Northwest Florida's Emerald Coast is famous for its white quartz sand and emerald water, but there's another reason to pack the clubs: a cluster of genuinely well-designed golf courses along this stretch of the Panhandle. Better still, the area splits neatly into options for hotel guests and options for everyone else.
The headline act is Watersound Club, which opened a new 18-hole, par-71 course in March 2025 designed by Davis Love III. It makes smart use of the natural terrain, with big greens, thoughtfully placed bunkers and six sets of tees so you can dial the round to your own game. Two more members-only courses sit under the same club umbrella: Camp Creek, a Tom Fazio layout outside Camp Creek Inn that threads through dunes and native vegetation — with a restored 1958 Chevrolet Viking truck at the 12th tee converted into a wood-fired oven serving pizza, sliders and beer-cheese pretzels — and Shark's Tooth, a Greg Norman design along Lake Powell, Florida's largest coastal dune lake, with deep bunkers, pine forest views and a recently renovated clubhouse plus a casual Shark Shack for post-round burgers.
The catch with that trio: they're members-only. The way in is to stay at Watersound Inn or Camp Creek Inn, both of which grant guests access to the members' courses. That makes the hotels themselves part of the golf decision, not just a place to sleep.
If you're not staying at the inns, the coast still has you covered. Origins is a publicly accessible 10-hole, par-3 course with a traditional Scottish feel — a solid pick if you're short on time but still want to swing something. On a much grander scale, Camp Creek Golf Club's sibling Watersound course (referred to in local roundups as a massive public layout) sprawls across 750 acres of rolling dunes, with a large putting green and a dedicated chipping area complete with a sand bunker to sharpen the short game.
Who is this for? Golf-first travellers who usually default to the Carolinas or Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Trail should add the Panhandle to the list. The mix works for couples too — one partner plays 18 while the other claims a beach chair, then everyone reconvenes at a clubhouse or a pizza truck. And because several courses double as scenic walks through dunes and coastal forest, even a mediocre round comes with good views.
The practical upshot: book a room at Camp Creek Inn or Watersound Inn if playing the members' courses matters to you, and mix in the public options to sample different designers — Love III, Fazio and Norman in a single trip is a strong lineup for one stretch of coastline.
Story first covered by Global Traveler.
