After a couple days of work (Monday & Tuesday) I headed back to Jacksonville to stay with my friend and his family. My friend and I ended up golfing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday around the area. Wednesday’s round was at The Golf Club at North Hampton, which is about 30 minutes north of Jacksonville in Fernandina Beach.

Unfortunately, I overslept and ended up having to call the proshop a couple times to reschedule. I think we finally teed off around 1pm so I’m sure the proshop was thrilled when we finally got there and got to the 1st tee. That way there wouldn’t be any more calls from me!

North Hampton ended up on my golfing radar because it is an Arnold Palmer signature course. I don’t think I’ve played a Palmer course that I haven’t enjoyed so I was excited to check out North Hampton. Unfortunately, that excitement was short lived because the course turned out to be in pretty crummy shape. However, the design itself ended up meeting my expectations.

For the most part the front nine is solid (playing through the wetlands and some homes), but nothing flashy until the 7th hole. Then, from the 7th on I thought North Hampton showed plenty of character with a group of strong golf holes. The 7th through the 9th all have water in play and are a fun way to close out the front nine.

The par-3 7th was my favorite hole at North Hampton. It is 168 yards and all carry over a lake. The green is fairly deep, but it is an intimidating tee shot! The 8th and 9th are two short par-4’s (357 yards) with options off the tee leaving potentially different angles into each green. If you hit a big tee ball then water cuts across into the fairways so driver may not be best. The approach into the 9th will test your accuracy with a narrow green that angles along another hazard.

The back nine has more good golf holes and overall, I thought it was the better nine. The best holes on the back are probably the par-4 16th and par-3 17th. At 438 yards the 16th is the longest par-4 on the course and its the number one handicap. It doglegs left around a wetlands area with more trouble to the right. Even if you find the fairway then the second shot will need to avoid more trouble near the green. The 17th – 123 yards – is a pretty par-3 at the corner of the property. Unless you have my golf game, it is a potential birdie hole!

I played the black tees which are 72.8/143/6725 and like most Palmer courses I found North Hampton to be playable – and easier than the slope indicates. Many holes are tough, but I never thought anything was too much. Trouble is hidden on the 15th hole, but that was the only hole where I was scratching my head. Everything else is out in front of you. The owners look to be removing some bunkers and I agree with their decision.

Sadly, North Hampton was in terrible shape (we paid ~$50 each). I expected an upper end public course and instead everything looked neglected. The tees were an ugly mix of bare spots, invasive grasses and bits of good turf. The fairways were the same way and I rarely got a good lie. The greens were solid besides what looks to be a poa annua invasion. That resulted in putts bumping all over the place.

I left North Hampton thinking that the design is top-notch and that the course reminded me of the Palmer Course at Bay Creek Golf Club in Virginia. I also left the round wishing that I would have played the course in its prime. As it stands right now I’d pass on a round here because of the conditioning.

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