Streamsong golf resort is off the beaten path as related to the ever growing Florida population. Whereas, most people come to enjoy the coastal activities, Streamsong is about an hour drive from any major city and nowhere near the coast. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but certainly in a good way.
The property has some history of settlement going back to the middle 1500’s when Native Americans lived throughout the larger region. They were followed by settlers who endured great hardship to tame and farm the land in order to cobble out a life for their families. Then, things changed in the late 1800’s when large deposits of phosphates were discovered on the property.
The mining began and continued for a little less than a century. Phosphate mining in Florida involves a process of tearing away the top fifteen to twenty feet of soil to get to the phosphate ore below. The extraction of that ore took a toll on the property leaving it marred and oddly shaped by Florida topography. Deep quarry pits remained alongside large mounds of top soil that were left in large hills and mounds throughout the property.
In the early 2000’s, Mosaic decided to turn what was left into a golf destination. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were tapped to design the Red course. In their typical minimalist design philosophy, they let the land tell them what to do.
What sprang from their design was a one-of-a-kind golf course layout that meanders through a property that still shows the scars from decades of mining. From a golfer’s standpoint, you get something you’ve never seen before and certainly would never see in Florida. Streamsong Red is the highest ranked of the now four courses on the property if your into rankings. It’s not anywhere near the beach but it does have lots of sand.
Which course is best at Streamsong? I waffle between the red or blue depending on which one I played last. National golf course rankings usually have the red course rated as the best on property. Check out our travel blog page to see how Streamsong compares to other great courses.
This is the first installment of the “just a minute” video series based out of our YouTube channel named golfchase. It’s called just a minute because it’s literally just a minute of video to showcase the the golf course highlights. This video is captured on a regular cell phone (no drones or other high tech stuff). We’re keeping it minimalistic as there is a real round of golf being played and that’s the number one priority at the time.