Emerald Bay Golf Club

Course had a good layout. Staff seem somewhat confused as I was sent out on the back nine. Later, got behind people who got sent off on the front. Weather played a part, but the greens were a little sketchy. In fairness, I played another course two days later with sub par greens. I found the holes very challenging and was happy to make par.

Many of the front 9 tee boxes chewed up. Thin grass on the fairways, greens are shaggy and several have bare spots or diseased. No ranger to enforce pace of play. There are many better options in Destin.

Really nice course. Difficult layout/slope rating. The staff was very accommodating and friendly. The greens were aerated which made putting a little difficult. But also a few greens had damges areas(sand patches/no grass)near the edges. But overall , a Great course to play.

Played 9 holes this morning, was supposed to play 18 couldn’t possibly finish. I play for fun, but it isn’t fun when you are playing in a swamp. The course was absolutely drenched, and that wasn’t told to me ahead of time. The course was recently aerated, which is fine, and the greens were about what you’d expect. However, the fairways were just swamp land today. My first 5 drives literally plugged in fairways; just seems like something that should be made aware to players that the course doesn’t drain well. Played as cart path only which I wasn’t told until after I paid; obviously wouldn’t have played if told all ahead of time. By hole 2 it was pretty evident I wasn’t going to play the entire 18.

Layout was cool and challenging, I was a fan of the tee box layouts and course layout as a whole! GPS in the carts is useless when playing cart path only lol. Carts and attendants were great! The GPS hadn’t been updated for current pin placements, always fun to play to a back pin, only to find it’s a middle or front placement.

Clubhouse attendant was super nice, clubhouse is fully stacked with anything you could imagine.

There has been rain recently, but at full price, there’s zero justification to play the course right now. Aerated greens and standing water everywhere. Pins hadn’t been changed in a few days as most were caved, which is strange since the greens were punched this week…

Would be interested to play again during a drought or whenever course is completely dry.

I play at a 2-3 handicap, so the course was more annoying than anything, would be fun if it’s a family outing.

Had a fun round, but the course condition was terrible. Staff was friendly, but they definitely need a better system to close out tabs after the round. Had to wait in line for nearly 45 minutes after my round ended to close a tab I had with the beverage cart.

Great course, nice layout, and in great condition. Bunkers were some of the best I’ve been in in a very long time . Challenging but fair course . Staff was very friendly and helpful. Went out 8:30 am and finished in just over four hours. Will recommend and will play again when back in town.

Great course and fit our ability as hackers ⛳️⛳️⛳️

Course was in great shape & the staff could not have been “more courteous” in helping with additional ice for the hot weather and flexibility with our tee time.

Pros- fairways and greens were in good shape A few very pretty holes, this course is just challenging enough with the amount of water along the sides of holes as well as some forced carrys over water. Pace of play great, we never waited and were never pushed. Employees were great, from the clubhouse, to the beverage cart to the grill, all very nice, friendly and happy. Very fair track.
Cons- Coming from Texas, the lack of roll on shots, because of the lush and damp bermuda. It took a few holes to get used to, but, it also saved a few shots from rolling into the water (which is why i call it fair). The tee boxes were brutal, really the only true negative.

We played at 11am, it was horribly hot and humid. However, the frequency of the bev cart and alot of shaded areas made it bearable.

Enjoyable course, will play again.

Just make sure the clowns from the Southern Gentlemen Sports Show are not in my way when I am playing.

DO NOT VISIT THIS COURSE!

Where do I begin with this review. We were extremely disappointed with the course and our overall experience. The staff is completely rude and unprofessional. I saw this on several reviews in the past. The past reviewers were spot on. When you book online, the cost is $110. When I called the pro shop 2 weeks prior, they confirmed my tee time and did not state a cost. We assumed the price was $110. When checking in, I was told the price was $150 per golfer. I asked about the $110 price and I was told that was the internet price. Now get this. The gentleman in the pro shop told me whoever answered my call should have told me to book online and save $30. He said “I always tell people to book online. Let me see who took your call.” Then he went on to say “oh, I took your call and just laughed.” Now I’m out $30 per golfer as he just continues to laugh. I asked him if we could get the internet price and I was told “no with more laughter”. Very unprofessional of the pro shop staff. We rented clubs that were junk and over 5 years old. The staff continued to push other sales on us…balls, tees, etc.

Tee boxes were awful. Completely beat up and filled with the green mixture everywhere. Crab grass filled the tee boxes and the greens, making the greens very slow.

There are no water stations on the course. The one by the practice green was empty. We played on a day when it was 98 degrees and only saw the cart girl once.

The pace of play was slow at times and we had several people jump in front of us on the back nine. Did not see one Marshall on the course all day.

The maintenance crew on the course continued with their work as we took fairway shots, tee offs, and putts. Normally staff would wait as you played through. Not here.

This is probably a $65 course at best! The layout was interesting and has potential. But the staff attitude and unprofessionalism made this a terrible experience. If August is truly the “offseason” why are the prices not reflected to be the off-season prices.

I can’t recommend anyone visit this course. Save your money and visit another course in Destin.