Golf Blog

Florida Man

The best part about not living in Florida is that you are able to experience Florida in small doses. You aren’t actually a Florida man, but you can pretend to be one for a weekend. The challenge is selecting the ideal destination for your “Florida Man” activities. What sort of activities are you looking for? What sort of scenes do you want to enjoy? I decided to hit the internet and do some Florida Man research.

While my internet research obviously yielded some excellent results, it didn’t really point me in the right direction. I was looking for some top notch golf, world class service, and some splendid beach and ocean views. I was obviously a different type of Florida man. Fortunately, the team over at Troon had some excellent suggestions and pointed me in the direction of Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa.

There are two golf courses to enjoy at Hammock Beach and the location puts you within striking distance of a half dozen others. Now I know what you are thinking…

“Who cares? I could throw a rock in any direction and hit a golf course in Florida.”

While this statement is true, you’re gonna hit two mighty fine golfing spots from the 9th floor of the Hammock Beach Golf Resort. The first and most obvious location is Jack Nicklaus’ Ocean Course. With 6 holes situated along the Atlantic Ocean, the views alone are worth the visit.

The 15th hole at Hammock Beach makes my list of Florida’s finest par 4’s. At 432 yards from the back tees, this beauty isn’t quite at full beast status yet, but the swale in front of the green provides a welcome challenge to poorly struck approaches. The ocean view just beyond the green is a fresh jolt of sea side air after playing the previous 5 holes inland.

The splendid par 5 14th hole.

Before we move on to the next golf course, it is important to note that there are floating tiki bar boats in St Augustine. These are just exactly what you think they are. We cruised the scene and we drank some drinks as onlookers reveled with jealousy. Afterwards, we headed into downtown St Augustine for some nightlife. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of culinary options and activities available in the nation’s oldest city. We posted up at the Prohibition Kitchen for some live music and good food. We had ourselves a grand old time.

The second course at Hammock Beach Golf Resort is the Conservatory course. This Tom Watson design enters the conversation in full beast mode at 7,776 yards from the back tees. Even though it will challenge the longest of the long hitters, it is still a manageable and fun golf course from the correct set of tees.

I got several stink eyes on this trip, but none more fierce than the stink eye on #5 from “Gary The Gator.”

Home Slice Brice manages a nice par save from the fescue.

The Florida Highway Patrol did not immediately respond to my query when asked if these two incidents were related.

The other Florida island green. The par 3 8th on the Conservatory course.

The third reason to visit Hammock Beach is the proximity of The World Golf Hall of Fame (WGHOF). Magically, as we entered the Hall of Fame, the music from Omega’s Hall of Fame watch ad featuring Rory Mcilroy began to play. Apparently, an undercover Troon Operator had sneakily cued up the music on his phone. I was pretty stoked about it. Here is a link to the ad in case you missed the first 9,854 times it aired during the 2015 PGA Championship.

I quickly did some more research and found another Golf Digest headline before heading into the actual Hall of Fame.

Not sure what tournament this was… happened frequently back in the 80’s.

In the beginning there was “kolf” then there was golf.

Just like the Stegosaurus, the water niblick has went extinct.

During my research at the WGHOF, I uncovered that Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were both inducted into the Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1974. This is pertinent information because my final course as a Florida man would be the King & The Bear. As you might have deduced, this course is named after it’s designers, The King (Arnold Palmer) and The Golden Bear (Jack Nicklaus.) It is the only golf course in existence that they both co-designed.

<—- Amanda attended the University of Florida. It is no coincidence that a picture of a Florida gator appears next to her here on this blog post.

As you wind your way around the King and the Bear, you will notice features that will remind you of either Nicklaus’ or Palmer’s particular flair for course design.

The rumor is that Palmer would show up early and erase Nicklaus’ plans for a particular hole and then Nicklaus would do the same thing a day later. The result is a well blended bevy of golf holes. The Palmer inspired beach bunkers are perhaps my favorite feature.

With many golf options available in Florida, Hammock Beach is one of the best options for those looking for a great resort experience with a mix of ocean, golf, and activities. The course conditions are ideal and Florida is begging you to make your own Florida Man headline.

Florida Man golfs 3 top tier golf courses, gets the stink eye from multiple alligators and then writes about it on his website.

While my own Florida Man headline lacks some of the absurdity one might expect, the mention of alligators makes it acceptable. To start your own Florida Man vacation, just click here.