Is Streamsong the best golf destination in America? It’s a bold claim in a country blessed with Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst and Whistling Straits.
Set in the heart of Florida, Streamsong is a purpose-built golf resort. What was once bare industrial terrain, the area has now been transformed into a landscape of towering dunes and formidable golf courses.
It is home to three championship level golf courses; the Red, the Black and the Blue, as well as a short course.
These courses have been designed by some of the golden architects from the modern era. The widely respected names of Tom Doak, Ben Crenshaw and Gil Hanse have all left their mark on the Streamsong Golf Resort.
To find out just how good of a golf resort Streamsong is, the 48 hours in team headed across the pond. Regular hosts Tom Irwin and Mike Robertson were joined by Tom Bullough on their trip to The Sunshine State.
“I came here when it first opened, about 10 years ago, and I felt like that head exploding emoji about it because of the sheer scale of the place,” Irwin recalled.
“Since then, it has gotten three times bigger. They built another course which is huge, the black course, the short course wasn’t open then and they are building another course which will be their fourth.
“The scale of it is just mind-blowing. Whilst it’s still a top end golf venue, it is a totally different interpretation of what golf is. It is uber relaxed, people with beers, people playing music, it is a completely different vibe.
“These kinds of resort developments, they’re common in the States. I’m not sure we have anything that is similar in the UK at all.
“Once you are here, you’ve got three or four days of world-class golf. The hotels are off the charts as well.”
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Streamsong seems to appeal to the ‘buddies trip’ culture that has built up in the States over recent years. It is a place that aligns with this trend within golf.
“There is a real culture of buddies trips here that is starting to permeate into Europe and the UK, but it is a really deep-rooted thing now here (in the US),” David McLay Kidd, golf course architect, believes.
“You see groups of eight, 12, 16 guys going to these places for multiple days and playing 36 holes a day.
“Steamsong is one of the best places to do it. In fact, maybe the only place to do it in the winter time.”
There is a different vibe to playing at Steamsong that is perhaps different or missing from equivalent venues in the UK.
“I think that the reason people are so fond of coming here is that this is where golf lives,” said Irwin. “There’s no stuffiness. The essence of the whole thing is going out and having a good time.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places you will ever play, particularly on an evening like this. I think that’s why perhaps we love it because there is this sense of familiarity but it’s also totally otherworldly and something that feels so out of reach. That’s what makes it amazing.”
Robertson goes even further, claiming: “This is the best trip you can do in golf, certainly in the US anyway.”
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NOW HAVE YOUR SAY
Have you visited the Streamsong Golf resort before? Have you been to any other golf resorts in the US? If so, which do you think is the best golf destination in America? Let us know by leaving a comment or a post on X!
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