Hammock Beach Resort Nicklaus Design Ocean Course: Florida Oceanfront Golf at its Best!
The beautiful par-3 8th hole!
After seven weeks of the COVID-19 Pandemic Stay-at-Home restrictions and two weeks into the Recovery it was time for me to go back to ‘work’ as a golf & travel writer! With one of the best oceanfront golf courses in the world right in my backyard, the invitation came to play the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Resort! Given the hospitality, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Design, the condition of the golf course, and the weather this was one of my best golf outings ever!
I put hospitality at the top of the list because this was the first time in my life that I played a gold course and the beverage cart attendant knew me by name. Yes, knew me by name before I even introduced myself to her! Now I will always remember the Hammock Beach Resort and her name too which was Kara!
Her name is Kara! My name is Andy!
From the ladies in the pro shop to Nancy who handles accommodations to Brad Hauer the Director of Golf/General Manager to Billy from Mine Hill, New Jersey out on the range to Kara who serves drinks and snacks this is a family affair and you are the invited and welcomed guest!
Even a white egret greeted us on the 2nd tee and led us all the way to the 12th green before leaving us! Flocks of pelicans on the ocean holes and little sanderlings scampering around on the wet sand on the beach!. Spectacular wildlife at Hammock Beach Resort!
The white egret that joined us all the way from the 2nd tee to the 12th green!
We are all recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic in some way. If you like comeback stories than you will like the Ocean Course and Hammock Beach Resort!
In October 2016 Hurricane Matthew struck the Ocean Course with its high winds and storm surge. Flooded with salt water the course underwent a Nicklaus Design course renovation complete with a changeover to salt-tolerant Platinum Paspalum.
Pandemic Golf… upscale gizmo to lift the ball out of the hole!
Now, nearly four years later, I have to say this course is in excellent shape and could easily hold a PGA TOUR event. Back in 2008 the resort did host a PGA TOUR event but held the golf competition on the Tom Watson-designed Conservatory Course. Slightly further inland, this links-style golf course is also a gem that I have played several years ago. Given the ocean wind, the 77.0 Rating and the 147 Slope of the old Ocean Course the pros were smart to play the Conservatory Course! I am sure that Ryan Palmer the 2008 Champion would agree!
I can attest to the impact of playing in a strong consistent ocean breeze of about 15 mph. I broke 90 but five throw-up holes including the last three made breaking 80 a remote possibility for this day. What amazed me is that the wind came from due west into our faces on the practice range and by the time we came to the 15th hole it was coming from due east directly off the ocean!
Windy but gorgeous day to play golf on the Ocean Course at the Hammock Beach Resort!
The weather was gorgeous. In the 80s that felt like the 70s with the strong breeze. Sunny all afternoon it was a day to wear sunscreen and sunglasses! The course conditions were pristine, firm and fast or slow depending on the wind direction! I love the routing where you go inland away from the Atlantic Ocean to start and then come back to it on the 183-yard par-3 8th. The straight away 468-yard par-4 9th parallels the dunes and is the No.1 handicap hole on the scorecard. I managed to par the brute with an amazing chip-putt from the front left runoff area to a tight hole location.
The 6th hole! One of four fun-to-play right-to-left cape holes on the Ocean Course (Nos. 5,6,11, & 16). How much will you dare to cut off?
After the ocean turn the 10th hole, like the 1st hole heads west inland away from the ocean. You come back to the ocean for the last four holes, first with the 447-yard par-4 15th hole, a beauty with no green-side bunkers because well she is beautifully shaped with hillocks left and right well short of the green. I hit a solid hybrid-4 from 150 yards because the wind was a 3-club wind directly in our face!
After seeing the Hurricane Matthew marker the 16th lays out before you from an elevated ocean-side tee. With lake left this is a beautiful 387-yard cape hole narrows down to a testy green complex where I chipped one into a bunker!
My third shot at the daunting 9th green! Change in Elevation is the most underrated hazard in golf!
After a short cart ride, with the same orientation as the 8th hole; the 174-yard par-3 17th faces the ocean and it is another beautiful ocean view from another elevated tee.
Then there is the home hole, the No. 2 handicap hole on the scorecard. At 465 yards it is another straight away brute that plays tough! Unlike No. 9 this one got the best of me as in a 3-putt double bogey.
I must say that while the six holes along the mile-long stretch of the Atlantic Ocean with the expansive view are dramatic and fun to play the other 12 are just as fun and challenging with no letdown. In fact the break from the rawness and strength of the ocean breeze is welcomed.
The green on the reachable par-5 6th hole. Unfortunately all I reached was the water!
The 5th hole, a 433-yard par-4, is a beautiful right-to-left cape hole. As is the 520-yard par-5 6th hole with the added risk-reward feature of an island-like peninsula green. On the second nine, the 398-yard par-4 11th is a right-to-left cape hole and the green on 545-yard par-5 14th is reachable in two strokes with a gutsy long carry over still more water. It is obvious that with three right-to-left cape holes that the predominant tee shot is a strong fade. I wonder who designed this golf course?
Our friend the white egret bid us goodbye on the par-3 12th hole. Presumably to go fish for dinner than watch us play golf!
Eight of the twelve inland holes feature a spectacular water feature that needs to be taken into account and navigated around, over but not into to score on the Ocean Course. With the wind coming in from the ocean and the presence of sand dunes in between it is difficult to plop one into the ocean. However with the lakes it is really easy to find the water. Maybe the name of the course should become the ‘Ocean & Lakes Course?’
Oh yes, for the records which my friends like to keep on me; I did not play from the Level Vi tips of 7.176 yards. I opted for the Level III/IV combination of 6,102 yards. I did break 90 and had the time of my life!
The beauty of the land slope, the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean up close and personal… hard to focus on golf on the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Resort!
Under new ownership and managed by Troon Privé since the first of this year, one would not notice any bump in the operation. Two months into the new venture, the COVID-19 Pandemic necessitated a two-day shutdown to thoroughly sterilize the resort and golf courses. All COVID-19 precautions are in place as we have come to expect. This golf resort is humming and the lodging open to outside guests by now.
Don’t forget to turn left and enjoy the beach for a while after finishing the 18th!
My insider tip is to turn left and head to the beach after completing play on the 18th. Take off your golf shoes and let the excitement of playing the ‘Ocean & Lakes’ Course at Hammock Beach Resort sink in. What an experience!
At Hammock Beach Resort, play the Ocean and Conservatory Resort and Country Club Courses where everyone knows you by your name, even the Beverage Cart Attendant! Thank you to Brad, Billy, and Kara for hosting Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!
Cheers!
