Streamsong Resort: Golf's Modernist Oasis

From Miami up I75 through Alligator Alley, the road to Streamsong resort is long and flat and boring. Highway to country road to backstreet, it is an unassuming trek though Florida’s flatlands and swamps, with dots of tiny farming towns reminding you across the three odd hours that civilization really is just an exit away. When I made the right turn into the resort, only one unassuming sign marking the entrance, I still felt I was in a desert of green. The landscape went on for miles uninterrupted until a sleek, shiny, stronghold-esque hotel made its way out from behind a hill. Surprisingly, nothing about Streamsong is flat, or boring, though the courses are long. Its unique landscape is the result of heavy renovation on an old phosphate mine, giving the designers lots of unique land to shape and move. This interesting anecdote of history helps define the one common thread I felt everywhere I went in my short yet packed time there. Streamsong, only 13 years old, perfectly walks a fine line between tradition and modernity, something that golf as a whole grapples with all the time, while staying starkly unique to itself.

For every foot of land in Florida that is flat, Streamsong has a rolling fairway to make up for it. The designers and builders didn’t move mountains as much as mounds, but in a state where our largest peak is a water slide at Universal Studios Resort, they have already distanced themselves from what a normal Florida resort course entails. Unlike almost every other course in Florida, where water is almost as prevalent as greens, the lack of water here led to massive, rolling waste bunkers that seem to take over the course violently, and without care for where golf balls may land. The entire property seems to be existing in its own time, like the camp from The Endless, yet instead of a giant unseen God controlling everything from above, it’s just Tom Doak and Gil Hanse. It is 25 square miles of golf, nature, amenities, and golf. For every picture of Jack Nicklaus or Billy Casper there was one of Scottie Scheffler or Cam Young. The golf carts are all electric and brand spanking new, but they don’t have GPS screens. The practice facilities (one for Streamsong Black, one at the shared clubhouse for Blue and Red) are immense, with a driving range, chipping area, and putting green; all immaculate, and the range has detailed yardages, but no Trackman. They don’t care if you take a cart instead of walking, but make sure you take a caddie, or you’re going to have a tough time finding pins (and the next turn on the cart path).

I’ve gone to a few resort courses before, but none were as isolated and encompassing as Streamsong. It is exciting to know that you are in a place physically disconnected from the world, your only surroundings being golf courses, your only neighbors golfers, your only calendar reminders being tee times and dinner reservations. The food there was amazing, and they again stayed true to their mission by putting modern spins on classics like the pimento cheese grilled sandwich or the steakhouse. The service was also top notch, from the caddie, to the shuttle drivers, to the valet to reception. My buddy and I learned this firsthand in a moment of brutal realization that planning trips as a 22 year old is harder than it seems. After driving up all morning from the crack of dawn, we finally arrived at noon to quizzical looks when they couldn’t find my last name on the tee sheet, or even the room list. It’s not a big deal to arrive at a packed resort to you booked everything for the week after, right? Although I was about to throw my clubs into a lake and drive home singing My Collection, we instead went to the front desk to ask about availability. Imagine our surprise when they were able to fit us in for a better tee time on both days and a better room, for a lesser price. This little interaction, the first we had there, could serve alone as the glowing review for this place. Instead, it was just the introduction to a mere 24 hours of some of the most relaxing, beautiful, and inviting golf I’ve had the pleasure of playing, all within a modernist golfing paradise that trailblazers a combination of simplicity, history, and technology.