St. James Bay Golf Club

This is a rare find for golf in the Panhandle. I have played this course since it opened some 10 plus years ago. It has always been in excellent condition. It is somewhat challenging until you learn how to play it. Several forced carries and numerous bunkers. GPS on carts is very useful. It is a must play if opportunity is available.

Our league played here today and it is in much better condition than the previous reviews mentioned. The tee boxes could use some new sod, but everything else was in good condition. Very cool design, shot making strategy is required on many holes. The GPS system in the carts really helps navigate this track. The staff was amazing too! This course is a must play on the “Forgotten Coast”!

My group has played this course every year for about 15 years. Two years ago ownership changed. So did course maintenance. This year the major downturn only worsened. 75% of the tee boxes are now crab grass and/or barren. 50% of the fairways are have major dirt patches with crabgrass clippings affecting roll and lies. The greens are in good shape. Even during the recession, this course was in great shape. I fear it will never come back.

Visiting St George Island and wanted to golf near by and there not many options. Most holes have forced carries over wetland from tee box. Tee boxes and fairways in terrible shape. Hitting off hard pan on many holes. Greens were pretty good. Won’t go back. Not enjoyable. Nice GPS on carts doesn’t make up for the course.

Dog track...This place has really gone down hill and not sure what happened. Might be because of hurricane a few years ago but it’s overgrown and overpriced. Payed $65.00 and should be about half that. Tee boxes Crab grass, bare spots, matted grass. Fairways look like they were flooded awhile back, lots of ground under repair but no repairs happening. Bright side is golf carts were really nice with great GPS and Bluetooth but money should have been put into maintenance. Not much choice to play in area and not sure I’ll play it again. Super disappointed

I play this course several times a year. Lately, the conditions have really gone downhill. This course used to always be in pristine shape, from tee to green. The past year or so the tee boxes and fairways have developed bare spots, and I have yet to see any maintenance staff working to improve. Also, I guess they gave up on cutting down the brush in the forced carries. There are several holes where you can barely see the pin anymore looking over. They used to keep this trimmed down and looking nice. Now it looks like they just don't want to bother going in the swamp to cut anything.
Course is still in a beautiful setting. However, they removed themselves from GolfNow and no longer offer any deal times. At $70 on the weekend, this course is overpriced for the condition it is in currently.

Very good course in a beautiful natural setting. Lots of water and marshland so bring extra balls. Greens are in excellent condition. Some fairways could use some work. Several natural areas you are hitting over have bushes and trees which have grown and make the entire landing area not visible from the fairway. Really needs some maintenance in those areas. It wasn’t like that 3 years ago and it detracts from the experience. That said it’s a good course I would recommend.

We have not played here in 2 years. Course is having some rough times now from what i remember previously. The fairways are having some issues with loss of grass and weeds. The course is very overgrown on the sides and in areas that you have to hit over. This creates blind shots and you cannot judge distance now. Greens are pretty nice but slow. The course needs a big time grooming and thinning out so it will open up the course and give longer views. It is in a very pretty setting. I hope that they will spend the money soon to get the course cleared up.

Last time I played St. James Bay was 8 years ago and it has gone downhill.

You have to play position golf, and that's as advertised. What makes it so unfair is there are no course diagrams to show you where and how far to hit. There are many blind shots. And unless you have played it, you can't know how to hit. They need guidelines, course layouts, with distances, signs, maps or gps. Something! Some Tee boxes in poor shape. Fairways somewhat rough, but greens were superb! I will play it again, with some foreknowledge. Not many other choices in the area.

They are trying hard to restore this course to it's former glory. So far a success. Can't beat the value.

St. James Bay is a great layout whose difficulty lies in a number of forced carries over environmentally sensitive areas off the tee. Unfortunately the plant growth in most of the areas now obscures any view of the landing area in the fairway. The fairways and tee boxes have suffered from CoVid related lack of maintenance while the condition of the greens remains very good. The staff was great everywhere on the property.

For the Tallahassee area its a really good course. It was once one of the best in FLA but it doesn't stack up to its previous version The carries over the "roughs" i are fine but have not been trimmed in awhile Its fun to play and that's what matters

About a 1 hour drive from Tallahassee. Beautiful area, course is beautiful but extremely challenging. No margin for error - particularly on tee shots. A golf app on your phone is a must to understand what you need to hit off the tee. Fairways were in average shape (at best) but greens were fantastic. VERY high potential for lost balls so stock up on some Top-Flites before you play here.

Sad to see this once beautiful, well maintained course turn into a such disaster. Most holes “cart path only” so you don’t tear up the little bit of dried out brown grass that’s left. Greens aren’t far behind!

Very nice scenery. Fairways chewed up but still enjoyed very much compared to most courses. Happy I found this place and thanks for participating with golf now.

Course was in fair condition. First time I had been there where it was not in tip top shape. But still was a joy to play.

Love layout, played her a lot over the years, first time it was not in great shape.

Course has seemed to be trending down last year or so. GPS removed from carts. App no longer supported. Range balls no longer included. No more coolers on carts or cool towels provided. New ownership seems to really be cutting costs.
Grass in fairways disappearing (not dormant, I’m aware of the difference). Even some greens are getting bare in spots.
Overall, still a great course. I would not spend $50+ to play it, but $35 is a good deal. I would recommend that more emphasis be put on maintenance and bringing the GPS units back. They are sorely needed on a course like this.

This golf course is in great condition. The greens are beautiful! I would not recommend this course to a beginner though unless you want to loose lots of golf balls. If you need reading glasses, make sure you bring them to read the course map, which is tiny. There were a few holes that we we were unsure about where the green was when teeing off. Saw a couple of alligators in the ponds around the course and a few turtles shared the sand traps with us. Really enjoyed playing there.