First Look At Streamsong’s Bone Valley: We Played Florida’s Best New Golf Course And The Hype Is Real

Already established as one of the top golf resorts in the world with 16,000 acres and four of the best golf courses on the East Coast, Streamsong Resort will open up Bone Valley in September for preview play. The course was designed by David McLay-Kidd, the same golf course architect who built Bandon Dunes in Oregon

It will open as the best new golf course in Florida, the golf capital of the world.

In December 2012, Streamsong Resort opened with the Red (ranked #17 by Golf Magazine) and Blue (ranked #26 by Golf Digest) courses, which share a clubhouse. Streamsong Black ranked #31st (by GolfWeek) and its separate clubhouse opened in 2017. The Chain, a 19-hole short course designed for match play, opened in 2024 and I was one of the very first outsiders to get to play all 19 holes.

Streamsong Resort’s Bone Valley Emerges As The Best New Golf Course In The Land

The entire golf world paid attention when Streamsong Resort announced it was building a fourth championship course and David McLay-Kidd (Bandon Dunes, Gamble Sands, Mammoth Dunes) would build it. Back in October of last year, I had the fortune of walking the bare course with McLay-Kidd and hearing him lay out his vision for the project.

At the time, the grass was just starting to come in but many areas were indiscernible. The crews were still moving mountains out there and bringing his vision to life.

Flash forward to present day and the course is ready to compete for a top-20 course ranking in the United States!

The opening date for Streamsong’s Bone Valley recently got moved up to September 19th because the course is in such immaculate condition it is already ready for preview play. How do I know this? Because I had the chance to play it before Bone Valley opens to the public. We walked the course last week and played all 18 holes.

I know what you are thinking, walking 18 holes in August in Central Florida sounds like a nightmare. Trust me, I’m a born-and-raised Floridian and I thought the same at first, but honestly, Streamsong Resort is unlike anywhere else in Florida. The 16,000-acre property and 7,000-acres of land used for golf stretch as far as the eyes can see out there and the breeze was fantastic. Even underneath the hot noon sun we were comfortable on the course… That said, we did have caddies in carts in case we wanted to hop in for an occasional ride from one hole to the next.

I walked over to the range and practice area before we teed it up. Bone Valley will share a clubhouse with Streamsong Black similar to how Streamsong Red and Blue share facilities. Then I walked over to the cart and got an early look at the scorecard:

What jumps out to you first? To me, I see options.

Between Gold, Silver, Black, and Green + the Combos there are seven distances at which the course can be played. There is also a separate ‘Championship’ set of tee boxes should the course hold future tournaments with a distance that will have a scorecard of its own.

We played the Black tee boxes at 6,600 yard as it was our first time playing the new Bone Valley and I’m a high handicapper myself. At this length, the course is challenging but fair and that’s probably the most simple way anyone could ever explain it because the complexity with which every single hole can be played is unlike any other course at Streamsong Resort.

On one hole, one of our veteran caddies was telling us to aim left of a dune while a playing partner who had been in contact with David McLay-Kidd had been advised to go right of the dune off the tee. They were both right. But the proper angle into the green was entirely dependent upon that day’s pin location. So… trust your caddies unless you know the architect.

One thing that David McLay-Kidd does better than any other golf course architect in the game is giving golfers options on every shot. He prioritizes fun golf over punishing golf. There are speed slots throughout the fairways. Approach shots that I thought were dead wound up on the putting surface with a look at birdie.

How Does Bone Valley Compare To Red, Blue, and Black?

That’s the million dollar question, right? Everyone wants to know how Bone Valley will stack up to the other established courses at the Streamsong Resort. Before we fully answer that question let’s dive into a little golf course history lesson.

As most of you know, Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Oregon is widely regarded as one of if not the best golf resort in the world. David McLay-Kidd designed the original Bandon Dunes golf course, which opened in 1999.

After Bandone Dunes opened in 1999, architect Tom Doak designed Pacific Dunes (2001). That was followed by the Coore and Crenshaw designed Bandon Trails (2005), the resort’s third course. Then came the Tom Doak and Jim Urbina designed Old Macdonald (2010), the 4th course on the Bandon Dunes property. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw came back to build Bandon Preserve (2012), a par-3 course, and later finished Sheep Ranch at the north edge of the property, which opened in 2020.

On the polar opposite side of the country here in Southwest Florida we have the Streamsong Resort, the undisputed best golf course resort on the East Coast when it comes to untouched wilderness and golf courses that aren’t overrun by homes and condominiums.

When Streamsong Resort first opened back in December 2012, the first courses were Streamsong Red, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and Streamsong Blue, designed by Tom Doak. Streamsong Black was designed by Gil Hanse and then Coore and Crenshaw came back to build The Chain… These names sounding familiar yet?

Well, the crew of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, Tom Doak and Gil Hanse, they all came after David McLay-Kidd at Bandon Dunes and then here at Streamsong he built the fourth Championship course after those other living legends of golf course architecture did their work. And while ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ in some instances, that is not the case here.

While speaking with David McLay-Kidd last Fall before the course was finished, I asked him what ‘success would look like’ with this course. He told me that success to him would be those moments when he was at the Streamsong Resort, up at the rooftop bar or at the steakhouse, hearing players talk about their rounds and debating which course they loved the most and which one they’d love to play again next. And hearing Bone Valley in the discussion would be ‘success’ to him.

Mission Accomplished

If what he told me that night was honest and true, and I believe it was, then he has already achieved success before Streamsong’s Bone Valley has even opened up to the public.

After every tee box I found myself wondering how the layout of the course, the wide fairways and signature short par-4’s (#6 and #11), stood up to the signature holes on Red and Blue. On the 14th hole I found myself staring down at an eagle putt after hitting my 3-hybrid pure, only to blow the putt past the hole because the greens were fast, firm, and fair.

Truth be told, I’m just a garbage putter but what has stuck with me the most over the past 168 hours is thinking about what might’ve been had I hit this putt just a little bit better, or leaned into the speed slots up the fairways on the front 9, or played to the center of the green instead of flag hunting on the par-3’s on the back nine… I’ve been obsessing over golf shots from that round in a way I haven’t since the last time I played a David McLay-Kidd designed golf course (Bandon Dunes), on a trip with 12 friends where we sat around the Bunker Bar every night debating our favorite courses from the trip.

So how does Bone Valley actually compare to Red, Blue, and Black? That will be a personal journey for every golfer visiting the Streamsong Resort. I can say with 100% honesty that I will look forward to playing Bone Valley the most during my next trip out. There is just something about the course that seems gettable and attackable in a way that if you can shape a few shots you can put together a round that will have the biggest smile on your face up at the rooftop bar at the end of the night.

What Can You Expect?

Streamsong Resort’s Bone Valley will challenge every golfer, regardless of skill level, in unique ways. There are signature wide fairways of the DMK style. Streamsong has the best caddies in Southwest Florida by a mile. Their culinary program is phenomenal across the resort and the Bone Valley Tavern at Streamsong Black Clubhouse is open all day including breakfast!

On the course, you will not see a single house. In fact, the only buildings you might catch a glimpse of are the main resort building far off in the distance, the Red/Blue Clubhouse, the Black Clubhouse, and the iconic Windmill. But for the vast majority of the round you will see Florida wilderness for as far as the eyes can stretch. Dunes in every direction. You might be lucky enough to find one of the legendary Megalodon teeth but don’t go searching for them because if you are lucky enough then the tooth will choose you.

Also, the vast majority of the bunkers on Bone Valley are waist bunkers. So if you’re like me and struggle from the sand then don’t fret, grounding your club is a-okay.

Walking will enable you to experience Bone Valley in a way I would highly encourage. Like I said, we walked the course in mid-August and as someone who doesn’t do well in extreme heat I thought I was going to be miserable but it was truly pleasant. And you stay locked in when walking in a way that you can’t when riding in a cart. Taking in all of the nooks and crannies of the course, step by step, is something I’d highly encourage everyone playing Bone Valley to do.