as well as a clever 37th hole on the property. There is even an alternate way to play the Bye Hole—by putting down an adjacent 50-yard ski slope, although your ball only needs a 5-foot nudge to slalom its way to the green. While the Red Course Stimps at the same speed, its greens are merci- fully flatter, choosing to challenge with rumples and ripples instead of riptides and mountain ranges.
The Red Course opens with more
of a Florida feel, as lakes, lagoons and marshes frame most of the front nine. But Coore-Crenshaw certainly take advantage of the random mess of contours they inherited, particularly on the seventh hole, a lake-lined par 5 with a sweet elevated tee shot. The hole finishes at a unique green that horseshoes around a 10-foot high dune, which can lead to some memo- rable stymies and scrambling. Coore-Crenshaw also throw in a pair of drivable par 4s, before the course transitions to serene sand-belt holes reminiscent of Pinehurst. Coore-Crenshaw even enjoy some scorecard fun, with a downhill 450- yard par 4 (that feels a bit like No. 11 at Ban- don Trails), followed by an uphill 451-yard par 5 with a cool decision over a mountain of dunes. The Red Course
closes with a rush of holes through the best dunes on the property, and a stunning 72-yard-long
“Bye Hole” PHOTO: KEVIN MERFELD
Biarritz green that plays over the same lagoon as No. 7 on
the Blue. It’s natural to instantly label
Streamsong the Bandon Dunes of Florida. They share the same archi- tects, much of the same look, feel and playing style, an omnipresent wind, and they make you double-check your GPS while driving there. They can even claim Castle Stuart and Olym- pic Golf Course designer Gil Hanse, who agreed to build Streamsong’s third course, which will open in the fall of 2017. (Hanse is also building a municipal course in Bandon, and his West Coast work includes Rustic Canyon in Moorpark and a restora- tion of Los Angeles CC ahead of the 2023 U.S. Open.) But while Bandon Dunes is a
coastal Northwest outpost for golf— four 18-hole courses (all ranked as top 15 public courses in the country), two par 3 courses, a putting course, and a monster practice facility—Stream- song is a luxurious resort and all-
around retreat that includes guided bass fishing excursions, sporting clays, a grotto-style spa, a relaxing infin- ity pool and tennis. Its four dining options include Sottoterra Ristorante, which was named Florida Trend ’s Best New Restaurant for 2014. Streamsong was just as detailed
with the architecture of its award- winning clubhouse and lodge as its golf courses. The Alberto Alfonso creations are sleek and striking, as Golf Inc.’s 2014 Clubhouse of the Year (which includes 12 convenient guestrooms) and the accompanying Fifty-Nine restaurant hover above the same lagoon than Blue No. 7 and Red No. 16 play over. The modern and lavish lodge
includes 216 guestrooms and decked- out suites, complete with collections of classic hardbacks such as William Faulkner’s Light in August, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.
But with just 500 of the 16,000
acres at Streamsong developed, the potential, ambition and open desire is to create a complex that rivals any resort in the country, including Pine- hurst, Pebble Beach, Kohler, Wisc., and Bandon Dunes. There is already talk of a fourth course, although no designer has been picked yet. Streamsong will host the 2016
U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Champion- ship, and Hanse’s Black Course will be built similar to a stadium course, with the capacity to host significant tournaments. (Its only obstacle ap- pears to be the sweltering summer heat.) The Black Course spins off the front nine of the Red, and will include its own clubhouse and driving range. “Not only is the land great, but putting our work next to the three architects I respect most in the busi- ness is an amazing opportunity,” Hanse told The Golf Channel when plans for the Black Course were officially announced. “You look at what Streamsong’s created already, the attention to detail is what resonates with me whenever I go there. The land that they’ve allowed us to look at, we’ve got a chance to build some- thing pretty special.”
SPRING 2015 /
NCGA.ORG / 33
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