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Rating Index Rating
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4.5
2029 Reviews (2029)
5 Stars
1473
4 Stars
394
3 Stars
104
2 Stars
33
1 Stars
25
Conditions
4.3
Value
4.0
Layout
4.7
Friendliness
4.7
Pace
4.4
Amenities
4.5
91.5%
Recommend this course
1898 out of 2029 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
123 Reviews (123)
5 Stars
85
4 Stars
29
3 Stars
7
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.5
Value
4.0
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.5
Amenities
4.4
StaffFriendliness
4.7
95.1%
Recommend this course
117 out of 123 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.5
216 Reviews (216)
5 Stars
136
4 Stars
60
3 Stars
13
2 Stars
5
1 Stars
2
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.0
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.4
Amenities
4.4
StaffFriendliness
4.7
92.6%
Recommend this course
200 out of 216 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Semi-Private
Par 72
Length 7099 yards
Slope 137
Rating 74.6

Formerly home to a turpentine plantation, the site now offers one of the most environmentally sensitive courses in northwest Florida, Kelly Plantation. The golf course sits along the shores of the Choctawhatchee Bay, sprawling across a waterfront landscape of towering trees and swampy bayous. The course features large, contoured greens and wide, manicured fairways that are in excellent condition but can also be tricky to navigate. The strategically placed hazards also require some careful maneuvering. In addition to being a challenging round, the golf course is also known for its stunning scenic appeal. Throughout the layout, golfers can enjoy panoramic views across the bay to the abundant magnolias and palmettos that are native to Florida's northwest region. For these reasons, Kelly Plantation has received high praise from publications such as Golf Digest and Golf Magazine.

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Kelly Plantation Golf Club
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Course Details

Year Built 1998
Golf Season Year round
Architect Fred Couples (1998) Gene Bates (1998) Bob Cupp (1998) Michael Riley (1998)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
GPS Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes - "Strano Golf Academy"
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Snacks, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Banquet Facilities

Accolades

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Reviews

4.5
2029 Reviews (2029)

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Fall 2025

We visited in late October with 8 golfers and enjoyed everything about this course, from checkin to finish and in between. The course and greens were fantastic and my group even said we'd play this two times in one day - it was that good. We'll see waht replay rates are like in 2026.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Perfect day!

I had lunch at the club before my round and the menu is new. The Mahi sandwich was delicious and the fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, oh mercy. The course is in great shape and the staff was friendly, courteous and helpful.

Default User Avatar
Commented on 10/22/2025

Thank you so much for visiting and for sharing your kind words. We love the new menu and the course in absolutely pure right now. We look forward to your next visit!

Regards, Kelly Plantation Professional Staff

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Bag Drop to the 18th

Our foursome had an exceptional experience at Kelly Plantation. From the moment we dropped our bags to the end of our round. The staff was exceptionally helpful, courteous, and kind. The course was in perfect condition and challenging. If you’re ever in the Destin area, make sure Kelly Plantation is on your list of must plays.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 10/22/2025

We are glad you consider your visit exceptional as that is what we are determined to deliver every day. Our staff is committed to this and we are grateful to have them. The course is absolutely pure right now and we are glad you enjoyed it!

Regards, Kelly Plantation Professional Staff

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Best Course in Miramar beach

Great course, layout, driving range and the people were super nice. Great rate specially if you are 17 and under 50 dollars for a top 100 golf course.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 10/22/2025

Thank you so much for visiting and we are glad that you had a great experience! We are glad you enjoyed the layout and experienced a great value for your junior golfer. We look forward to your next visit!

Regards, Kelly Plantation Professional Staff

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

First time

I am not rich or a golf pro. Luckily I landed with some nice fellows to golf with, I normally golf alone having to join with folks. Course was amazing and huge. Value is probably great for others. I normally pay 23 bucks with a veteran discount on a small 9 hole course back home. Was sort of Disney like experience to me, high quality everything.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 10/22/2025

We are glad you had a high-quality, "disney - like" experience! Also glad you were paired up with some nice players. Please come back to visit us in the future!

Regards, Kelly Plantation Professional Staff

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great course.

Great course; even better people working there. Highly recommend.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 10/22/2025

Thank you for visiting and for taking the time to write such a kind review about our staff. We are fortunate to have great people who take a great deal of pride in their work here. We look forward to see you in the future!

RW

Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Used cart

Gorgeous course-MOST of the staff were super nice.

This course is GORGEOUS!! It's in great shape and the greens are amazing. Upon arrival, the gentleman at the bag drop was super kind, helpful and making sure I felt welcome. He set me up with a cart and then I needed to visit the ladies room. I had about 20 minutes before my tee time. When I stepped in the pro shop a man asked me, "What do you need? If you're looking to shop, we're busy checking in golfers." I know I'm a female, but I'm actually a golfer. I told him, "Yes sir, I'm just looking for the ladies room and then I have a 7:09 tee time." He then abruptly said, "Well- you've got to pay- you don't just jump on the course." I almost cried- yes, LIKE A GIRL! I was celebrating my 64th birthday and I've been playing golf for over 40 years and I've never felt so insulted. I made it to the ladies room. Checked in with this rude man and played one of the best games of my life. I didn't let him ruin my day. Every person I came in contact with besides him were super nice and fun. I'll play the course again, but I certainly hope the man in the pro shop gets some lessons in customer service and yes, women do play golf.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 09/24/2025

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, and please accept our sincerest apologies for the way you were spoken to upon checking in. What you described is not reflective of the welcoming environment we strive to provide for every golfer, and I’m truly sorry that your special day began that way.

We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the course, found it in great condition, and that our team at the bag drop and throughout the day made you feel welcome. Still, the interaction you had in the golf shop should never have happened, and we will be addressing this directly with our staff to ensure it does not happen again.

We greatly value and respect all golfers, and we hope you’ll give us another opportunity to provide you with the level of service and hospitality you deserve from start to finish. Thank you again for your feedback, and happy belated birthday—we’re honored that you chose to spend it on our course.

Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Beautiful course

Excellent round at one of the best courses around. Cannot fault it. Scored it down a little on value for money just because it’s so expensive for a round. You do get what you pay for though.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Great course

Course was in great condition. Club house is beautiful and has great scenery. Staff is helpful and friendly. The greens played moderate and were well kept.

The only down fall I would say is the grounds keepers were out on the majority of the holes. I played in the middle of the week so it’s to be expected. They would pull off to the side and let you play through which was very nice.

The carts are GPS which was not ideal when it locked us out in the middle of the cart party and we had to call the club house to change out. The staff was prompt and got us into a new cart immediately.

The course is a little pricey but definitely challenging and worth it.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

August 2025 Golf review

First time playing this course. Learned pretty quick to check all the Destin courses in August. This is when they aerate their greens. This course punched greens around a month sooner and was at least 90% back. No complaints. Great greens. Nice fairways. Very clean. Nice pro shop and very helpful and attentive staff. I really like the chilled apples at the turn. I give the course a strong recommendation.

We played two times. The first time we got lucky and didn’t see a single person ahead of us or behind us. It was like we had our own private course. The second day we were stuck behind a foursome that didn’t let us play through. We only had a twosome. It stacked up behind us. To be fair the foursome finished in four hours and 15 minutes which isn’t bad but if they would’ve let us play through, we could’ve been done in a little over three hours. There wasn’t anybody ahead of them for five holes.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 9
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Kelly Plantation

Great open fairways, greens are consistent, and the course is very well taken care of.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
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