I got a late start leaving Central Florida on Friday and unfortunately didn’t make it as far down the road as I hoped. I ended up golfing and staying in the Florida Panhandle before making the remainder of my drive to Dallas on Saturday. However, I was able to squeeze in a travel round at Windswept Dunes Golf Club.

Windswept Dunes is in Freeport, which is between the beaches and the I-10. It is only about 25 minutes south of the interstate so the course is conveniently located for travelers. I’m not sure what the traffic in the summer looks like around here, but I’d guess it would take over an hour to get to the course from Destin.

I teed off shortly after noon and joined another single. We played quickly, in about 3.5 hours so it was nice to get to where I was staying while it was still light out. That is uncommon in my golf travels! I think the chilly weather, with a high temp of only 52 degrees, kept many golfers inside today.

Windswept Dunes is a Doug O’Rourke design that opened in 2004. I think most of O’Rourke’s courses are primarily in the Midwest so this was my first experience with his work. And I liked what I saw. I thought Windswept Dunes was an awesome layout, fair and fun to play. The only criticism I have is that the fairways and greens felt way too big and probably suck up tons of cash to maintain.

Windswept Dunes shows off a great piece of land and is one of the most unique Florida courses I’ve played. As the name indicates, the course sprawls through the area’s sand dunes. The course has a rugged, sandy look to it, much like what could be found in the North Carolina or Nebraska Sandhills. The dunes are covered in tall grass and many bunkers also have the wispy grass covering their edges. Windswept Dunes provides plenty of golf course eye candy.

I played the blue tees which are 73.1/128/6982. Even with the gigantic fairways, Windswept Dunes is a tricky course to figure out. Many playing areas are hidden from view and as a first-timer I felt like I was just guessing on many shots. I didn’t notice much hidden trouble, but the intimidating look created plenty of doubt. Shots going into the dunes will result in lost balls and lag putting will be challenging with the wavy greens. If you hit the ball miles then help yourself to the 7,752 yard tees. I wore out my long irons from the blue tees so I cannot imagine playing from the tips.

The 2nd was my favorite hole on the front nine. It is a 188 yard par-3 with water to the left and a large green with chipping areas around it. Pine trees frame the hole in the background. I also thought the 10th through the 12th holes were very good. The 10th is the course’s longest par-4, 450 yards, with a narrow, deep green while the 11th, 356 yards, is the shortest par-4. The 11th has many of the cool visual touches the course does so well. Then the par-3 12th is another pretty golf hole.

So far so good at Windswept Dunes, right? Well not so fast. Unfortunately, the conditioning was mediocre, especially considering the premium green fee of $85 for a twilight round. I’m not sure what was going on, but the sides of most greens were all chewed up and just dirt/sand patches. I specifically tried to avoid pics of those damaged sections. The center sections of the greens rolled fine. The fairways and tees were a bit scruffy with a light overseed. The ground was very soft so I’d guess too much rain has damaged some turf.

From a design standpoint, Windswept Dunes is an impressive course. It is a shame the conditions were nowhere near what I’d expect for close to $100. The green fee doesn’t even include range balls, yikes. Once you read the maintenance has improved I’d definitely suggest a round here. But, as things stand now with the conditions, I’d skip it.

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