Resort's Watson, Nicklaus courses shine
PALM COAST, Fla. – There aren’t many places where a person can find golf courses designed by Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer within a short drive from each other.
Hammock Beach Resort might not be as well known nationally for its golf as some of its Florida counterparts like Streamsong and the newly opened Cabot Citrus Farms, but it should be, because the 36 holes of golf offered at Hammock Beach is outstanding. Add in courses just up the road at the World Golf Village, and it’s a great place to visit.
Nestled alongside the Atlantic Ocean just south of St. Augustine, Hammock Beach is an easy drive from most of Alabama. And even from the northwest corner of the state, you can be there before dusk if you get an early start.
Hammock Beach offers the Watson-designed Conservatory Course and the Nicklaus-designed Ocean Course. Both courses have been ranked Nos. 10-11 on Golfweek’s 2023 Best Courses You Can Play in Florida list, and it’s easy to see why – both are immaculately maintained, playable yet challenging, and offer a different playing experience.
The Conservatory at Hammock Beach
Before even seeing the first tee at the Conservatory, visitors will be awestruck by the sight of its opulent $30 million domed glass clubhouse that includes a nature conservatory, golf shop, members’ locker rooms and a cocktail lounge.
After getting over the initial shock of seeing that, Watson’s ode to links golf in Florida awaits.
Combined with the cost of the course, owners spent $50 million on the Conservatory property alone. Club General Manager Brad Hauer had a simple explanation for the vision behind the clubhouse and course.
“Bobby Ginn had the vision of making the best golf course in Florida when he built it back in the day,” Hauer said.
Billed as the longest course in Florida at 7,750 yards, The Conservatory features an astounding 147 bunkers (down from 187 at its peak), gentle fairway mounds, a sprinkling of water features and complex greens.
Hauer, who has been with Hammock Beach since 2005, points out that Watson said every bunker on the course “is there for a purpose.” Some are used to frame holes, others are used as aiming points.
When the water features were dug out, that soil was used to create the fairway mounds that make for some awkward lies. Many of the greens feature sections that can be used to funnel shots toward the hole or repel them in the opposite direction.
“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 lakes was used to build up the whole golf course.”
There are seven sets of tees listed on the Conservatory scorecard ranging from 4,790 to 7,750 yards. Hauer points out that there are 13 different tee combinations that can be used so that players can find their optimal distance.
One of the memorable holes is No. 17, a 155-yard par 3 (Level IV-V) tees, to a skinny green perched on a plateau. When the hole location is on the back of the green, anything hit long leaves an almost impossible pitch shot as the green slopes severely from back to front.
The tee box on No. 18 is elevated nearly 200 feet and offers a view of almost the entire course.
The Ocean Course at Hammock Beach
Not to be confused with Kiawah’s Ocean Course, Hammock Beach’s Ocean Course is a masterful Nicklaus design that checks in at 7,176 yards from the tips and features no rough. The golf course is mown at fairway length throughout and players have an option to play the ball along the ground on many holes. That’s a departure from the normal Nicklaus designs that require high fades to access hole locations, and it wasn’t done by accident.
Nicklaus has called it one of the best courses on the East Coast. When the course was damaged by a hurricane and underwent extensive renovations, the decision was the mow everything down to fairway height.
“We wanted people to spray their ball and then they still got fairway height,” Hauer said. “We get more comments that players can hit my ball wherever and find it. That was Jack’s idea when we were talking to him about what to do with this golf course after getting damaged by the hurricane. He said we really we need to make golf easier. And it was kind of a reversal of what his original architectural plans were. And he was all about the 70 acres of (closely mown) turf.”
There are six standout holes – Nos. 8-9 on the front and Nos. 15-18, known as the “Bear Claw”, on the back. No. 8 and No. 17 are par 3s with greens sitting just a few yards from the beach. The 15th hole is a man-sized par 4 (404 from Level IV tees) with an uphill approach shot through two large mounds to a green perched on a shelf overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. When you access the green, the ocean is just a wedge shot away.
The finishing holes on each nine are similar in nature – long par 4s adjacent to the beach but running in opposite directions. That means that it is likely one hole will be downwind and one will be into the wind each day.
Hauer, who said he loves the 15th hole, is frequently is asked which course is his tfavorite. He has a stock answer, and he’s not wrong.
“If you had two children that you love dearly and you’d say, which one do you love the most?” he said. “It’s almost impossible to say that. Joking aside, I mean, Conservatory is just as good as Ocean. I’ve got people that just, they love Ocean or they love Conservatory, they love both. It’s not one over the other.”
The resort amenities are plentiful, making Hammock Beach a true family destination. Restaurants range from fine dining at Delfinos Italian Chophouse and Stix Authentic Sushi to the more casual Loggerheads Sports Pub, Atlantic Grille and the Ocean Bar Café.
In addition to the spa and the beach, Hammock Beach Resort visitors have access to a lazy river, three outdoor pools and an indoor pool.
The King and Bear
If you need one more course to satisfy your golf fix, make the short drive to experience the King & Bear, the only course that was a collaboration between Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
Set in the World Golf Village, the King & Bear offers a challenging layout, featuring wide fairways, strategic bunkering, and water hazards, all designed to test players of various skill levels. Their collaboration combines Palmer’s love of risk-reward shotmaking and Nicklaus’s emphasis on strategy and course management.
The result is a course that is both aesthetically pleasing and demanding, with holes that require precision and thoughtful planning. The course’s design incorporates natural Florida landscapes, including marshes, pine forests, and wetlands.
The King & Bear previously has been on Golf Magazine’s list of Best Courses You Can Play in Florida, as well as Golf Digest’s 2015 list of Top Public Courses in Florida.
For information on both properties, go to hammockbeach.com and golfwgv.com
Gregg Dewalt is the editor of Alabama Golf News
Have a story idea or a news item to report to Alabama Golf News? Email gregg@alabamagolfnews.com
Featured image of Tom Watson’s Consevatory Course courtesy of Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa
