Marriott's Legends Edge at Bay Point

The course was in great shape, greens were well maintained, and the staff was very friendly and efficient.

The course conditions were a little rough. Greens were very furry and slow.

Would like or play when it is in good shape.

Fairways were so thin with grass it was like you were hitting of bare ground takes some getting used to. Elevated greens made it tough. Lots of water!

Would be difficult for a high handicapped….lot of shot placement and water. I enjoyed the challenge even if it didn’t work out 😝

Although daily fee golf in the Panhandle is getting harder to find, Bay Point is still going strong. The club was recently purchased by BP Linx, a company owned by a local Bay Point family. BP Linx purchased both courses and Bar 72, the clubhouse restaurant, but at this time does not have any plans to reopen The Meadows Course. The new ownership is bringing back a lot of events that were successful in the past, including the Bay Point Billfish Open Sportfishing Tournament.

The Nicklaus Course has been the crown jewel at Bay Point since it opened in 2005. The course was originally designed by Bruce Devlin and opened as Lagoon Legends in 1986. It was renovated by Nicklaus Design in 2005 and in 2018 underwent a greens conversion which involved the full-till process. This process included the original specs of the greens sprigged with Tif-Eagle Bermuda-Grass. Nowadays the greens are a lot more playable with consistent green speeds and receptiveness. All new green-side bunkers on all the holes were also a part of the renovation. It's no wonder the course has won the Panama City News Herald’s Best of Bay award each year since 2016.

The Nicklaus Course is the only Nicklaus Design course in Northwest Florida. It’s a great challenge for just about any caliber of golfer. The course is set against the backdrop of St. Andrew’s Bay and carved from the natural terrain of Northwest Florida and winds its way past strands of scrub oaks, pines, and saltwater marshes. Water comes into play on nearly every hole.

Having played the course recently, I learned that if you can survive the first five holes and come through them with a decent score, you’ll probably have a good round. The first hole on the Nicklaus Course is a daunting par 4 dogleg right around a lake that plays 362 yards from Tee 2. If you look at it on the Course Map they provide before your round, it looks more like a right turn! Most players are going to play over the water twice, once off the tee and again on your approach shot. The green is slightly elevated with a bunker front right and another left of the green. The green has a false front and is a lot longer than it is wide with some good undulation in it.

The 2nd hole is a very challenging par 3 that plays 173 yards from Tee 2. Play your tee shot over the water into a green that sits at an odd angle. A single bunker guards the front right portion of the green which has some good undulation to it.

The 3rd hole is a 359-yard gentle dogleg left with water to the right off the tee. A good drive will leave a mid-iron slightly uphill into an elevated green with no bunkers around it but a lot of grass mounding. The green is pure Nicklaus with a false front that rises about three feet before leveling out.

The 4th hole gives you the first glimpse of St. Andrews Bay with a great view of the pass that leads to the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a dogleg right and finding the middle of the fairway off the tee will leave you a good angle in. A good drive will leave a medium iron into a well-contoured green which is guarded by water on the left and slopes back to front.

Number 5 is the Nicklaus Course’s signature hole. It’s also the #2 handicap, making it the toughest hole on this side, although it’s probably the toughest hole on the course. This par 4 is only 371 yards long but requires tremendous distance control and accuracy both off the tee and on approach. Your tee shot is over water to an island landing area; too far left or right and you’re pulling out a new ball. Then, your approach shot is over more marshland into the green that is a lot wider than it is deep and is surrounded by grass mounds. Push it left or right or hit it short and you’ll be pulling out a 3rd ball!

Although daily fee golf in the Panhandle is getting harder to find, Bay Point is still going strong. The club was recently purchased by BP Linx, a company owned by a local Bay Point family. BP Linx purchased both courses and Bar 72, the clubhouse restaurant, but at this time does not have any plans to reopen The Meadows Course. The new ownership is bringing back a lot of events that were successful in the past, including the Bay Point Billfish Open Sportfishing Tournament.

The Nicklaus Course has been the crown jewel at Bay Point since it opened in 2005. The course was originally designed by Bruce Devlin and opened as Lagoon Legends in 1986. It was renovated by Nicklaus Design in 2005 and in 2018 underwent a greens conversion which involved the full-till process. This process included the original specs of the greens sprigged with Tif-Eagle Bermuda-Grass. Nowadays the greens are a lot more playable with consistent green speeds and receptiveness. All new green-side bunkers on all the holes were also a part of the renovation. It's no wonder the course has won the Panama City News Herald’s Best of Bay award each year since 2016.

The Nicklaus Course is the only Nicklaus Design course in Northwest Florida. It’s a great challenge for just about any caliber of golfer. The course is set against the backdrop of St. Andrew’s Bay and carved from the natural terrain of Northwest Florida and winds its way past strands of scrub oaks, pines, and saltwater marshes. Water comes into play on nearly every hole.

Having played the course recently, I learned that if you can survive the first five holes and come through them with a decent score, you’ll probably have a good round. The first hole on the Nicklaus Course is a daunting par 4 dogleg right around a lake that plays 362 yards from Tee 2. If you look at it on the Course Map they provide before your round, it looks more like a right turn! Most players are going to play over the water twice, once off the tee and again on your approach shot. The green is slightly elevated with a bunker front right and another left of the green. The green has a false front and is a lot longer than it is wide with some good undulation in it.

The 2nd hole is a very challenging par 3 that plays 173 yards from Tee 2. Play your tee shot over the water into a green that sits at an odd angle. A single bunker guards the front right portion of the green which has some good undulation to it.

The 3rd hole is a 359-yard gentle dogleg left with water to the right off the tee. A good drive will leave a mid-iron slightly uphill into an elevated green with no bunkers around it but a lot of grass mounding. The green is pure Nicklaus with a false front that rises about three feet before leveling out.

The 4th hole gives you the first glimpse of St. Andrews Bay with a great view of the pass that leads to the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a dogleg right and finding the middle of the fairway off the tee will leave you a good angle in. A good drive will leave a medium iron into a well-contoured green which is guarded by water on the left and slopes back to front.

Number 5 is the Nicklaus Course’s signature hole. It’s also the #2 handicap, making it the toughest hole on this side, although it’s probably the toughest hole on the course. This par 4 is only 371 yards long but requires tremendous distance control and accuracy both off the tee and on approach. Your tee shot is over water to an island landing area; too far left or right and you’re pulling out a new ball. Then, your approach shot is over more marshland into the green that is a lot wider than it is deep and is surrounded by grass mounds. Push it left or right or hit it short and you’ll be pulling out a 3rd ball!

Course was in terrific shape, I loved the layout and architecture of the course. Range balls were included and the staff was very nice. Unfortunately the course was way over booked. Got paired with 2 different groups and one group was older and just couldn’t keep up. Literally took them 8 shots to reach the green from the closest tees. Just very slow pace of play. So eventually me and the other group went ahead but at the 10th hole we waited for over 30min waiting for two 4somes to tee off. Then after that it was hit a ball and wait for almost 10 min between shots. Thankfully we finished “just barely” but I’ll never play close to the weekend there again, just way too many people.

In Jack Nicklaus style the course presented challenges with strategically placed sand traps and water hazards. The greens were well guarded and presented undulations that were fair but required a quality read.

This course is complicated for the level of play we are used to. The difficulty of the course was excarcerbated by the impatience and somewhat mockfull attitude of the 2 players we were teamed with All and all we left early and did not enjoy our day.