For Thursday’s round my friend and I found ourselves at Jax Beach Golf Club which is across the Intracoastal Waterway, in Jacksonville Beach. The course’s location is perfect for those vacationing to the area because it isn’t more than 10 blocks from the ocean! From where we were staying it was very convenient.

Jax Beach is one of those courses that has been talked about quite a bit recently in the golf community. The course opened in 1960 as a nine-holer designed by Sam Snead. Another nine was added along the way before the course got its well-known makeover in 2018 by Harrison Minchew. This was my first time golfing here so I’m not sure exactly what all was done during the renovation but I believe the turf was refreshed, some bunkers added and a couple holes were rerouted.

Whatever was done during the renovation turned Jax Beach into a popular spot! You can book tee times two weeks out and I looked shortly after that window opened. The crazy thing is the earliest time I could find the day we wanted to play wasn’t until 1pm. That is what I booked and the cost was $51 a person – not bad for what you end up getting here.

My friend and I paired up with another twosome and teed off on the 10th hole. It was super busy but the pace moved fine and we played the back nine in about two hours. Right as we got over to the front nine the weather got sketchy with lightning nearby. We waited it out for about a half hour and were able to hurry around the front nine before the weather got even worse. As we were finishing up a tornado warning was posted! I don’t think a tornado touched down anywhere nearby, but that was excitement I didn’t need.

The front nine was a bit of a blur for me thanks to all the weather drama, but thankfully I got to experience the back nine in a less rushed manner. And, the back nine at Jax Beach is pretty solid. In fact, I thought six of the nine holes on the back offered plenty of risk/reward. For example, the 13th is a 540 yard par-5 that was playing into a strong wind. Water runs down the left side which can affect tee shots and then cuts in front of the green.

Then, the final three holes at Jax Beach offer the potential for a mix of scores. The 16th is the course’s longest par-4 and depending on the wind can leave a long club into the green. The 17th is a driveable par-4 and offers a great chance at birdie. I knocked my drive up to the left of the green and was able to scramble for a birdie – the only highlight of my round! Finally, the 18th (a par-5) is a suspenseful way to end the round. Water affects the drive, layup and the approach into the green.

I played the blue tees which are 69.6/129/6379 (par-71) and thought the course played tougher than what shows on the scorecard. The wind was up, there is water everywhere (about half the holes) and the green complexes are a handful. The greens are for the most part interesting but some have severe edges that feed into trouble, so be careful. I hit a couple “okay” chips that took a firm bounce and rolled off the other side into the water.

As you’d expect for a course recently out of a renovation the conditions were very good. Compared to the other dormant courses that I’ve played in Florida recently Jax Beach has greened up quickly. The turf was softer so it was nice not to have to play off as many tight lies. The only tight lies were around the greens. The ball sat up in the fairways and the greens were pure, rolling at a medium pace. The greens here are actually paspalum grass, which I think is more tolerant to the salty climate than bermuda.

For a municipal course Jax Beach came with plenty of hype from the social media community. Ultimately, I was impressed and think the course lives up to that hype. The only thing I didn’t care for was the cramped feeling on an older piece of property. It felt like I needed a hard hat on many holes. Still, if I was a local I’d probably play here often and I think it is a course worth checking out if you are in the area.

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