Florida is the No. 1 spot for Canadians looking to escape the winter, and at Hammock Beach Resort and Spa you don’t have to choose between beach and golf
All the best golf getaways include at least one pinch-me moment where you can’t wipe the smile off your face.
Standing on the 15th green at Hammock Beach’s Ocean Course in Florida, that reaction is almost guaranteed.
With the green perched atop a hill right up against the water, the ocean-view is breathaking. Turn your head and you’re looking for miles down the Atlantic coastline. Turn right around and you’ll see an exquisitely manicured Jack Nicklaus designed golf course with six ocean holes that has twice hosted Champions Tour events. The 15th hole is the beginning of a four-hole closing stretch known as The Bear Claw.
Florida has long had a well-earned reputation as a golf mecca, and as the No. 1 destination for Canadian travellers looking for sun and fun to escape the winter. However, for many vacationers the choice has to be made between the beach or the golf course.
“Real estate’s the big play and big dollars in Florida,” Hammock Beach GM and Director of Golf Brad Hauer explained when asked why there isn’t more Florida golf along the sea. “The amount of land on the ocean they gave for this course is incredible.”
When golfers think about Florida, one major upside is the nearly limitless choice; unfortunately it’s often a limitless choice of flat, inland courses played around and through lakes, ponds and swampland.
(As Jerry Seinfeld would add: Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
Regardless, that’s not the case at Hammock Beach, which is located south of St. Augustine on the Palm Coast, about an hour’s drive from Jacksonville, and an hour-and-20-minutes from Orlando.
What makes this elite golf resort so unique is that besides great golf it also offers the quintessential luxury Florida vacation experience, from its gorgeous landscape and incredible dining, to its amazing beachfront, 90,000-square foot pool, and, of course, top-notch tennis and pickle ball courts. If you like beautifully lit outdoor dining venues, fire pits and a bartender who remembers your favourite drink, Hammock Beach is your vibe.
For true golf nuts though, none of these great amenities would matter if they came at the expense of fantastic golf. I’m happy to report that the 36-holes at Hammock Beach are some of the best golf Florida has to offer. Rental sets of the latest and greatest Callaway golf clubs — including a proper wedge — are available, always a great sign of a top resort.
The Nicklaus-designed Ocean Course was Hammock Beach’s original 18-hole course and what players will notice right away — aside from the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean — are fast-firm fairways as far as the eye can see. Nobody goes on vacation to search for their ball in the rough and hack it out to the fairway. So after a hurricane hit the course in 2016, Nicklaus returned to discuss how to handle the recovery project.
“Hurricane Matthew devastated the golf course, we were closed for a year and underwent a $4 million renovation project,” Hauer said. “It was kind of a reversal in some ways of his architectural philosphy, but Jack said we’ve got to make it easier and more fun.”
One decision that was made for the re-opening was to cut all the grass to fairway height, which they quickly discovered perfectly showcased the stunning property.
“We mow 70 acres of fairways, the typical course is 35 acres,” Hauer said. “We wanted people who spray the ball to still have fairway height grass, kind of like Augusta National back in the day.”
Nearly a decade earlier in 2007, when Ben Crenshaw won the second senior-circuit tournament hosted at Hammock Beach, the two-time Masters champ said he was going to tell Jack what a great job he did designing the course when he saw him the next week in Augusta.
Golf on the coast also offers the advantage of often avoiding the stifling heat of Florida summers for those looking to travel when the kids are out of school.
The year of Langer’s victory at Hammock Beach also marked the official opening of the Conservatory Course, a second — and completely different — 18-hole course at the resort. After a 15-minute shuttle ride from the main lodge, guests can discover a Tom Watson-designed gem and another immaculate clubhouse facility.
At this beastly golf course, golfers will find something else rare to Florida — hills, and plenty of them.
“It was a $20-million project and I can’t even begin to tell you how much dirt we moved over there,” Hauer said. “Every lake was built, and all the dirt from the lake was used to build up the golf course.”
The result is a wonderfully challenging test of golf with creative green complexes and surrounds. Stretched out to it’s astounding max-length of 7,776 yards, it offers a challenge for any golfer. Last year it hosted U.S. Open local qualifying as well as the state four-ball championship. This year it will be a qualifying site for the USGA mid-amateur.
“Conservatory is the longest course in Florida,” Hauer said. “But you can play it basically whatever yardage you want, we have 13 sets of tees.”
Did he say 13 sets of tees? Yes, he did.
The glass-domed clubhouse at Conservatory is stunning and cost $30-million to build.
“During that time only Conservatory was open because of the hurricane, people were upset but they went over and played it and would come back and say, ‘I’ll take back what I said. That is just truly an outstanding golf course.’”
Hammock Beach is a private resort and golf is limited to resort guests and the roughly 500 club members.
Green fees on the Ocean Course are what one would expect these days at a premium resort, although the Conservatory Course still offers a good value for high-end golf, something exceedingly hard to find in the post-COVID golf world.
“I’d put these two up against anything in Florida, I really would,” Hauer said. “And I don’t say that arrogantly, I just know the quality that we have and what’s out there in the state.”
It’s easy to find great golf in Florida, and it’s easy to find a great vacation spot for non-golfers in Florida, but it’s not easy to find both. Hammock Beach Resort and Spa threads that needle perfectly.
