Emerald Bay Golf Club

Emerald Bay Golf Club can certainly be counted as a gem amongst the excellent array of championship golf courses on Florida's Emerald Coast. At this well maintained parkland layout, eight holes radiate away from or back to the clubhouse, giving you a good view of the partly open, partly tree-lined holes that await.

A pleasant mix of straightaway and doglegging holes will take you through avenues of pine trees, across wetland areas and skirting alongside several small lakes and ponds. One of the toughest stretches includes the water-bisected par-4 5th, sharply doglegging par-5 6th and long par-5 7th, all dangerously flanked by good-sized ponds.

If 5, 6,and 7 form the layout's Amen Corner, then 14, 15, 16 and 17 comprise its most scenic sequence. The 14th is a short, tight par-4, played across a picturesque wetland area. The par-5 15th brings you out alongside the vast expanse of Choctawhatchee Bay, while the signature par-3 16th is played along the Bay's shoreline. The back tees of the short par-4 17th are just about in the Bay itself.

Throughout there are many good and testing holes culminating in a more scenic and natural back-nine, which threads its way through a quiet wetland/woodland environment. The front-nine is a little more parkland in style, with housing flanking some of the holes on one side.

In contrast to the recent fashion for oversized putting surfaces, here you'll encounter some of the smallest greens you've ever had to hit. Royal Troon may have its Postage Stamp hole, but here you have a serious philatelic collection!