The Clubhouse at Streamsong Resort
Streamsong, a remote golf destination located in Central Florida between Tampa and Orlando, opened Golf Operations in March of 2013 with two 18-hole courses, Streamsong Red and Streamsong Blue. Within the inner circles of golf, Streamsong was the latest on the list of highly touted golf destinations to open around the globe. In anticipation of Streamsong, everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting to see what masterpieces Tom Doak and the design team of Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw would build out of the ruins of an old phosphate mine. It turned out that the old mining land was ideal for golf course design and left both design teams with a unique canvas upon which to build. The courses at Streamsong didn’t disappoint, the Red Couse is listed as the top public course in Florida, and the Blue Course came in at number three. As you can see, there is no disputing the quality of golf available at Streamsong.
The Streamsong Resort Lodge at Night
Streamsong, the name itself invokes a calm to wash over you as the word leaves your lips. The Lodge at Streamsong which opened in 2014 does it’s best to provide guest with the same feeling. Featuring 216 guest rooms, four restaurants, and a world class spa. The Lodge has an ultra-modern design that has a perfect balance of simplicity and luxury. This past July I faced a dilemma, my wedding anniversary was only a week away and I suddenly had no plans to celebrate with my wonderful wife. After banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to celebrate our momentous occasion it came to me, Streamsong. I had visited Streamsong back in October of 2014 to play the Red Course during a boy’s weekend getaway. While I never made it to the Lodge during that visit I continued to hear nothing but wonderful things about Streamsong from friends and colleagues. My wife while adventurous, loves to be pampered and the world class AcquaPietra spa at Streamsong had her name written all over it.
This best part about getting married in July turned out to be that it’s actually the offseason at Streamsong and when they offer some of their best bargains of the year. We booked under their Summer Experience package which features rates from $122 a night per person. As part of the package, you receive luxury accommodations at the Lodge including a complementary upgrade to a lake view room and confirmed late check-out.
You’re sure to have a blast on the Sporting Clay Course at Streamsong
The package also includes your choice of either; 18 holes of golf with cart (Streamsong Red or Streamsong Blue), a rejuvenating 50-minute spa treatment, a sporting clays adventure, a two-hour guided bass fishing excursion, or an archery range challenge. But wait there’s more (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) they also throw in a $25 Streamsong gift card as well.
Crunching the numbers and doing the math I quickly realized the best bang for the buck was to opt for the Spa Experience. The certificate for the spa is fully upgradable to any service available at the Spa. Every month the spa features a unique treatment only available during that month. For July it was their Summer Harvest Trio which for $300 included 3 hours of spa time consisting of; a milk and honey massage, sweet cherry enzyme facial, and a tropical citrus pedicure. Upgrading the spa experience ended up costing about $150 and it was well worth it! Trust me guys, that treatment alone will get you all the brownie points you need to spend the day down the road taking on the golf courses.
While my better half spent the morning being pampered at the Spa, I was two miles down the road taking on Streamsong Blue. Coming into the round, the word on the Blue course was that it is the easier of the two having wider fairways but more difficult greens. However, when playing the Blue course, I found plenty of trouble in the fairways with some of the strategically placed bunkers. More than once I hit a cracking drive only to see it roll into one of the many fairway bunkers. So while the fairways might be slightly wider than that of the Red course, the fairway bunkers seem to negate most of that advantage.
Streamsong Blue The Signature 7th Hole photo courtesy of Larry Lambrecht
The Blue course is a visual masterpiece highlighted by the signature hole which is the Par 3, 7th hole. Talking with my caddie during the round and picking his brain about the two courses we came to the conclusion that the Blue Course is the harder of the two to walk. Both courses were designed to be walked, and you’re better off for it. Both courses are so unique and visually appealing it would be a shame not to walk.
In between rounds of golf and trips to the spa we decided to take a visit to the Sporting Clays Course at Streamsong. Our instructor Eric picked us up from the Lodge in a luxurious SUV and drove us over to the course. Usually when we talk about a course, it’s a golf course but this time we mixed things up and tried something new. My wife and I had never done Sporting Clays before, heck we had never even fired a shotgun before. After our safety lesson and some instruction from Eric we hopped in an off-road golf cart and hit the course with a shotgun strapped in, instead of golf clubs. The sporting clays course is expansive; I mean Streamsong has more than enough room with over 16,000 acres of land to work with. I was first up on the course and hit my very first clay, I thought hey this is pretty easy then continued on missing the next 6 targets. My wife stepped up, and since she writes with her left hand but plays sports right handed she had a little trouble figuring out which eye to use for aim. After an on course lesson with Eric she was able to adjust and start using the right eye and boom, she started knocking clays out of the air.
Streamsong Red Hole 17 photo courtesy of Larry Lambrecht
Our final morning at Streamsong was spent out on the Red Course. We had the first tee time at 7:10 and couldn’t wait to compare and contrast the Red and Blue courses. One thing both courses have in common are opening tee shots that take your breath away. The #1 tee box on the Blue course might be one of the highest elevation points on the entire Streamsong property, just the climb up to tee can be exhausting. The first tee on the Red course, beautiful in its own right, is not nearly as elevated but happens to be conveniently located behind the practice putting green. While all we heard about the two courses was how much wider the fairways are on the Blue course we didn’t see it that way. In fact, I hit more fairways on the Red Course than I did on the Blue, and I didn’t have one drive roll into a fairway bunker. Also everyone talked about how much more difficult the greens are on the Blue Course compared to the Red, we thought the difference was negligible. Both courses have amazing green complexes with extremely fast surfaces and plenty of undulation. Depending on the pin placement the greens on either course could bring a golfer to their knees. At the end of the day trying to pick a favorite course at Streamsong is a lot like trying to pick a favorite child, and given the day your opinion is likely to flip-flop. One thing is for sure, any trip to Streamsong would be incomplete without playing both the Red and Blue course.
My wife and I had a fabulous time celebrating our wedding anniversary at Streamsong, and would strongly recommend a getaway to Streamsong Resort for any couple looking for a romantic and exciting escape from the ordinary. During our stay we met countless couples both young and old all taking advantage of the Summer Experience package and different activities at the resort.
AcquaPietra Spa at Streamsong Resort
My wife and I ended up spending countless hours enjoying the AcquaPietra spa. From the moment you walk into the spa locker room and slip into your robe your biggest decision will be which of the six unique pool experiences to choose from. The spa pools range in temperature from 85 to 105 degrees, and if you can spend more than 20 seconds in the 42-degree ice pool you’ll have us beat by 10 seconds. Regardless of if you book a spa treatment or not, as a resort guest you can go down to the spa and enjoy the six pools, steam room, and sauna as much you want. If you prefer to be outside, the outdoor lakeside infinity pool is sure to meet your needs. In the mood to take a romantic walk with your significant other, then explore the natural beauty and native wildlife of the walking trial. Speaking of romance, nothing is more romantic then ended the day on the Lodge’s observation deck and taking in the beautiful sunset as the clouds reflect off the lake. At Streamsong your able to disconnect with reality and reconnect with your spouse, all the time while enjoying new experiences and world class golf.