The two golf courses at the new central Florida resort are are pure and simple without a lot of tricks.
It’s easy getting back to nature at Streamsong Resort, mainly because you’re in the middle of it from the time you drive in until the time you check out.
Everywhere you turn on the 16,000-acre property, wilderness abounds. And if you find any birdies on the fairways, treat them as feathers in your cap. That’s because golf at this resort in Bowling Green, Fla., is spectacular in its simplicity – minimalist landscaping, no housing, massive sand dunes, natural bunkers, subtle climbs and drops, fast Bermuda fairways, a policy geared toward walking and enough humps and bumps to make a player pay attention to ball placement and club selection.
Tom Doak gets credit for the Blue layout, which has clever contouring throughout. Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore get kudos for Red, which incorporates lakes, lagoons and a few riskier tee shots into the equation. Not many par-3s in the country, however, stand out more than No. 7 on Doak’s Blue. The 203-yarder from the tips requires a lake carry to a long and tiered green bordered by steep bunkers, hillsides and tall native grasses. It’s a must-see microcosm of what awaits on all 36 holes.
“This is a dynamic pairing,” Streamsong director of golf Scott Wilson said about the courses and the design teams. “I love the natural feel, the flow and the fact that players have options for playing shots, such as bump and runs around the greens, which doesn’t come into play much anymore.”
The courses, which opened in January 2013, preceded the resort’s unveiling by a year. As befitting the site about 45 miles east of Tampa, Streamsong’s lodge and clubhouse also blend into the landscape with an architectural style that is both understated and futuristic in an industrial chic kind of way. Alberto Alfonso designed the 216-room lodge to showcase the environment, not overwhelm it. Rooms and suites feature floor-to-ceiling glass for views of the lake and rustic surroundings, and the marble and dark wood tones go well with the setting. The golf clubhouse, just a short drive from the lodge, features banquet space, 12 guestrooms, the golf shop, a lounge and Restaurant Fifty Nine.
Although a newcomer on the Florida and national golf scenes, Streamsong has already received acclaim on several fronts: from Golf Magazine, as both courses made the publication’s 2014 Top 100 Courses You Can Play list, and with guest and business activity that has exceeded expectations.
“We’re thrilled and pretty surprised by how quickly this has come about,” Thomas Parke, Streamsong’s director of marketing, said about the resort’s early popularity of approximately 50,000 rounds and 40,000 lodge guests in 2014. “We really wanted the public to see something remarkable, and we’ve obviously achieved that. We have a kind of buzz that’s hard to beat.”
There’s already talk of building on that buzz with more golf courses on the property that plays a key role in a guests’ experience, as bass fishing, nature trails, bird watching and sporting clays are other recreational options. But if golf in its purest form is what you desire in a resort visit, you can’t go wrong flying to Tampa or Orlando and making the quick drive to play two new layouts that look like they’ve been there for centuries.
“The golf courses are pretty fantastic and in great shape,” said Wilson, who came to Streamsong from Vellano Country Club in Chino Hills where he was the SCPGA Golf Professional of the Year in 2009. “Whatever happens in the future is up to the business people, but for now, with our layouts and walking policy that enables golfers to really enjoy the nature and nuances of the course, we have something pretty special that is getting a lot of positive feedback.”
