Camp Creek Golf Club (Plus Shark’s Tooth and Emerald Coast Golf)
December 2023 – I had visited and played golf throughout just about every part of Florida except the Emerald Coast – what the marketer’s call the Florida Panhandle. I’d heard the area referred to as the 30A Strip or the Redneck Riviera and my pre-conceived perception of the area resembled Myrtle Beach, OCMD or even “hickier” – see photo above. Photo above notwithstanding, I was pleasantly surprised. Sure there were some rough patches (Pensacola), some Myrtle Beachiness (Destin) and some high-rise condo purgatories (Gulf Shores, AL), but overall the area has become much higher end than you would expect – especially the area just east of Destin.
I had planned to go here last year at the same time between Christmas and New Year but only made it to the end of the runway when American’t Airlines took us back to the terminal in Philly and cancelled our Charlotte flight and they wouldn’t have been able to get me out until the next morning. Since I would lose a day out of just three getting to the Fort Walton Beach (or ECP/Tallahassee) airports, I cancelled. We rescheduled for this year and all flights were fine.
Post-Christmas week (and December through early March) is offseason though, weather depending, you might get a pretty good flow of road trippers for this week – like we did. Still rates were off-peak and crowds weren’t horrible at the various restaurants and resorts. We lucked out weather-wise for our rounds at Camp Creek and Shark’s Tooth with sunny days in the 60’s, but by our third round at Kiva Dunes, winds kicked up and the temp barely made it to 50 degrees.
In-season, this place gets crowded and pricey and good luck getting into any restaurants. So if you’re willing to take the chance on weather, off season ain’t a bad time for a guy’s trip here. There are both some nice chain and typical golf resort food fare – high-end think Melting Pot and Ruth’s Chris, next level: Longhorn and Olive Garden, and local haunts: Crab Trap and a million or so other local seafood shanties. The go-to bar is McGuire’s – whose décor consists of over $2.5 million worth of signed dollar bills on the walls and ceilings, features Vinny McGuire’s Pizza next door and a sushi bar, offers bean soup for $0.18 a bowl (unless ordered separately from a meal and then is $18), and is just a pretty cool, classic Irish Pub. We stayed and played at the Camp Creek Inn – more on that below – and ate there one night at ANR (which stands for the Apalachicola Northern Railroad that served as the lifeblood of the area from 1903 to 2002). Very good. We also ate right down the street from there one night – Amici 30A (the name of the route after which the area is named). It’s next door to its sister Mexican restaurant, Amigo 30A. And we had a late lunch at the Shark’s Tooth clubhouse restaurant. Anywhere you go though, if going in season, plan early!
There are also a load of courses in the Sandestin area – we had originally planned to play Kelly’s Plantation, and two of the Sandestin resort courses including Burnt Pine which requires a stay. We pivoted as my buddy who lives here part-time wanted to try the private Shark’s Tooth which required a two-night stay at one of the Watersound resort facilities so we decided to add Camp Creek. In season, DO NOT do this as the stay is outrageous and the greens fees more so. But off-season the rooms were top-notch in service- we even had Treat Suite access. This was truly “private’ as we couldn’t couldn’t charge anything and had to use our room as our chit for all payment. Even out of season, the courses were too much ($295 per) but they are truly the top in the area. We drove for round three up to Kiva Dunes, but this is also not worth the drive – two hours from Sandestin.
So for your guy’s trip, sure out of season try the Camp Creek and Shark’s Tooth courses (if you don’t mind over-paying) and one or two of the publics in Sandestin. In season, I’d stick to Sandestin. It’s not worth the long ride to Kiva but that is a nice not great course and I had it on a golf simulator computer game so was eager to try.
Finally, before I get to the Camp Creek course review, and since this is my last round(s) of 2023, I’ll recap the year. My golf game hit new lows (highs?) and has convinced me to get new clubs (and maybe even bite the bullet and go to Club Champion – am buddies with the chairman and CEO so hopefully will get some kind of a bad golfer discount). 2023 was also just a rough year in general for me. My father was ill and would ultimately pass and I lost two good friends way too young, among other family and friends passing. I had my usual work travel for 2023 and played throughout – mainly publics early on and nothing worth discussing. I got a surprise weekend trip to Ohoopee Match Club (one of my and a universally recognized Top 100 course) and a surprise invite to Congressional Blue in October. Discovered Thousand Greens this year which is a great app that helped me get on a few nice, state-ranked privates and onto Somerset Hills – through the Events tab (it was a Friar’s Club event we accessed through the app). Our annual guys’ trip this year was to Wisconsin where we were able to check off some additional Top 100 courses: Whistling Straits, Erin Hills, Sand Valley and in some lists, Mammoth Dunes. We made another quick trip to the Colorado Rockies and played the two Red Sky courses which were just below the Top 100 but both very nice courses. The biggest surprise of the year was Birmingham Country Club in the Detroit area – a way under-the-radar gem, This was never even recognized as a Best in State course until this latest Golf Digest ranking which added quite a few previously under-rated clubs I’ve played. The biggest disappointment was Druid’s Glen in Washington. Worst conditioning I’ve played in a long time. In all, I checked off 31 courses played (12 private counting Camp Creek and Shark’s Tooth).
For 2024, our annual guys’ trip is taking us to Utah (St. George area) in September and plan to play some really nice courses (Entrada and the new Black Desert offerings among others) but no Top 100 tracks there. I have work travel planned and after a January surgery, which will likely lay me up until March, will hopefully use the Thousand Greens app to get me on state-ranked courses.
To the course. Camp Creek is a really nice, Fazio design with no homes or other man-made distractions. Conditioning was great even though we played off season but the price tag is steep – $295 which is way worse in season and not worth that kind of price tag. I thought it was better than Shark’s Tooth but others in the group didn’t. Maybe I will do a Kiva Dunes review separately.
We played the whites so the first hole is a gentle left to right bender around a waste area that borders the entire run of the hole. 327 yards.
The waste hazard on two is not a tough carry and the hole is another short par four measuring just 325 yards. Score early as it gets harder from here.
From where my drive was on two.
You’ll see three as you are driving into the property. Tough but short par five measuring 487 yards from the whites. Water all up the left. Tight drive.
A repeat? Nope this is #4, the evil twin brother to #3 but a long, 400-yard par four with water to the left once again.
Five is a 171-yard par three with sand up the left side and through the green.
I missed six (397-yard par four) but here is a nice description. Above is seven, the second front-nine par three, 154 yards with water left. Don’t be a hooker at Camp Creek.
Eight is 510 yards and a par five. Again left is no bueno as you get closer to the hole.
Nine is another 400-yard par four and the number 1 handicap hole on the course. Surprise, surprise, there’s trouble all along the left-hand side.
Ten is 383 yards. Bunker left to avoid on your drive. Slightly bendy to the right.
Eleven is the nicer twin of ten – 350 yards, still bends right but the #18 handicap. Again, score early as it gets hard, quick.
Have you seen this movie before? Water left. This time on the 467-yard par five 12th. Short but deadly hole.
Thirteen is a bender to the right with trouble right this time. Short at only 320 yards but tight.
Fourteen is a 155-yard par three. Maybe the signature hole on the course.
I missed 15 and this is the pizza truck parked by the 12th tee and 15th green. The truck is an old St. Joe’s Paper truck which the whole area was once part of the company’s massive parcel in the area. The truck and halfway shack are an awesome addition to the course and the personal, wood-fired pizzas are awesome.
Sixteen is a 161-yard par three with a huge bunker right.
Par-five 17th, 495 yards.
Camp Creek wraps up in typical Fazio fashion with a tough and long par four (measuring 400 yards) and with water all up the right with a narrow landing area. Overall love Camp Creek – definitely a great course and while it will set you back some Franklins, definitely a good one to check off in the area.
Shark’s Tooth
I will just add my photos and if you want a good write-up, visit the 30A site.
Golf Scrapbook 