Destin golf courses: every course you can actually book

Destin golf courses open to visitors number 16 between Fort Walton Beach and the east end of 30A: three semi-private clubs in Destin that sell public tee times, Kelly Plantation, the Seascape nine, three Sandestin resort courses, the two Fort Walton Beach city courses, Shalimar Pointe, two courses across the bay in Niceville, and Windswept Dunes, Origins and Gator Lakes further out. Five more need a stay at a particular resort or inn.

This guide lists every course you can book side by side, then the ones you cannot, so you do not plan a round at a club that will turn you away. Fees were seen in 2026 and change by season and by the hour, so treat them as a guide, not a quote.

Quick facts

• Open to visitors: 16 courses on our map, plus 4 off the map in Panama City Beach and Crestview.
• Stay to play: Burnt Pine (Sandestin and Hilton Sandestin guests), Camp Creek, Shark's Tooth and The Third (Camp Creek Inn and Watersound Inn guests), Sandpiper Cove par 3 (its condo guests).
• Private: Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club, Panama Country Club.
• Closed: Eglin Golf Course (December 2025), The Golf Garden of Destin, Bay Point Meadows, Hombre.
• Grass: bermuda nearly everywhere; Origins is seashore paspalum.
• Time zone: Central Time.
• Season: spring (March to May) and October are peak golf.

Destin golf courses you can book, side by side

Drive times are free-flow router estimates from Destin Harbor and do not include traffic. Back-tee figures are the longest men's tees published.

The Sandestin prices are the published 2026 rate card for the spring-to-fall season. Everything else comes from GolfNow listings and dated snapshots, and most of these clubs use dynamic pricing, so the same course can cost twice as much on a Saturday morning as on a weekday afternoon.

The Destin courses

Destin itself has four full-size courses within about 15 minutes of the harbor, all on or near Choctawhatchee Bay.

• Kelly Plantation is the most complete public course in town: a Fred Couples and Gene Bates design from 1998, fully renovated by Bill Bergin in 2024, with 11 lakes and nine tee sets from 7,099 down to 4,096 yards. See the Kelly Plantation course guide.
• Regatta Bay is the hardest test in Destin, with a 147 slope from the Black tees and forced carries over water and marsh. It also has a covered practice area with Trackman and what the club calls Destin's only golf academy.
• Indian Bayou is the value round: a mature, forgiving 18 about 9 minutes from the harbor, rated 4.5 out of 5 on GolfPass from 2,565 reviews and known for quick pace. The third nine, Creek, was taken out of play in 2018.
• Emerald Bay is a 1991 Bob Cupp course with water on 12 holes and part of the back nine along the bay. October 2026 reviews were split on the greens, so read recent ones first.

Seascape in Miramar Beach is now nine holes after its front nine closed for redevelopment, and recent reviews rate conditions poorly. It is fine for kids or a cheap quick nine.

Sandestin's four courses

Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort owns four courses in Miramar Beach. Three sell public tee times at a higher rate than resort guests pay: The Raven (Robert Trent Jones Jr., 2000), Baytowne (Tom Jackson) and The Links (Tom Jackson, with five holes on the bay). The fourth, Burnt Pine, a 1994 Rees Jones design, is for members and registered resort guests only, after 1 PM.

Resort guests can book six months ahead, while the public gets 14 days. Our Sandestin golf guide compares all four, and the Raven Golf Club guide covers the best of the public three.

Fort Walton Beach, Shalimar and Hurlburt

West of Destin, the city-owned Fort Walton Beach Golf Club runs two 18s from one clubhouse. The Pines got new TifEagle greens in a 2025 renovation and a lighted TrackMan range opened in September 2025. The Oaks is shorter and tighter. Both use dynamic pricing.

Shalimar Pointe, a 1968 course redesigned in 1986, reopened in June 2023 after a $1.7 million renovation with new TifEagle greens. Gator Lakes on Hurlburt Field has been open to civilians since April 21, 2023, after a one-time background check at the Visitor Control Center for a pass valid six months. Our Fort Walton Beach golf guide covers this side.

Niceville and Freeport

North of the bay, the Mid-Bay Bridge (a toll road) puts Bluewater Bay about 23 minutes from Destin Harbor. It is a 1981 Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate design, but GolfPass rates it 2.7 out of 5 from 1,412 reviews, and October 2026 reviewers reported bare fairways and patchy greens. Rocky Bayou, a member-owned club that takes public golfers, costs more at $109 with cart and is the better-kept course on this side, with ten tee sets.

Windswept Dunes in Freeport, inland north of the bay, is a long dune-land public course built by Doug O'Rourke in 2004. From the Championship tees it plays 7,752 yards.

Courses that need a stay

These are not open to the public, but you can play them by booking the right room.

The three Watersound Club courses on the east end of 30A are St. Joe properties. After Hurricane Isaias, Camp Creek reopened its front nine only on October 17, 2026, and Shark's Tooth was closed until further notice in late October. Each course also rests one day a week: Camp Creek on Monday, Shark's Tooth on Tuesday and The Third on Wednesday. Our Watersound Club golf guide explains the inn route.

Private and closed courses

• Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club: private since February 2022, with a full membership reported. No guest route is published.
• Panama Country Club: a private member club in Lynn Haven.
• Eglin Golf Course (Eagle and Falcon): the nine-hole Falcon closed in January 2025 and the rest of the complex on December 1, 2025. No reopening date had been announced as of October 2026.
• The Golf Garden of Destin: a former family nine-hole executive course in Miramar Beach, marked permanently closed.
• Bay Point Meadows and Hombre (Panama City Beach): both closed after Hurricane Michael in 2018.
• Adara (Crestview): closed in 2009.

Blackstone in Mossy Head still shows on directories, but no 2026 tee times or activity were found: status unclear, call first. Our guide to private golf clubs in Destin has more.

Off the map: Panama City Beach and Crestview

Four more public courses are a long drive out. Bay Point Nicklaus in Panama City Beach has water on nearly every hole and ran $76.99-$91.99 on fall deals, 85 minutes from Destin Harbor. Legacy Golf Club, the old Holiday Golf Club, is 70 minutes out, and Signal Hill, a walkable 1962 short course, is 75. Blackwater Golf Club in Crestview, the renovated old Foxwood, is 53 minutes north.

How to choose among Destin golf courses

• One splurge round: Burnt Pine if you are staying in Sandestin; Kelly Plantation or Regatta Bay if you are not.
• Value: Indian Bayou in the afternoon, the Fort Walton Beach city courses, Shalimar Pointe.
• Mixed-ability group: Rocky Bayou or Kelly Plantation, both with a long ladder of tees.
• Short on time: Seascape's nine, or Regatta Bay's late-afternoon nine-hole option.

For a ranked short list, read the best golf courses in Destin. For how fees move by month, see Destin golf rates, and for timing, our best time to golf in Destin.

Plan it on the map

Open the Destin golf map to see every Destin golf course, the resorts that unlock the private ones and the drive between them. The $30 plan turns the list into a day-by-day trip, with the right course on the right day.