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.

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.

I live in Tallahassee, and have played St James Bay many times in the past. But it has been since last year since I've been here, during an FSGA event, and I came again today for another FSGA one day event. I've played this course in every conceivable weather condition from hot and sticky, to cold and wet, to windy, etc. DIscounting it being a bit chilly when we teed off, the course is next to impossible to actually play and be honest with yourself about it being a true test of golf. We had 10 players in the FSGA event, and the field averaged 99 strokes. One guy just quit after five holes out of frustration it was so bad. Dirt for tee boxes, and the fairways were patchy at best, and because this was an FSGA event we had to play the ball down. I managed my way to a 78, but even with that this was just borderline torture forcing people to play the ball as it lies. I'd suggest preferred lies if you decide to play this course, but good luck finding any grass to put your ball on. The only positive is that the greens are puttable and have somewhat decent roll to them. But honestly, if you make it to the green to have a putt you should be given a medal. I honestly hate seeing this course deteriorate like this, as it's probably one of the most demanding and challenging golf courses in the area. But you need decent conditions to give the average golfer a fair chance here. And this is definitely not a fair fight. Save your money, and play somewhere else.

Sorry to report that the course is not up to its reputation nor capabilities . I have played this course since it’s opening. It was deeply challenging for the average golfer and a test for the best; good amenities, good food and a great get away for groups of golfers looking for fun.. About 5-6 years ago the maintenance program went south. Ironically Bob Walkers greens endured and I still give them a 10 rating, but traps only 6 or 7, tee boxes 5 or 6, and fairways are 3 to 5 at best. I cannot attest to the front 9. W/o any warning they closed and punched the front 9 on a beautiful Saturday, so we played the back 9 twice, as if once wasn’t enough. What golf course on the beach in Florida punches their greens on a weekend? I rest my case! Save your money, go to PC or Tallahassee and send SJBGC a message. Terrible!

Greens. Perfect
They really need more info on the tee of each hole
Unless you’ve been there some holes you don’t know where to go

Must think about every shot and where you need to hit it, buts it fun,OH by the way if you can't do this bring extra balls! I was able to only lose three balls,not bad for a 14 handicap.