Towering hills. Vast sand blowouts as far as the eye can see. Breathtakingly beautiful golf holes dotting the landscape.

You’d think I’m talking about the Nebraska Sandhills, Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley, Scotland, Ireland or Pinehurst.

Yet this place exists in the one of the last regions most would expect – the middle of Florida.

Yes, Streamsong has carved out a name for itself as a one-of-a-kind Southern destination that boasts genuine sand-based links golf in a state better known for flat terrain, excessive water hazards and grainy bermudagrass.

Millions of years in the making, this property was a special place long before becoming one of America’s greatest golf resorts.

While most of Florida might resemble flat swapland, the Sunshine State is in fact a geologically-rich region that was the site of a prehistoric seabed teeming with sand and mineral deposits.

In this environment, extensive phosphate mining took the region by storm in the industrial age of the 1800’s and giant tracts around the tiny town of Bowling Green were comprehensively harvested for precious natural material.

The side benefit of this centuries-old operation? Mind-bending volumes of sand unearthed, forming swales, hummocks and sharp elevation changes.

It had become an ideal golf site by sheer accident.

The Mosaic Company realized this land’s potential thirteen years ago and set to work transforming the mass mining site into one of the nation’s finest golf destinations.

Go big or go home

This was a central theme of Mosaic’s golf project, breaking ground on not one but two world-class golf courses at the outset. For the pair of maiden layouts, it enlisted two of the foremost architectural teams in the business – Coore & Crenshaw for the Red Course and Tom Doak with his team at Renaissance Golf Design for the Blue Course.

I’ve fallen in love with Doak architecture over the past few years, first at Bandon with unforgettable rounds on his cherished seaside creations, Pacific Dunes and Old Macdonald.

Last season, a trip to Wisconsin’s own Sedge Valley and The Lido further cemented my high regard for his work.

There are few architects that can match Doak’s creativity and ability to maximize the land they’re given.

Streamsong offered an opportunity to mold a course exactly to his vision, a sand-dominated property that could be shaped in virtually any way imaginable to add drama, strategy and challenge to the design.

At Streamsong Blue, three tenets of Doak design were optimized to create an elite golf experience: a flair for the dramatic, strategic ingenuity and playability (with a catch!).

With all 18 holes showcasing one or more of these characteristics, this track probes the depths of Doak’s imagination and genius.

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When we arrived in the early morning to shoot the property, I admittedly felt lost amidst an endless landscape of sandhills with golf holes weaving their way across open land as far as the eye can see.

This was my first visit to Streamsong, and with the Red and Blue courses intersecting in many places it was a challenge to merely shoot the correct one.

But, with a general knowledge that the Blue Course primarily occupies the interior of the property and with distinctive flag colors on each layout to keep me honest, I was able to mostly stay on track with the shoot (even though I still got plenty of shots of the Red Course along the way).

Course Overview

Streamsong Blue

Bowling Green, Florida

Architect: Tom Doak (2012)

Par 72; 7276/6692/6192/5512 Yards

Course/Slope Rating: 74.0/134, 71.8/130, 69.5/127, 66.4/113

Notable Acclaim: Golf Digest Greatest in America #151, Best in State #8 and Best U.S. Public #24; Golfweek Best Public in State #3 and Best U.S. Modern #53; Golf.com Best in State #5; WiscoGolfAddict.com Top 100 #26 and Brian’s Top 50 #13

A Flair for the Dramatic

Doak has a gift for finding the best green sites on a property and routing holes to them in stunning fashion.

Case-in-point is the now-legendary stretch of #5-8 at Sedge Valley, an unusual 3-4-3-3 sequence of shorter, yet cunningly difficult holes that offer some of the best views on site while challenging the golfer with danger lurking around small, well-protected greens.

At Streamsong, while the Red Course occupies more dramatic property overall, Doak’s Blue Course possesses a few of the best-known holes at the resort. In these select spots, Doak maximized extreme elevation changes to yield demanding golf shots coupled with sublime views of the surrounding landscape.

#1 – Par 4, 338/330/289 Yards

Is there a better way to start a round than to play from the highest elevation on site for its opening tee shot?

Streamsong Blue’s opener plunges from a lofty sandhill to a gaping fairway below, giving players a glimpse of the ensuing adventure at the onset.

The first shot is certainly a gentle handshake, as even the most nervous swing can find the fairway. However, it’s decidedly advantageous to play up the left side, where you’ll find a receptive angle and a clear shot past a deep bunker guarding the front-right side of the putting surface.

Despite a preferred left-to-right shot shape, I picked the perfect time to hit a toed hook up the middle and watched my ball bound to the left edge of the fairway. From there, it was a straightforward uphill approach to secure an easy par to start the day.

#5 – Par 3, 157/121/115/102 Yards

Doak is one of the best in the business at par three design, possessing an uncanny ability to find the absolute best green sites on property and inventing ways to route and sequence the layout to maximize their effect on the golfer’s psyche. He’s notorious for throwing convention out the window to achieve this, even willing to hit players with back-to-back par threes like at the iconic 10th and 11th at Pacific Dunes.

The two par threes on the front nine might not sequentially follow one another but are still gems that live up to this reputation, featuring greens pinched against dramatic elevation changes with deep trouble plainly visible from the tee.

The fifth is merely a short wedge to an infinity green with extensive views of the surrounding property. Solidly execute the shot, and a birdie opportunity will follow.

Anything left or long, though, will tumble down an abyss into a deep bunker, or even worse the ravine that lays beyond.

With my rusty golf game yielding one pulled short iron after another, my dubious tee shot darted left and disappeared into the ravine, never to be seen again. Thankfully, our liberal “golf trip rules” permitted a few mulligans and I shamelessly used one to knock a second attempt close to the pin.

This was the first of many “Brian pars” that I’d enjoy over the course of the week, as I was able to consistently take full advantage of great breaks and gracious rules to avoid disasters in the rounds to come.

#7 – Par 3, 203/188/176/97 Yards

Perhaps the most famous hole at Streamsong, the seventh boasts a tee shot plummeting over a pond to a green 50 feet below surrounded by sandhills. You’ve probably seen many photos of this setting, and we definitely enjoyed spending extra time here capturing it.

Left is a decisively poor miss here, with bunkers and a waste area lurking and ready to put a five on the scorecard. My shot teetered towards trouble on that side but miraculously found the putting surface, much to my relief.

#12 – Par 4, 408/390/351/317 Yards

The 12th features another great green site placed ideally in a corner of the property to maximize drama.

The sight line off the tee might encourage a drive up the right side, but that’s exactly where you’ll face a heroic carry over a marsh with sand short and right. The best play here is a draw around fairway traps to the left which leaves a clean angle to a meticulously protected surface.

Strategic Genius

On Doak’s designs, you’ll often be presented with wide, generous tee shots, but the placement of hazards and contours will penalize play to the suboptimal sides of fairways.

Indeed, you need to think your way around Doak layouts rather than simply bomb away. Compounding this is his mastery of green design which often yields numerous distinct pin positions, prompting a variety of strategies with the optimal route dependent on the setup and wind conditions of the day.

#6 – Par 4, 345/317/295/267 Yards

Doak particularly rewards strategic, thoughtful play on short par fours, and a great example of this comes at the par four sixth.

Long hitters can boldly swing for the fences in a bid to run their drives onto the green up the left side. A centerline bunker stands directly in line of this aggressive route, requiring a ~275 yard carry that will force most to think twice about this approach.

A more modest landing area lies between a collection of traps and waste areas, and while this zone offers cavernous width, players are well-advised to first consider the pin position from the tee.

With a steep left-to-right orientation of the green and its surrounds, you’ll want to plot a strategy that uses the contours to your advantage.

Facing a far-left pin position, my drive up the left side of the fairway seemed solid but actually left me with a tricky wedge shot working against the slope of the green. I struck a pure approach just left of the target expecting a great birdie look as my reward, only to witness my ball bound down the slopes and conclude 75 feet right of the pin.

I would go on to save par, but would have favored the right side off the tee if given another opportunity.

#18 – Par 4, 478/453/439/364 Yards

There are a few brutishly long par fours at Streamsong Blue, and with the closing hole easily exceeding 400 yards, you’d better not be banking on a walk-off birdie to save the day.

Here, you’ll need to take a hard look at yourself and play to your strengths, even if that means laying up and tackling it as a par five.

A blind tee shot crests a hill with a series of sand traps up the right side. Anyone hoping for a closing green in regulation will need to challenge the right side, where kicker slopes are placed to reward an accurate and powerful drive.

A set of cross bunkers cuts across the fairway about 60 yards out and will need to be carefully considered on approach. My hybrid from 225 yards out barely carried the sand down the left, setting up a routine pitch-and-putt bogey to close out the round.

Playability (with a catch!)

One of Doak’s greatest strengths is his imaginative use of hazards to maximize their visual effect, whilst offering modest playing lines to give all players a chance to play the hole effectively.

Ever play a world-famous hole but come away with a bitter taste in your mouth because you couldn’t make a forced carry?

At Doak’s courses, you might get into trouble, but that’s usually because of poor decision-making or execution rather than overly punitive demands.

As an understudy to Pete Dye early in his career, I can definitely see where the late architect’s design principles rubbed off on Doak. Particularly in the latter stage of his career, Dye devised methods to make his notoriously tough designs more manageable for the average player.

At Streamsong Blue, there is almost always a safe route available to make visually intimidating holes enjoyable for players of all calibers. And that’s what I’ve seen across Doak’s portfolio – an emphasis on playability that makes his designs fun.

That said, while most players can get from tee to green safely, it comes with a catch – devilish greens complexes that can turn birdie into double in a heartbeat.

#3 – Par 4, 418/370/359/339 Yards

The third commences from a teeing location pinched between mounds with a massive pond dominating the view to the green, hugging the fairway up the left side.

Despite the daunting visuals, there is plenty of room out to the right, and golfers can bite off as much distance over the water as they please. In fact, playing up the right side is advantageous, offering the ideal angle into a green teeming with trouble on its left.

Safe passage to the putting surface is only the first part of the adventure, though, as the modestly-sized green features swales and tiers that lend themselves to several challenging pin positions.

#13 – Par 4, 312/293/279/247 Yards

This short par four is a great equalizer for lesser ball strikers with apt wedge play and is home to one of the smallest and trickiest greens on property.

While easily reachable for longer hitters, a perfect drive is required to find a narrow sliver of green with slopes running off on all sides and ruthlessly imposing bunkers awaiting a slight miss.

We all came into this hole hoping for a three but only one of us walked away with par, which goes to show the extreme challenge of this convex green site. This is a theme I’ve seen at all Doak designs I’ve played, as he tends to save the smallest, best-protected green sites for short par threes and fours.

Closing Thoughts

As the first full round of our Florida Swing this winter, Streamsong Blue knocked it out of the park and set the table for an epic week of golf. It impressed me so much that it’s edged out the Red and Black courses in my personal course rankings, a testament to the complete golf experience Doak created at this gifted site.

A key cog in establishing Streamsong as Florida’s premier golf destination, the Blue Course showcases the defining characteristics that make Tom Doak a great golf architect. Every feature of the property is used in a thoughtful way to create an immersive, challenging and beautiful day on the links.

With a fifth course on the horizon, Streamsong continues to push the boundaries of the potential of destination golf, riding a trail blazed by the Blue and Red Courses from its inception thirteen years ago.

The Blue Course will continue to shine as the resort pushes forward in its expansion under the expert watch of KemperSports, and it’s a must-play whether you’re a resort guest or just visiting for the day.

Streamsong Resort Website

Photography by Brian Murphy, Paul Seifert and Troy Giljohann for WiscoGolfAddict