The next course I played on Thursday was Duran Golf Club. Duran is in Viera, which is about a half hour north of Melbourne. It wasn’t far from my morning round and I had plenty of time before my 12:30 PM tee time. The course is close to I-95 so it is convenient to anyone traveling through the area.

Duran is a “newer” course, although I use that term loosely. The course opened in 2005 so while it is almost twenty years old, it is probably considered newer in the golf community. Not as many new courses being built in recent years. The course is designed by Chip Powell, an architect who appears to have done most of his work in the Southeast. I haven’t played any of Powell’s other courses, but I liked what I saw at Duran. There is also a short course here too that I didn’t have time to play.

Duran is a links style course that is routed through a development. For a community course I thought it was well done. You’ll notice the homes, but there is enough mounding and trees along the edges of the course that the homes don’t take away from the presentation. Plus, you’d really have to hit a terrible shot for the ball to end up in someone’s backyard.

I thought a lot of the course was well done. There is quite a bit of space but there still are a couple tough driving holes that require good lines and well struck shots. I thought the bunkering gave things a nice look without taking away from the playability. The greens are large and have different tiers and slopes that made for a fun experience without overwhelming my short game.

I played the gold tees which are 72.2/125/6687 and was surprised that the slope wasn’t higher. I counted fifteen holes with water in play and the ideal landing areas aren’t always visible. The fairways were generous and if missing in the correct places then someone can scramble their way around the course. The yardages are mixed well and I hit most of the clubs in my bag. The par-5’s are gettable, especially on the back nine.

On the front nine I liked the 7th and 8th holes. The 7th is a 190 yard par-3 with an interesting green. From the tee the hole looks flat and boring, but the green is large with the back and sides sloping severely towards the center the green. I tried running my chip to the edge of the green to let it feed back and that worked well. The 8th is a medium length par-4 that slides to the right around water. It is one of those holes that needs a good drive.

The back nine has a good stretch of closing holes – starting with the 13th. The 15th is a fun par-5 with water all down the right side. After a good drive the green could be reached in two but bailing out to the left is probably best. The 18th is a tough closing par-4. It is 422 yards and doglegs left around more water. The best line from the tee challenges the water to leave a shorter approach shot.

The green fee was $55 and the course was nicely maintained. The bermuda was starting to go dormant – resulting in the splotchy looking grass coverage. So, the course doesn’t look as lush in the pictures as it played. The turf coverage was good, just damp. Lies were tight. The greens were pure and fast.

Duran offers a strong value and a playable, fun design. I wouldn’t say it is a must play course, but I think it is probably the best public course in the area. So if you are visiting and are looking to play I’d recommend it. If I lived in the area I’d play here often.

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