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Sandestin opens new Trent Jones course

Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in northwest Florida now has a Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design open for play, giving the resort 73 total holes.

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A potpourri of Panhandle golf

Located on Florida’s Panhandle between Pensacola and Panama City, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is one of the southeast’s top golf resorts. Thanks to the new Trent Jones layout, this complete golf vacation destination is even bigger and better.

The Raven Golf Club winds through Sandestin’s quiet wetlands, marshes, and thick stands of pine trees. The course has lush landscaping, with the use of several natural grasses and thousands of plantings for color, including more than 15,000 plants flowering plants. There are also several dramatic water features filled with aquatic plants that add more texture and color to the layout, as well as varying bunker patterns that are Trent Jones trademarks. This is his first course in northwest Florida.

The Raven’s 19 holes join Sandestin’s other three courses to give visiting golfers 73 total holes of Panhandle links play, as well as the Golf Learning and Performance Center (many outstanding clinics and instructional packages available). There are 19 holes, rather than the standard 18, in that there’s a unique ‘double-hole’ of two par threes for the 16th, which are played on alternate days of the week to provide a new experience to repeat players. The three other layouts are Baytowne Golf Club and the Links Course, both designed by Tom Jackson, and Burnt Pine, built by Robert’s brother, Rees Jones. Sandestin is now the only resort in the world to boast courses by the two brothers.

Sandestin is now owned by Intrawest, a leading developer and operator of village-centered resorts across North America. The Raven Golf Club is one of many aggressive growth projects Intrawest has planned for Sandestin.

Long a great golf getaway, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort features 730 rental accommodations on 7 1/2 miles of beach and bayfront property. Along with the golf, Sandestin features: 14 tennis courts; a 98-slip marina; Jolee Island Nature Park; a health club and salon/day spa; KidZone children’s programs and KidSail Sailing Academy; two waterfront restaurants; 33,000 square feet of function space; and 30 specialty market shops. Resort guests receive a Park Pass at check-in that entitles them to unlimited use of the health club, bicycles, boogie boards, canoes, kayaks, tram, children’s on-property fishing license, and an hour of tennis court time daily at no extra charge.

To get to Sandestin, use the Expedia.com Flight Wizard to book a flight to Fort Walton Beach’s Okaloosa County Airport (airport code: VPS). Use the Car Wizard to rent a car in Fort Walton Beach. Use Expedia.com to book a room at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and reserve a tee time at Sandestin’s four courses.