Streamsong’s ‘The Chain’ Might Be The Most Fun New Golf Course In America

Streamsong Resort in Central Florida just opened its newest course, The Chain, a 19-hole short course that is the perfect complement to the nationally ranked Red (#19), Blue (#24), and Black (#25) courses.

Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the same golf course architects behind Streamsong Red, Cabot Cliffs, and others, The Chain at Streamsong offers up a golf experience unlike anything else that can be found in Florida or anywhere in the United States for that matter.

The Chain is a 19-hole matchplay course that is meant to be walked. The longest hole plays a maximum of 293 yards but it can play much shorter because each hole has a handful of tee box locations and whoever wins the prior hole or still has honors gets to pick the tee box on the next hole.

As you can see on The Chain scorecard, holes do not have a ‘par’ because of the strict matchplay style so if a 2 wins, that’s good. If a 4 wins, so be it. This style of golf removes a LOT of pressure as it puts you, the golfer, in the driver’s seat and allows you to be as aggressive or conservative as you want to be on each of the 19 stunning holes designed by Coore & Crenshaw. And not to be lost are the ‘shorty’ tees you can grab by the handful at the start which are perfect for short irons off the tee.

Why The Chain at Streamsong Is The Most Exciting New Course In Florida

Recently, I visited the Streamsong Golf Resort which is just a 70ish minute drive from my house and packed in 73 holes in short order. We played Streamsong’s Black 18 on Monday afternoon, Streamsong Red’s 18 Tuesday morning, a putting contest at The Bucket, a 2.5-acre putting course during lunch, we walked the 19-holes of The Chain on Tuesday afternoon for a 12-man matchplay competition, and played Streamsong Blue’s 18 on Wednesday morning.

The 2.5-acre putting course offers two 18-hole putting options for some fun competition before/after a round at The Chain and The Bucket is marked by an actual ‘bucket’ that is a relic from the days when Streamsong was a phosphate mine. Here we are tuning up the putter before playing The Chain:

Here is the aforementioned bucket from the phosphate mining days that is the centerpiece of the 36-hole putting course:

Blue and Red opened in 2012. Streamsong Black opened in 2017. And these courses quickly and firmly established themselves as some of the best courses that golfers can actually play anywhere in the nation. Streamsong’s The Chain just opened all 19 holes for play in April and it offers a challenge unlike the others.

There are a few things that really stood out about The Chain to me. First off, when I was told we were going to walk the 19 holes after having just played 36 holes I was worried about overexertion but all my concerns dissipated when we got to The Chain and I saw how tightly each green lines up to the next tee box. The careful consideration that went into the layout of Streamsong’s The Chain cannot be understated. There wasn’t a moment on The Chain where I thought to myself ‘I need a cart’ and I’m a cart golfer 100% of the time when it’s an option.

Secondly, true to other golf course designs by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, The Chain blends seamlessly into the natural topography of Streamsong’s property. The property itself is 16,000 acres and prior to it being the best golf resort in the South it was a phosphate mine and the land was mined for nearly a hundred years.

The near-century of phosphate mining produced topography and elevation unlike anywhere else in Florida. I’m born and raised less than 40 miles from the resort as the crow flies and never in my life had I seen wild Florida that looked like this. Nowhere on the resort is elevation more present than the first tee box on Streamsong Blue which sits 120 feet above the ground. You simply DO NOT find elevation like that anywhere in Florida.

And while those extreme elevation changes aren’t woven into the fabric of Streamsong’s The Chain, there are still subtle elevation changes throughout the 19-holes you will not find elsewhere in Florida without the course struggling (and failing) to make it look natural whereas at Streamsong, due to the century of mining, it’s all part of the natural landscape.

Natural Florida At Its Finest

Speaking of natural… Not once on The Chain did I ever hear any manmade/unnatural noise. Everything on the course feels natural. Birds are chirping. There are no planes or helicopters flying over. There’s no ‘city’ noise of cars or traffic. Nor do you see any trash bins sticking out like eyesores throughout the course. That’s because the trash bins are subterranean and can be found by looking for a small yellow circle near many of the tee boxes.

All of that is to say the focus is entirely on matchplay golf. And with 19-holes measuring between 88-to-293 yards, you are free to focus on the match which is something that most adult golfers never get to experience outside of charity tournaments and even then it’s extremely rare.

I hadn’t played proper matchplay outside of Member-Guest tournaments since high school golf which I’d wager is the last time most former-competitive golfers played matchplay. We went out on The Chain with a group of 12 for a 6 team, 2-man matchplay scramble. Our group included Streamsong’s GM Kevin Kennedy (my playing partner), Director of Marketing & Sales Craig Falanga, Director of Golf Miles Blundell, and others from the property who were excited to show us The Chain now that the course had reached completion.

Who is The Chain at Streamsong for?

I spent a lot of time on The Chain thinking about who the ideal audience for the course might be and ultimately, the answer is anyone who loves good golf.

Is it the perfect complement course to Red, Blue, and Black for guys on a bachelor party trip? 100%. The competition caveats are endless with each hole playing differently depending on where the tee box is chosen. Want to bet a beer per hole? That’s easy because there’s at The Bucket located at The Chain there’s a full bar, incredible food like the delicious corndogs I ate (two of, actually), and The Bucket is centrally located to hit several times while playing The Chain.

Is it a good course for casual golfers who might be lucky to record two or three pars in a normal round? 100%. The fact that the holes do not have pars and it’s strictly matchplay style frees the golfer of scorecard pressure. It offers similar freedom to a scramble because without pars on the holes a golfer is free to go pin hunting regardless of skill level, and with multiple tee boxes on every hole marked by dragline chains (from mining) golfers can play to their strengths.

Does Streamsong’s new course The Chain offer a unique golfing experience for golfers who have seen it all? 100%. Coore & Crenshaw designed courses are often marked by strategic bunkers that force golfers to play specific shots. This can be found on The Chain primarily in tee box and pin locations, forcing golfers to craft shots and lean into landing zones and slight elevation changes. There are even a handful of opportunities to bank shots which is something I absolutely loved… I also fell in love with the new merch for The Chain. This valuables bag and ball marker will go everywhere on the course with me from now until forever:

When I say that The Chain at Streamsong is perfect for golfers who have seen everything and done it all, I really mean that. Even golfers who have been lucky enough to play Ohoopee Match Club in Cobbtown, Georgia will find they prefer The Chain. For several reasons.

Firstly, the food is better before, during, and after. Lunch beforehand at Rooftop 360 located on the top floor of The Lodge was incredible and it offers 360-degree views of The Chain, Red, and Blue. Those corndogs at The Bucket were top notch and I’m a corndog connoisseur.

And dinner afterward at Canyon Lake Steakhouse inside the Red/Blue clubhouse truly exceeded all of my expectations. We had A5 Australian Wagyu, Tomahawk Ribeye steaks carved table side by the chef, New York Strips, Tellicherry Peppercorn-Crusted Rack Of Venison, and every side and appetizer under the sun. And for my fellow oenophiles out there, the wine selection was the best I’d seen at any resort in Florida.

Also, and this was probably the nicest unique touch I’ve experienced at a steakhouse that I can remember, but Canyon Lake Steakhouse let you pick your own steak knife from a selection of styles:

Secondly, the natural scenery wrapping around lakes teeming with trophy largemouth bass and alligators was incredible. The alligators were so big I’d never seen anything like that outside of a state park and until Streamsong first broke ground in 2012 many if not all of those alligators had never seen a human being before. It’s pure, unbridled Florida wilderness out there.

Lastly, what Streamsong’s The Chain has that Ohoopee Match Club doesn’t is it’s surrounded by Red, Blue, and Black which are all three ranked in the top 25 Golfweek’s ‘Top 100 Courses You Can Play,’ meaning the courses are actually accessible and not walled off by membership. Ohoopee being a members-only course means that 99.999% of us will never even get to see it in person let alone play it but Streamsong’s The Chain is just over an hour’s drive from the Tampa airport.