In the center of Florida is a stunning three course golf resort, complete with a contemporary Lodge, two clubhouses, eight unique restaurants and cocktail lounges, a lakeside swimming pool, a fitness center, an opulent spa, bass fishing, hiking trails, skeet shooting, archery, an 18 hole putting course, two driving ranges and practice facilities.
The three, renowned, championship golf courses, Streamsong Blue, Streamsong Red, and Streamsong Black plus The Chain a two acre putting course, are situated on 1600 acres of repurposed land that was originally a phosphate mine. The property contains wetlands, woodlands and pastures. All of natural elements are built into the golf courses designed by Gil Hanse, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and Tom Doak with such diversity as towering dunes, sandy fields and deep water lakes. They offer a challenge to golfers of all levels.
Where is Streamsong Located
Streamsong Resort is located at 1000 Streamsong Dr, Bowling Green, FL 33834. It is 90 minutes of both Tampa and Orlando. and 30 minutes south of Lakeland in Central Florida. Uber and Lyft will drop off at Streamsong from local airports and other locations, but they DO NOT pick up guests at Streamsong. If you need transportation from Streamsong to a local airport or other destination, contact the resort services department. You can book your stay at Streamsong Resort.com.
Non Golf Activities
Beyond the greens you can enjoy relaxing spa experiences, guided bass fishing, clay shooting, a resort pool overlooking the lake and archery. With eight restaurants and bars the opportunity to enjoy delicious food and drink abounds. Start your day house made breakfast favorites, enjoy a cocktail and a bite after your round of golf, end your day with a wide arrayof dinner entrees. The chefs use the fresh ingredients to create dishes that will satisfy and delight you.
The Lodge
Standing starkly in the middle of the Central Florida flatlands is the Lodge at Streamsong. This sleek modern hotel is a handsome counterpoint to its surroundings. With its floor to ceiling windows, it showcases the natural environment while delivering stylish comforts.
From the minute you walk into the lobby, you feel how the building invites the outdoors in while offering a sharp contrast to it. The lobby bar and restaurant is named P2 O5, which is a chemical compound for phosphate, the original treasure mined from this land. At the far end of the lobby is a display of fossilized sea creatures and shark's teeth that were found while mining this area, which was an ocean floor in prehistoric days.
The Rooms
The rooms offer every convenience including two flatscreen TVs, large tiled showers, precisely placed electrical and USB outlets and a coffee maker. The best feature is the floor to ceiling louvered shutters that allow for a full view of the surroundings or complete darkness and any variation in between.
Don't forget to pack all your golf gear. Pictured above are some of my favorites from my Amazon Store.
The Black Course
We arrived at Streamsong at 11:30am for our 3 day golfing adventure. After settling into our room, we grabbed a quick lunch at P2 O5 before our 2:00 tee time on the Black Course. When we checked in at the lodge, we turned our golf clubs and car over the the efficient Bell Staff. Shuttles run on demand throughout the resort and your clubs are stored and transported to the courses for all of your scheduled Tee Times.
The golf courses at Streamsong are long. CaptK is a purest when it comes to golf, so we walked the courses with a caddie. This was my first experience with a caddie and it really does spoil you! The Black course is the flattest and longest of the three, 7320 yards from the green tees and a slope of 135. The other two course are slightly shorter with slightly lower slope ratings. The fairways are links style, inviting nature and her creatures into the course. The greens are large and there is a lot of sand. Common among all the courses is unique and challenging green placement, with blind greens, sand trap ringed greens, greens perched several yards above the fairways and greens nestled in ravines. One of my favorite features of these courses is the snack bar at the ninth hole. Each snack bar has a specialty cocktail and a speciality bite. On the Black Course, the speciality bite is Lobster Rolls!
As I mentioned, these course are links style inviting nature into the course. Wildfires are a natural occurrence in Florida, especially after a dry winter. On the day we played the Black Course, a wildfire was burning several miles from the Black Course, on the Streamsong property. The proximity of this wildfire required the golf course and clubhouse to be evacuated, in an abundance of caution. We had to stop play at 16 and abandon our dinner plans at the Bone Valley Tavern in the Black Course Clubhouse, due to the fire.
We did stop for a picture on the 18th green before heading back to the safety of the Lodge.
The Rooftop Bar
Back at the Lodge, we headed up to the Rooftop Bar, Fragmentary Blue. Named after the poem by Robert Frost, the interior is decorated like a comfortable library reading room. Outside is a beautiful, blue mosaic, wraparound patio. We took a table out there to watch the smoke dissipate as the fire was put out. We sipped on well crafted cocktails and were treated to a gorgeous sunset.
P2 O5
With our Bone Vally Tavern dinner plans preempted by wild fire, we ate at P2 O5 in the Lodge. When you visit, don't miss the Sweet Corn and Crab Bisque. It comes with a house made Jalapeño Sauce, giving the rich sweet soup a delightful kick.
The Blue Course
After breakfast on the second day, we hopped into a shuttle to the Red/Blue Clubhouse. After some warm up time on the putting greens and driving range, we met up with our caddie and set out on the Blue Course.
The Blue course is known for its elevation changes. You tee off on number 1 from the top of a sand dune. From the tee box, the views of the course are stunning.
My favorite hole on the Blue Course is number 7. You tee off from the top of a sand dune, across the lake, down onto a sand trap ringed green. Being a beginning golfer, I was thrilled to hit the green. At the 9th hole snack bar, I celebrated with a margarita and one of their speciality tacos. These are very long courses, and it took nearly five hours to play this course (walking). We were paired up with another couple who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. After enjoying a celebratory glass of wine with them, we headed back to the lodge and a dip in the lakeside infinity pool to cool off.
Restaurant Fifty - Nine
Restaurant Fifty-Nine, named after the lowest score of a round of golf played in a PGA event, is known for their prime cuts of meat. As you can see from the photos above, CaptK and I enjoyed some delicious meat, Blue Cheese Crusted Filet for me and the Tomahawk Pork Chop for him. We shared the Graham Cracker Smore's Cake. Everything was deliciously prepared and cooked as ordered.
We were able to catch another glowing sunset before turning in for the night.
Bone Valley Tavern
One the third day our tee time was not until 1:00pm, so we enjoyed lunch at Bone Valley Tavern before hitting the link on the Red Course.
Bone Valley Tavern is known for their seafood selections. The Lobster BLT came highly recommended and I enjoyed it throughly. CaptK had the largest portion of fish and chips I had ever seen. It was a whole tempura fried hogfish topped with cilantro slaw. You need a big appetite if you order that dish!
The Red Course
The Red Course plays like the Blue course on the front 9, with lots of elevation changes and water features. The back 9 is flatter and the fairways are much wider. All of these courses are beautifully maintained and have very tricky greens. At the 9th hole snack bar, they are serving barbecue, smoked on-site, directly behind the snack bar. In our final round, we played with a couple from the Jupiter, Fl area as well. It really is a small world. We ended up having cocktails and dinner with them at Sotto Terra, an Italian themed restaurant designed like a wine cave located in the Lodge. The menu was not as extensive as the other restaurants. I recommend checking the menu on-line to make certain there is something everyone in your party would like to eat, before making a reservation at Sotto Terra.
This was my first experience staying at a golf resort as a player. I had been a "spa wife" in the past. This was my first time actually playing the big courses. I loved the experience! The caddies make the play so much easier, especially the putting. The pro shop paired us with other couples which made it comfortable. We never felt the remoteness of the destination as the resort offered more than enough amenities to keep us busy. The restaurant choices are very diverse, and there was attention to details and local ingredients in their preparations.
To stay at Streamsong, you must book directly with the resort at www.streamsong.com. They offer several "stay and play" packages. Florida, Georgia and Alabama residents may be able to get a discount, especially in the shoulder seasons and summer months.
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