It’s dinner time at Delfino’s Italian Chophouse and Mary Beth is delivering Mr. McMulligan’s ribeye with her own eye on its doneness. He cuts into the steak and sees it is clearly past the medium rare he ordered. She agrees and takes it back to the kitchen.
When she returns minutes later with a new steak for a new cut, it is quite rare. Mr. M, feeling like he’s too much trouble at this point, shrugs and says he’ll eat it, but Mary Beth says no, “It’s my job to make sure we get it right.”
And she does. And as we enjoy our meals, we see her repeating this process at table after table. With one group of men, probably two foursomes who played Florida’s most ocean-y Ocean Course that day, she delivers eight steaks, awaits verdicts and takes back just one.
This is the kind of accommodating service guests at the sprawling, 285-room Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa can expect, from the two golf courses to the nine pools to the eight eating places to the mile-long, pink shell beach. Time after time during our three-night holiday weekend visit, we encountered staff that aimed to please, above and beyond.
And we came away with that pampered feeling that makes all the hassles of travel worthwhile.
Why are we just now telling you about this? Because now is our time, Colorado. For most of the next three seasons, from fall into spring, the kids that filled the Fantasy Pool Complex are back in school and Hammock Beach transforms from family vacation destination into golfer’s paradise. Hurricane season is ending, temperatures are slipping into the 70s, and two courses open only to members and resort guests are ours for the playing.
From Denver International Airport, we don’t need a passport, a connection or really even a car for this trip. However, everyone in Florida seems to have a car so we might as well too.
The closest airport is in Daytona Beach but the busier one is in Jacksonville, and we enjoyed the mellow 50-minute drive down the interstate and over waterways. We also enjoyed letting Shipsticks handle our golf clubs, which arrived at the resort a couple days before we did and were on the golf cart in time for our first tee time.
We did make tee times in advance and recommend doing so: Even though the public can’t play, the resort has 1,200 members plus their extended families.
Also, take the time to consult with the aforementioned helpful staff in advance about your accommodations. There are villas (perfect for groups), north and south ocean towers with condos of as many as three bedrooms, and the main tower with one-bedroom suites that are all owned and part of the resort’s rental program. And, for now, golfing couples may want to book one of the 20 rooms at the Lodge, which is at the intersection of the beach and the Ocean Course 18th green, just upstairs from the Atlantic Grille, bar and pro shop. The Lodge, we were told, will soon be razed and replaced with a boutique hotel.
Guests who want to have dinner at the Atlantic Grille, which the manager told us is the only beachfront restaurant 20 miles in either direction, should make a reservation, and request an outdoor table if the weather’s nice. It serves three meals a day and is the only one of the resort’s restaurants that is open to outsiders.
No restaurant here, BTW, is too stuffy for golf attire.
Which brings us to the reason we’re here – the golf packages!
Resort guests don’t have to fight the public for tee times at either of the two courses, but, even open only to members and guests, the tee sheets fill up! Still, it’s possible for twosomes to play alone and at an excellent pace – the latter a tribute to sensible course design and, maybe, the players’ determination to get pool time or make it to happy hour after the round.
Here's Mr. M’s report on the Ocean and Conservatory courses:
The Ocean Course bills itself as the state’s premier ocean course, as its six holes touching the ocean represent the most of any course in Florida. We played in late May as the weather began to heat up, and the Ocean Course felt a bit cooler with breezes than its sister, the more inland Conservatory Course designed by Tom Watson.
Most hardcore golf groups demand great golf courses and conditions, challenging but not without reasonable playability. Both the Ocean and Conservatory courses deliver, and with the high-level customer service expected from Troon Golf-managed properties. When one set of our clubs wasn’t where it was supposed to be, Damian mobilized an entire team to scour the property until it was found. The more nervous we got, the more they smiled and reassured us. Then during our round, the cart server pulled up and offered up a complimentary cocktail. “It’s on Damian,” she said.
Jack Nicklaus designed the Ocean Course, which opened in 2000 and was a fixture on magazine and travel site lists, especially the top courses you can play type. After hurricane Matthew mowed down a bunch of trees and covered the course in salt water in October 2016, the Nicklaus design firm was hired again to rebuild the Ocean Course. Better ocean views and seeding the entire course with saltwater-tolerant all-season platinum paspalum grass resulted in perfect conditions that have withstood later hurricanes. Greens were true but not racing on the wide-bladed grass. Bunker sand was light in consistency but not the type of bottomless fluff that’s hard to play out of.
The Ocean Course could also pass as the lake course. We counted 11 holes that played along a lake, par 3s, 4s and 5s included. The Ocean Course was designed as a more generous resort course designed for fun, but all those water shots, bunkers and vulnerability to ocean winds – from the north in winter and south in summer, a starter told us – bring enough challenge for the average golfer. That said, Nicklaus always gives you a layup area, where you can attempt to get up and down. Prime example is No. 12, the longest par-3 on the course at 213 yards with water and bunkers looming left. A huge bailout area on the right provides succor for the panicked amateur who is running out of golf balls, but the second shot to the protected green is also tough, making bogey likely.
Molly, a big fan of Nicklaus designs, noted how the 5,153-yard forward tees were not just plunked a few yards up but situated to give short hitters a different look at how to play each hole. She found the Conservatory a bit tougher and played many of the holes from the most forward tees, 4,535 yards rather than the 5,225-yard Level 2s. With shoulder and knee issues, she’s spent more time in physical therapy than on course this year, but she had a blast playing both courses and even remarked that her skin and hair were enjoying the humidity.
Ocean Course holes 9 and 18 indeed play along the ocean. With beach front property prices today, the golf holes represent zillions of dollars of value that would make a developer cough up his soup after you told him he couldn’t put up another luxury condo. But the holes and adjacent hiking path are ours, so you developers can’t have them. Plus, after you putt out on the crown-like 18th green, a 19th hole at the Atlantic Grille awaits.
The Conservatory course is 15 minutes inland and plays more like a typical southern wetland track replete with Spanish moss hanging from tree branches. Offering lots of water, sand and more green contour, the Watson design is longer and rated tougher. The “links design unique to Florida” description is a puzzler. It’s all good, though. Despite the nearly 8,000 yards from the tips, there are no dumb or crazy holes. It’s all accessible from the correct tees. The opulent clubhouse’s nature conservatory and bar weren’t open when we were there. Too bad. We’d have liked to sit back with a fancy drink in luxury style.
And that’s it from the mister. Happy to add here that there’s always the pool bar back at the resort!
Though not all-inclusive, the Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa is indeed all-encompassing. Everything a vacationer could want is here – coffee shop, fine dining, shopping, spa, pools, hot tubs, tennis, pickleball and even a pizza joint. The Fantasy Pool complex has something for everyone – lazy river, water slide, zero-entry beach pool and, our favorite, an adult pool with bar service and chill tunes. On occasional Saturday nights, guests get cozy in golf carts for drive-in movies on the event lawn. Other frequent fun events include glow-in-the-dark putt-putt and evening live music on the lawn.
So there’s no need to plan an outing, but we recommend this one: Just 20 minutes north, across the 1927 Bridge of Lions bridge, sits the oldest – and, according to FloridasHistoricCoast.com, most photogenic – city in the United States, lovely St. Augustine. On the Sunday we visited, the historic section of town overflowed with tourists queuing up for brunch, taking in the resilient, 350-year-old Castillo de San Marcos and gawking over the opulence of the 250-year-old Cathedral Basilica.
We imagined, though, a different experience on a quiet weekday afternoon, strolling along the Heritage Walk and St. George Street, stopping to read plaques detailing the history of the many structures that have survived the centuries. Or taking in the free organ recital at the Cathedral Basilica after a First Friday Art Walk. Or even, après golf, enjoying the lights here any evening during the holiday season.
Tourism is Florida’s bread and butter, and these sites are full of helpful information and background stories for visitors to this historic region: VisitStAugustine.com, VisitFlorida.com and FloridasHistoricCoast.com. … The resort fee includes one-hour bicycle rentals. Did we mention, Florida is nice and flat? … Fishing excursions and coastal cruises can be booked from the resort’s marina. … Rainy day? HBGR has one of the most acclaimed indoor pools in the state. … School holiday? Kids Crew will keep guests ages 4-12 happily busy, with four-hour sessions available in the morning and again in the evening. … On arrival, check out the seasonal booklets and daily calendars available in the lobby for details on activities during your stay. There might be a golf clinic on tap. In any case, do take advantage of the Ocean Course’s superb practice greens to hone both your putting and chipping.
“Molly McMulligan,” created by golf journalist and CGA member Susan Fornoff, is the CGA’s on-the-course advisor on how to have more fun on the golf course. She answers questions in Dear Molly and shares a monthly Fab 5. Mr. McMulligan has been taking golf trips with Molly since December 2014 when she picked him up at Oakland International Airport for their first date. Mr. M, Keith DuBay, is also a journalist but a much better golfer than Molly. Look for more of their travels in future issues of CGA Monthly.