Two of the most respected design firms in the golf business are teaming up to create the centerpieces of a new 36-hole resort between Orlando and Tampa.
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are designing one course and Renaissance Golf Design, led by Tom Doak, is overseeing the other. The developer, Mosaic Company of Plymouth, Minn., is transforming more than 16,000 acres of formerly mined phosphate land into Streamsong, a resort, conference center and golf venue.
The site in central Florida contains hills, dunes, dramatic contours and lakes that were created during the mining process. Streamsong’s plans include:
* Approximately 140 guest rooms in the main resort facility (with the potential to expand to more than 200 rooms)
* Five villas, each with four private guest rooms adjoining a common gathering area
* More than 20,000 square feet of meeting space
* Three restaurants and two lounge areas
* A full-service spa
* Personal enrichment classes and programs
* Indoor and outdoor swimming pools
* Florida bass fishing
* A sporting clays range
* Outdoor activities such as croquet, birding tours, hiking and nature trails.
Streamsong will represent the third location in the world where courses have been crafted by both the Coore-Crenshaw and Doak design teams. Though Streamsong isn’t the first resort to feature a course from both firms (such as Oregon’s Bandon Dunes and Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm in Tasmania), Streamsong marks the first time they’ve undertaken a project at the same site simultaneously.
Doak oversaw the design of the critically acclaimed Pacific Dunes and Barnbougle Dunes, while Coore & Crenshaw is credited with Bandon Trails and Lost Farm, which borders the six-year-old Barnbougle Dunes and is slated to open this month.
“This land is naturally conducive to uncovering great golf holes,” said Ben Crenshaw of Coore & Crenshaw. “It is going to be spectacular, and has its own inherent character that will translate into two memorable courses.”
“This is such a good piece of land for golf,” added Doak. “The variety of contours created by the mining process is unique for a project in Florida, or anywhere in the Southeast. I have been friends with Bill and Ben for many years, and it is great fun to be working right alongside them. I think it will bring out the best work in each of us.”
According to Coore, “Through the years, Ben and I have been fortunate to work on a number of exceptional sites that were naturally gifted for golf. These sandy sites brought forth the Sand Hills Golf Club in Nebraska, Bandon Trails in Oregon, Friar’s Head Golf Club in New York and Lost Farm in Tasmania, Australia.
“At Streamsong,” he added, “we have the opportunity to work with a site that contains some of the most unusual, interesting and dramatic land forms we have ever encountered. From its towering dunes, sandy fields, and pristine lakes, we believe this land has the potential to yield two extraordinary golf courses. Being able to work alongside Tom Doak and our good friends at Renaissance Golf Design to simultaneously create the two courses makes this a very special project indeed.”
Construction of the two Streamsong courses began in mid-2010; they are expected to be available for limited play in mid- to late-2012. Construction of the resort will start in the first quarter of 2012 and be completed in fall 2013.
For additional information about the project, visit http://www.streamsongresort.com.
