Course Restored

 
 

With its prime location along the Atlantic Coast, Hammock Beach Resort offers a number of different reasons to visit. Designed to become a home-away-from-home, whether it’s for a long weekend, a weeklong vacation or even an extended getaway, this resort provides an alternative to upscale hotels. Instead, it creates a fine resort living experience that feels like home with a pampered touch.

Hammock Beach has become a premiere destination in part because of its wide range of amenities and offerings, which gives it a something-for-everyone appeal. Guests can remain active from dawn to dusk, or enjoy round-the-clock relaxation. Regardless of how many tastes and interests your family or group has, this is one place where no one will be disappointed.

Tee Time

The draw of Hammock Beach Resort’s golf courses can’t be overlooked and may be hard for even the most casual of players to resist. The two courses offer very different experiences, but both are spectacular.

The Tom Watson Signature Design Conservatory Course earns bragging rights as Florida’s longest course, and it’s also a breathtaking example of golf course design and beauty. Accented by waterfalls, babbling brooks and veneered field stonework, it’s an exceptionally picturesque course with some 140 sand and coquina bunkers, as well as three sod-faced bunkers. After it opened in 2007, Golf Digest put this course in the No. 3 spot for America’s Best New Public Courses, and it has continued to win national honors from Golf Magazine and Golf Week as well. In 2015 and 2016, Golf Digest named it their Editors Choice for Best Golf Resort in Florida.

Players often point out the variety of challenges and quality of the holes on this course; half of the holes have water and it can be a delightful minefield of deep bunkers that make for a rewarding round of play.

As appealing as the Conservatory Course is, it sometimes takes a backseat to the lauded Ocean Course, a Jack Nicklaus-designed slice of golf perfection that recently reopened. The course, which originally opened in 2000, has been a familiar name in golfing magazines’ “Best of ” rosters for years, but was ravaged by Hurricane Matthew in late 2016.

In December 2017, Hammock Beach Resort unveiled the newly restored course, which is aptly named for its perfect location on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The renewed course winds through pristine wetlands and stunning lakes, and even includes six holes that give a new meaning to the term “water hazard,” thanks to their placement directly on the Atlantic Ocean.

Each hole is a challenge with a remark- able view, but the course saves the best for last with “The Bear Claw,” which features four holes at the edge of the coastline for a daunting but exhilarating finish.

Hammock Beach Resort’s special packages allow guests to choose either course—or play both if you’re up to the challenge—and have options that even include couple’s golf and unlimited playing options.

STAY AND PLAY

The beach location inspires and provides many other options for staying active, with family-friendly options like guided eco-tours in a kayak, kayak fishing tours, charter boats for everything from fishing trips to cocktail cruises, and a two-story Water Pavilion with six pools, a 65-foot water slide, 30-foot waterfalls and a 300-yard lazy river.

For the less aquatically inclined, there are miles of hiking and biking trails, on-site volleyball, a miniature golf course, and tennis. Nearby, guests can also enjoy waterskiing, parasailing, skydiving, and more.

DIVINE DINING

Several restaurants are positioned throughout the resort, providing an abundance of options that range from casual, bathing-suit friendly poolside cafes to the refined ambience of Delfinos, where guests enjoy fine dining with Italian flair.

The variety of food available throughout the resort includes Asian Fusion fare at the Sushi Bar, fresh seafood specialties at The Atlantic Grill, and chilled fresh salads, fruit, and more eat-and-run items at the Ocean Bar.

For late-nighters and all-nighters, the Loggerheads Lounge, with its tall ceilings, rich, dark woods and unbelievable ocean views caters to the after-hours crowd. This cigar bar includes a walk-in humidor and has a chill ocean-viewing vibe upstairs and a more high-energy scene downstairs.

COMPLETE GETAWAY

Hammock Beach Resort is surprisingly secluded and private, despite its many offerings. The two-mile stretch of beach that it calls home is absolutely pristine, making for the ultimate resort experience. Its suites and villas range from one to four bedrooms, and many include views of the ocean or golf course.

An elegant, full-service spa and a 24-hour fitness center hosting an array of strength-training and cardiovascular equipment round out the offerings to ensure that every possible option for both recreation and recovery are readily available.

hammockbeach.com

 
 
Paula Felps