Burnt Pine Golf Club - Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort - Destin, FL

The Golfing Authority Review

Our Review
(May 2012)
Wow! There is a lot of hype about this Rees Jones course and it's easy to blitz through the long list of accolades that has been bestowed upon it over the years... but you can't appreciate any of them until you play it for yourself! When you go in EXPECTING to see a beautiful course and you still get blown away by the scenery, that's when you know that you just played something special. Not just any course can be called the “Crown Jewel of Florida Golf” by Golf Magazine, but this one has and it's not hard to figure out why. A lot of places, especially the private clubs, give you the red carpet treatment as you roll in. They make you feel special and they are proud of the club that they have. At Burnt Pine Golf Club, not only do you get the red carpet treatment when you arrive, you get the green carpet treatment while you play! Manicured to perfection, there is not a single thing out of place or uncared for. You almost feel bad taking a divot because you do not want to disturb nature at its finest. You can't help but be motivated to fix anything you do - put seed back in the divots, rake the sand back into the pattern they designed, smooth the green back out whether it was your ball mark or not. Like a proud greenskeeper you just want others to enjoy the same perfection that you discovered! Even the driving range upheld the beauty of the course. It gave you the feel that you were playing actual holes on the course as the Taylormade balls that were provided for you will check up and spin on the numerous practice greens.

But then once you step foot on the course, it is almost difficult to concentrate on playing golf because you become mesmerized by the paradise that surrounds you. The first hole has crystal clear water bordering the entire left side of the hole from tee to green. On the right side of the hole (and throughout most of the course) are the tall pines that bear the name with a layer of pine straw that covers the ground in burnt red. You couldn't paint a picture better than what they have created here. Hole after hole they beat it into your memory that you are playing the best course in Northwest Florida. Just when you start to take this picturesque setting as "normal", you make the turn to the back nine where a whole new element is brought into play. There the course is bordered by the Choctawhatchee Bay and it doesn't get much better than that! Your score almost takes a backseat to the pictures you're snapping from your phone just so you can rub it in to your friends. Having four championship courses there on site, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort has taken the traveling out of your next golf trip. Let them spoil you as their guest all week long!