It’s difficult to describe the feeling that washes over you on the first tee of the Blue Course at Streamsong Resort. The tee is elevated about 50 feet above the fairway and as you take the final two or three steps to the summit, there’s an anticipation that something great is about to be revealed.
Then you get there and it’s better than you could ever have imagined.
Pick a direction and turn that way. All you’ll see is golf course, the verdant green fairways, tee boxes and greens, the whiteness of the bunkers and the darker hues of the exposed dirt. The sky is bluer than any dream ever hatched by Dean Smith or Michael Jordan.
And, boy, is it quiet.
It almost feels like you are the only person on Planet Earth.
That’s the remoteness of Streamsong. That’s the beauty of Streamsong. That’s the allure of Streamsong.
It’s something that every golfer – at least a golfer who appreciates the finer things the sport promotes – must check off their bucket list. It is a golfer’s paradise and every minute spent there should be embraced and appreciated.
It is a dream destination.
And for those who live in Georgia, it’s a drivable option. No need to hop in a plane; you can get there from Atlanta in about eight hours. No need to cross an ocean or acquire a passport. And no need to fight tourists or frat boys or deal with corporate types who play golf one time a year.
Maybe it was the majesty of the first hole, but the Blue Course was my personal favorite. (Of course, it could be that I played better there, too.) Streamsong Blue was designed by Tom Doak, who did a masterful job dealing with the elevation changes that you don’t expect to find in Florida.
The fairways are more than ample, but Doak gets you with his green complexes. That’s where the trouble lies, with bunkers and the undulated putting surfaces that serve as an open invitation to three-putt.
The par-3 seventh hole is one of the prettiest on the course. It’s a long hole (203 yards from the back) that’s cut out of a large dune. It requires a carry over water to a green with a huge sand dune that is bunkered on three sides.
The 13th is a short par-4 that plays around 300 yards. Aggressive hitters can whale away and tempt the fates with some deep bunkers on the left. Or you can hit an iron in the fairway and have an open look at the green. But what’s more fun?
Doak said, “This is such a good piece of land for golf. The variety of contours created by the mining process is unique for a project in Florida – or anywhere in the Southeast.”
The halfway house on the Streamsong Blue features beef, pork or fish tacos. A cut above that stale turkey sandwich you get back home.
