After a quick round at Great Outdoors Golf Club I hit the road and drove a half hour south, to Baytree National Golf Links. I’m trying to branch out a bit from the Ocala and Orlando golf scenes that I’m most familiar with in Florida. That desire led me over to the Space Coast on Friday to play a couple courses. Looking back, I could have done better with today’s course selections. Oh well.

I booked a 1 PM tee time at Baytree National and got there about noon, hoping to get out early. That hope never materialized after I circled the parking lot twice to confirm that every parking spot in the course’s lot was taken. I parked in an area off to the side, killed some time and then checked in with the proshop.

After paying, I waited – the theme for this round – with over a dozen other golfers for carts. There was a “cart delay”, I guess from a packed tee sheet. The staff did a good job to get everyone going, but that meant we didn’t tee off until 1:30 PM, a half hour later than originally scheduled. As you can probably guess, the pace wasn’t good after all that. Somehow we got in all eighteen holes.

Baytree National is a course I’ve heard about for years, and I’ve always heard good things. The course is a Gary Player signature design that opened in 1992. Much of Player’s design work seems to be found internationally so I’ve only managed to play three of his other courses throughout the years, assuming my memory is correct. Overall, I enjoy his design approach and thought the layout here at Baytree National was solid.

I played the gold tees which are 71.6/135/6446 and while far too many homes surround the course, there are plenty of good golf holes. From the tees I played the distance wasn’t bad and the course had plenty of width to it. The fairways are large, but there are areas that narrow and slope into thick vegetation or water. The par-4’s at Baytree National are tricky so I spent more time than I wanted guessing at the best lines and distances from the tee and on the approach shots. Visually, I found the course to be intimidating as a first time visitor.

The par-4’s at Baytree National are probably the course’s toughest and best holes. Normally the collection of par-4’s at a golf course don’t stand out to me, but there are some very interesting ones here. For example, the 3rd is 333 yards and is one of the holes that emphasize how golf can be a game of angles. The fairway is probably 40 yards wide, but the green can only be seen from the left half of the fairway. The 9th has a completely blind approach shot with trouble lurking and then on the back nine the 14th (355 yards) and 18th (363 yards) are shorter, uncomfortable par-4’s where you have to the hit the tee shot over junk and trust that there is fairway.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Baytree National when it comes to the conditions. The cost was only $37, so for that price I don’t have any complaints. However, know that as it stands right now, the course’s great design far exceeds the average conditioning. The tees and fairways were mostly full and played fine, but the turf had a dried out and thin appearance. I thought it would be more lush. The rough was a disaster with weeds, dirt spots and mixed grasses everywhere. Thankfully the greens were very nice and rolled at a medium-fast pace.

For the price I’d recommend a round at Baytree National if you are in the area, but it isn’t a destination course like I think it could be. Baytree National has a lot to like, including plenty of nice aesthetic touches, for example the sandy waste areas that serve as cart paths in certain areas. Bottom line, the design deserves better conditioning and higher green fees.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):