I want to know more about golf courses from Jax-Daytona. I've played a bunch of them but want to discuss them.

The Real Marty- I hated Royal St. Augustine the first few times I played it, then I began leaving the driver in the car and played much better. I use it now but I pick my spots. Now the course is a favorite (of course, raiding the garage on the 12th green for a cooler full of beer is an added attraction).

The hardest holes there are #1, 13 and 15 IMO. 15 runs along SR16 and is a tough second shot.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.

 

        

King and the Bear is outstanding. Slammer and Squire too. I guess you would have to expect that at the World Golf Hall of Fame though.

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“It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.”
― Albert Camus

I did get to play both HOF courses last year- got rates on them of under $50 via Golf Now so I splurged. Both of them were really nice.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.

 

        

I want to know more about golf courses from Jax-Daytona. I've played a bunch of them but want to discuss them.

The Real Marty- I hated Royal St. Augustine the first few times I played it, then I began leaving the driver in the car and played much better. I use it now but I pick my spots. Now the course is a favorite (of course, raiding the garage on the 12th green for a cooler full of beer is an added attraction).

The hardest holes there are #1, 13 and 15 IMO. 15 runs along SR16 and is a tough second shot.

Royal St Augustine is really far from my house.  It's about a 45 minute drive.  I have a friend that lives down there.   That's why we played there. 

I don't like #15.   I don't like the way the ground slopes into that lake in front of the green.   If you're short on your second shot, you roll back towards that lake.   The only other time I played #15, I teed off with a 5-wood and drove it into the lake from the white tees.  I had no idea that down slope was there.  

#1 doesn't seem that hard, although when I played Friday, I hit two tee shots into the woods on that hole.   Great way to start a round.   I was doing that all day.  

The courses I usually play are Bent Creek, Hyde Park, and occasionally Hidden Hills.   We played Julington Creek the other day and liked it.

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King and the Bear is outstanding.  Slammer and Squire too.  I guess you would have to expect that at the World Golf Hall of Fame though.

I've played Slammer and Squire twice.  It strikes me as a very "friendly" golf course.   The fairways are very wide.   I think they want the tourists to have a good time.

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I want to know more about golf courses from Jax-Daytona. I've played a bunch of them but want to discuss them.

The Real Marty- I hated Royal St. Augustine the first few times I played it, then I began leaving the driver in the car and played much better. I use it now but I pick my spots. Now the course is a favorite (of course, raiding the garage on the 12th green for a cooler full of beer is an added attraction).

The hardest holes there are #1, 13 and 15 IMO. 15 runs along SR16 and is a tough second shot.

In no particular order I like (besides what has already been mentioned):

Palencia
St. Johns Golf and Country Club
Grand Haven
South Hampton (wide open!)
Fleming Island
Eagle Harbor
Eagle Landing
Halifax Plantation

Further north:
Amelia National
Amelia River
North Hampton
Laurel Island Links (7 miles into GA)

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Royal St Augustine is really far from my house.  It's about a 45 minute drive.  I have a friend that lives down there.   That's why we played there. 

I don't like #15.   I don't like the way the ground slopes into that lake in front of the green.   If you're short on your second shot, you roll back towards that lake.   The only other time I played #15, I teed off with a 5-wood and drove it into the lake from the white tees.  I had no idea that down slope was there.  

#1 doesn't seem that hard, although when I played Friday, I hit two tee shots into the woods on that hole.   Great way to start a round.   I was doing that all day.  

The courses I usually play are Bent Creek, Hyde Park, and occasionally Hidden Hills.   We played Julington Creek the other day and liked it.

I could not reach the water on 15 at RSA with anything anymore. #1 is a tough hole to start a round as you can't see the water on the left and some of the moguls bounce you into the woods on the right. The big sand trap guards the green and it is a hard one to putt. I don't even regret a 7 there just to move on. I talked to guy one time in a bar and he said he plays it with "...three 7 irons...to get to the green and get out with a 6".

I have not played any of the four course you mentioned. Are they expensive, crowded, good shape, etc.? I am based in St. Augustine so anything within an hour is fine.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.

 

        

Royal St Augustine is really far from my house.  It's about a 45 minute drive.  I have a friend that lives down there.   That's why we played there. 

I don't like #15.   I don't like the way the ground slopes into that lake in front of the green.   If you're short on your second shot, you roll back towards that lake.   The only other time I played #15, I teed off with a 5-wood and drove it into the lake from the white tees.  I had no idea that down slope was there.  

#1 doesn't seem that hard, although when I played Friday, I hit two tee shots into the woods on that hole.   Great way to start a round.   I was doing that all day.  

The courses I usually play are Bent Creek, Hyde Park, and occasionally Hidden Hills.   We played Julington Creek the other day and liked it.

I could not reach the water on 15 at RSA with anything anymore. #1 is a tough hole to start a round as you can't see the water on the left and some of the moguls bounce you into the woods on the right. The big sand trap guards the green and it is a hard one to putt. I don't even regret a 7 there just to move on. I talked to guy one time in a bar and he said he plays it with "...three 7 irons...to get to the green and get out with a 6".

I have not played any of the four course you mentioned. Are they expensive, crowded, good shape, etc.? I am based in St. Augustine so anything within an hour is fine.

All four of the courses I mentioned are cheap.   Hyde Park and Bent Creek are less than $30 at most times.   Julington Creek is the most expensive, at about $37 (?) I think.  They're all about the same as Royal St. Augustine.    We play them on weekdays only.   My group is all retired.   Courses almost everywhere are way too crowded on weekends.

My problem with RSA is lack of familiarity.   There's a lot of water you can't see from the tee.  I think I'd have to play it a few more times to get comfortable with it.  

I did like the people running Royal St. Augustine, in the pro shop and the bar.   They seem pretty nice.  

On #15, I was playing from the white tees.   We play forward tees mostly, because we suck and we don't want to make the game harder than it has to be.

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All four of the courses I mentioned are cheap.   Hyde Park and Bent Creek are less than $30 at most times.   Julington Creek is the most expensive, at about $37 (?) I think.  They're all about the same as Royal St. Augustine.    We play them on weekdays only.   My group is all retired.   Courses almost everywhere are way too crowded on weekends.

My problem with RSA is lack of familiarity.   There's a lot of water you can't see from the tee.  I think I'd have to play it a few more times to get comfortable with it.  

I did like the people running Royal St. Augustine, in the pro shop and the bar.   They seem pretty nice.  

On #15, I was playing from the white tees.   We play forward tees mostly, because we suck and we don't want to make the game harder than it has to be.

I like to stay around 5500-5800 yards now, more than isn't fun anymore; I, too, will play only on weekdays, although you can get out on RSA late Sat or Sun. The RSA staff is very nice, Gary can be a little crusty- he's inside now but back when he was outside putting away carts he asked me one time why I had a garage clicker with me and I said, "because I have a garage on the 12th hole and I stash a few beers in there to take for the last few holes.

He began to lecture about how outside alcohol isn't allowed on the course, blah, blah, blah. Man did that fall on deaf ears.

Another time I walked onto the 12th hole from the garage with a putter (there was nobody on the course) and was putting 3-4 balls when a maintenance-type guy came up to me in a cart and asked me what I was doing and then informed me that basically I was trespassing. I sort of apologized or groveled in some manner, then asked him if he wanted a beer. His response, "You have beer?"

An hour later, we're still sitting in the golf cart talking about whatever, smoking cigars, and that six pack was just about gone.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.

 

        

I'm going to Myrtle Beach in two weeks for four rounds of golf in four days.  

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I'm going to Myrtle Beach in two weeks for four rounds of golf in four days.  

That's great, good for you. I'm still stuck in the snow until April 10. Are all the courses in MB perfect or are there some municipal type ones too?

On your list, Palencia is a joy to play (but a little pricey), that last hole is terrific. South Hampton is where I met Ernest Wilford when he played for the Jags. I mentioned to the starter that I was a Jags ST holder and a few minutes later as I left the 1st green, Ernest rode out in a golf cart to say hello. He happened to have been at the course and had just finished his round.

Classy move.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.

 

        

I'm going to Myrtle Beach in two weeks for four rounds of golf in four days.  

That's great, good for you. I'm still stuck in the snow until April 10. Are all the courses in MB perfect or are there some municipal type ones too?

On your list, Palencia is a joy to play (but a little pricey), that last hole is terrific. South Hampton is where I met Ernest Wilford when he played for the Jags. I mentioned to the starter that I was a Jags ST holder and a few minutes later as I left the 1st green, Ernest rode out in a golf cart to say hello. He happened to have been at the course and had just finished his round.

Classy move.

Oddly enough, he is a die hard Cowboys fan. Sorry to be off topic.

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I'm going to Myrtle Beach in two weeks for four rounds of golf in four days.  

That's great, good for you. I'm still stuck in the snow until April 10. Are all the courses in MB perfect or are there some municipal type ones too?

On your list, Palencia is a joy to play (but a little pricey), that last hole is terrific. South Hampton is where I met Ernest Wilford when he played for the Jags. I mentioned to the starter that I was a Jags ST holder and a few minutes later as I left the 1st green, Ernest rode out in a golf cart to say hello. He happened to have been at the course and had just finished his round.

Classy move.

There's all kinds of price ranges up in Myrtle.  We usually put together a middle of the road price range kind of package.  My buddy from California and I try to get together every year or two to play golf for a few days.  Went to Phoenix a couple of years ago and it was a blast.  I had never played 'desert golf' before and it's a different experience.  We usually go to Myrtle because there's such a wide variety of choices and you can always put together a good four or five day package.

Yes, Palencia is a little pricey but they send me 'member for a day coupons' every so often, and it's only $65.  Still a bit pricey but good for that course.  I think Palencia is the second most difficult course that I play.  Royal St. Augustine being first.  It's almost unfair (to me) unless you can hit the ball straight every time.  Hell, you can still get in trouble if you hit it straight with the slant of some of the fairways.  I haven't played there in several years because of that.

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I played 'desert golf' a couple of times outside of Las Vegas when there for conventions. The stark change from green fairway to brown, rocky desert is pretty cool. When a shot strays out there, it can bounce anywhere off that surface. A Myrtle Beach trip sounds like fun- play 1 super nice course, 2 good courses, and 1 schlocky muni-type over 4 days.

Yes, Royal SA can be unfair. Leaving the driver in the car and picking your way around is the way to go there. Let's see, hardest courses I think I've played in FL are probably Marsh Creek in SA (private, have played only twice), RSA of course has to be there, and maybe Cimarron b/c of all the water.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.

 

        

I played 'desert golf' a couple of times outside of Las Vegas when there for conventions. The stark change from green fairway to brown, rocky desert is pretty cool. When a shot strays out there, it can bounce anywhere off that surface. A Myrtle Beach trip sounds like fun- play 1 super nice course, 2 good courses, and 1 schlocky muni-type over 4 days.

Yes, Royal SA can be unfair. Leaving the driver in the car and picking your way around is the way to go there. Let's see, hardest courses I think I've played in FL are probably Marsh Creek in SA (private, have played only twice), RSA of course has to be there, and maybe Cimarron b/c of all the water.

Funny, I've heard several people say that Cimmarone is difficult, but I generally seem to play pretty well there.  Well for me anyway.  I can generally make up strokes on and around the green, the problem is getting there

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Funny, I've heard several people say that Cimmarone is difficult, but I generally seem to play pretty well there.  Well for me anyway.  I can generally make up strokes on and around the green, the problem is getting there

I'm the same, I seem to play OK there, just stay out of the water. Cimarron is one of my favorites, it's always in good shape and there are some good holes there. The 10th hole is my nemesis- 2nd shot over the water/bridge to a smallish green.

A 2nd rate course I like (I think I like almost all courses in some way) is River Bend in Green Cove Springs. Gators, snakes, you name it. I think you could get a cart and stay out there for 8 hours for all they care. Unfortunately, the highway is going through there and it will be closed soon.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.

 

        

Adventure Landing at Jax Beach.

#14 is a killer -- damn palm tree in the middle of the green.

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Adventure Landing at Jax Beach.

#14 is a killer -- damn palm tree in the middle of the green.

That reminds me of a course I often play up in North Carolina.   There's a par 5 with an oak tree right smack in the middle of the fairway about 200 yards from the tee.   The idea is to aim at the oak tree and hope you don't hit it.   Of course, last time I played it, I hit it smack in the middle of the trunk.

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Reminds me of an old Sam Snead story- he was walking a course with a young pro who complained about a tree sitting on a corner of a dogleg, that it blocked him from cutting the corner.

Snead said that when he was younger, he hit the ball so well that he could drive it right up and over that tree. The young pro thought about it for a minute and Sam added, "Of course, 40 years ago it was only this high..."

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Other than Adventure Landing, is there a course here that has such an impediment? I know of a par 3, I think it's at Palencia, that has a tree that is curved over and supported by a man made, tree-like column. You have to clear the tree to get to the green.

The doomed River Bend in Green Cove Springs used to have a big tree near the 18th green that would catch balls hit into it. They said when it came down about 10 years ago that there were 1000 balls caught in it.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.

 

        

Reminds me of an old Sam Snead story- he was walking a course with a young pro who complained about a tree sitting on a corner of a dogleg, that it blocked him from cutting the corner.

Snead said that when he was younger, he hit the ball so well that he could drive it right up and over that tree. The young pro thought about it for a minute and Sam added, "Of course, 40 years ago it was only this high..."

*****
Other than Adventure Landing, is there a course here that has such an impediment? I know of a par 3, I think it's at Palencia, that has a tree that is curved over and supported by a man made, tree-like column. You have to clear the tree to get to the green.

The doomed River Bend in Green Cove Springs used to have a big tree near the 18th green that would catch balls hit into it. They said when it came down about 10 years ago that there were 1000 balls caught in it.

I think there's a tree in the fairway at Windsor Park on the back nine somewhere that will ruin your approach if you don't get right of it with your tee shot.

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I think there's a tree in the fairway at Windsor Park on the back nine somewhere that will ruin your approach if you don't get right of it with your tee shot.

Is Windsor Parke a nice course?
Has anybody played Blue Sky over on Monument? I get 4 emails a week from them.

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Season Ticket holder since 2004.