Indian Bayou Golf Club

Played this course since it opened, One of favorites in Destin..

We tried to get a tee time for five the day before. They told us that only four could play at a time. The next day we were a little early for our tee time and there were five teeing off. Three behind them. We followed fifteen minutes behind them. Caught them on the second hole and followed them for almost a five and a half hour round, while they screamed and hollered every hole. The course Marshall drove out and watched without saying anything to them.,. When we ask about playing through, we were told we needed to just be patient. Sadly disappointed

The Good:

- Fairways, tees and bunkers were in great shape.

- Service was great. From the cart guy, to the pro shop staff to the stater, all were friendly and helpful.

- Course had a nice layout. Challenging enough to keep a good player’s interest but not too difficult for a less proficient player.

- Pro shop had a good selection of merchandise.

- Reasonably priced for this area (IF the greens hadn’t been recently punched.)

- GPS on carts is a plus.

The Not So Good

- Greens were still recovering from being punched. Slow and a bit bumpy

- While it only took 4 hours to play it seemed very slow. We waited on 16 holes. Needed a marshall to keep things moving and encourage slower groups to allow faster groups through.

- Range balls need replaced.

We were not notified prior that greens had just been worked.

Arrived at the clubhouse to pay for my round that I booked through GolfNow and the guy working in the clubhouse told me the price was going to be $107 less for our twosomes because they had recently punched the fairways on the back nine., He said, “you probably won’t even notice”. We found out on hole 1 the greens had also been recently punched. They must have been punched a few weeks ago because they are not that bad, but they are still recovering. The maintenance crew however were working on the fairway on hole 10 while we were hitting our tee shots. The faiways on 10 & 11 didn’t appear to be punched but they were very soft and had some bare spots due to the recent maintenance. Hole 12 was being punched while were teeing off and it just so happens my tee shot landed in the middle of the fairway right in the punched area. I moved my ball he right of the punched area so we could continue playing the hole. Holes 13-18 were ok and didn’t appear to have had the fairways punched. I usually play here on my annual trip to Destin but would have chose another course if I had I known ahead of time. The course is usually one of the best in the area to play but not right now during their maintenance period.

Beautiful layout, greens were being aerated but will be nice. Fairways lacked grass and bunkers had hard packed sand. For $149 it’s way overpriced with no marshals on course. Pace was incredibly slow. Cart guys super nice but clubhouse guys and starter would have probably preferred to be at home

Indian Bayou was a pleasant surprise for our group this past week. With golfer experience ranging from Scratch to 1st timer to ride along participants and Indian Bayou and the staff were awesome accommodating us. The pro shop was well stocked and the food and beverages were excellent and a great value. Will definitely play again. Although recently aerated the greens were playable while healing nicely. Overall the course was in great shape and the staff were all helpful and pleasant.

Overall, it was great. The greens were punched, but healing, and the ball rolled OK considering the condition.. but slow.

This was the first time playing in Destin in quite a while. Several years ago while visiting the Ft. Walton Beach area I had played Kelly Plantation and Regatta Bay. Both courses at that time were outstanding. I thought I would try another course and saw that reviews on golf now were 4 1/2 stars. Quite frankly, after playing the course, I really don't understand that high a rating. Now I realize that everyone has different opinions, however I did not find the course to be that exceptional. The fairways were fairly wide and inviting, and the fairways themselves were okay, but, once off the fairway, i found weeds intermingled with the turf and not well maintained. The staff was friendly, and the starter allowed me to go out by myself (the threesome schedule to play with me never showed). Being that there were foursomes in front of me and behind me, the pace of play was good, Overall, in my mind not a course worth $100. in hindsight I was sorry I didn't drive the 35 minutes to Ft. Walton Beach and play one of the municipal courses there for a lot less money. To be quite frank, I would take my $35 a round semi-private course back in Front Royal, VA over this course any day. Again, just my opinion.

Only reason I didn't give perfect scores is aeration had just been done. Good layout and nice amenities.

Course was alright. Layout is nice and pace of play was perfect. We knew the greens were getting punched but they did not say anything about the fairways being punched. Don’t think it’s worth $100 right now.

Everyone was friendly- course is beautiful. You’ll like this course