because it can bounce into the water.
Hole 14 – 506 yards – Par 5
We’ve got another tee shot here that needs to avoid the left side. With the trees on the right, that side isn’t much better. The hole moves slightly left to a peninsula green.
Hole 15 – 130 yards – Par 3
Why won’t they let me miss left, was the question going through my head once I got to this tee. However, there’s not really an excuse here with a short hole.
Hole 16 – 464 yards – Par 5
The water left is the danger on this tee shot. Good drives will absolutely put you in the go zone. Some treacherous bunkers guard a domed green with multiple sections.
Hole 17 – 214 yards – Par 3
The last of the par threes completes a very interesting set of one-shotters. With the firmness of the course and the hollows behind the green, playing a little short is not a bad idea.
Hole 18 – 355 yards – Par 4
A large portion of the sand budget went to the finishing hole with large waste bunkers on the left and right. You don’t need a long tee ball to put you in a nice position. The left side is the better angle.
Take note of the flash face bunkers. These were common throughout the layout.
Stillwater was different than what I was expecting from a 55+ community course. It certainly played with some teeth on a windy winter day. Perhaps in the summer it will be a little easier, but water was ever present and the balls were bouncing on the firm turf. I think the members will really enjoy this one!