Niceville golf: Bluewater Bay, Rocky Bayou and the Mid-Bay Bridge

Niceville golf means two courses open to visitors on the north shore of Choctawhatchee Bay: Bluewater Bay, a cheap public course 23 minutes from Destin Harbor, and Rocky Bayou Country Club, a well-kept semi-private course at $109 with cart. The Mid-Bay Bridge makes both quick to reach from east Destin. Eglin's course closed in December 2025.

This guide covers what each course costs, who it suits, how the bridge works and where to stay.

Quick facts

• Open to visitors: The Golf Club at Bluewater Bay (public) and Rocky Bayou Country Club (semi-private, public welcome).
• Closed: Eglin Golf Course (December 1, 2025) and its Falcon nine (January 13, 2025).
• Cheapest: Bluewater Bay, about $39 to $58 with cart in late October 2026.
• Best kept: Rocky Bayou, $109 for 18 with cart and range balls.
• Getting there: the Mid-Bay Bridge (SR 293, toll) from the east end of Destin.
• Nearest airport: VPS, on Eglin AFB, north of the bay.
• Base: Hampton Inn Niceville - Eglin Air Force Base, 9 minutes from both courses.

Niceville golf courses compared

The two open Niceville golf courses suit different budgets, so the numbers are worth seeing side by side.

Ratings are from GolfPass cards, not the USGA database. Prices were seen October 26, 2026; drive times are routed free-flow estimates without traffic or tolls. Rates change.

Rocky Bayou Country Club

Rocky Bayou is a member-owned social club east of Niceville that also takes public golfers. You book through a public link on the club site or by calling 850-678-3270, extension 1. Some events are members only, but the Men's Calcutta on November 12-15, 2026 was listed as open to the public.

The course covers 115 acres with wide fairways and five spring-fed lakes. Bill Amick designed it in 1973 and Earl Stone worked on it in 2003. The greens were redesigned, with a grand reopening in September 2016, and GolfPass lists them as TifEagle bermuda.

The posted daily rate is $109 for 18 holes, including cart and a bucket of range balls, or $69 for nine. Range balls come only with a round. Active-duty and retired military get 10% off, and military memberships are offered.

What sets Rocky Bayou apart is choice of tees. There are ten sets, from the 6,901-yard Black (73.0 / 133) to the 4,135-yard Teal, which makes it one of the best courses on this coast for a mixed group or seniors. Our take: the best-kept course on the Niceville side. At $109 it costs about double most Fort Walton Beach-area public rounds, and you are paying for a member-kept course. Lunch is daily at the Crooked Tree Grille, which is open to non-members. See the Rocky Bayou course guide.

The Golf Club at Bluewater Bay

Bluewater Bay is a daily-fee course in the Bluewater Bay community, run since March 2022 by Preserve Bluewater Bay LLC, a community-backed operator. Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate laid out the original Bay and Marsh nines, opened in 1981, and a Lake nine came later, giving 27 holes. Current GolfNow and GolfPass listings show a single 18, and it is unclear whether all 27 are in play.

The old resort website now redirects to an unrelated site, so book on GolfNow or call 850-897-3241. GolfNow deals are prepaid and refundable only with 24 hours' notice. Late-October 2026 deals ran $38.99 to $57.99 with cart, and a local guide reports a $50 flat rate with cart (undated).

The catch is condition. GolfPass rates it 2.7 out of 5 from 1,412 reviews, and October 2026 reviewers describe bare fairways, rough tees, patchy greens and hurricane damage on the Marsh nine. From the 6,555-yard Gold tees the card carries a 141 slope. Our take: a Fazio-Pate layout on the bay, cheap and close, but a budget round rather than a showcase. More in our Bluewater Bay golf guide and the Bluewater Bay course guide.

What happened to Eglin Golf Course

Eglin Air Force Base ran a golf complex at 1527 Fairway Drive in Niceville. It went members and sponsored guests only in December 2017, reopened to the public in August 2023 and cut from 36 to 27 holes. The nine-hole Falcon Course closed for good on January 13, 2025, citing maintenance costs and falling use, and the main Eagle course officially closed on December 1, 2025.

On May 27, 2026 the Air Force said it had chosen the American Dunes Foundation and begun negotiating an enhanced-use lease of up to 603 acres to improve and run the course. No reopening date had been announced by October 2026. Our Eglin AFB golf guide tracks the details.

Shalimar Pointe, next door

Shalimar Pointe sits between Niceville and Fort Walton Beach. It is a membership club that sells public tee times, with greens rebuilt to TifEagle in 2023. October 2026 GolfNow deals ran $33.99 to $50.99 with cart, and the snowbird membership costs $1,150 for three months for a single golfer. It is 29 minutes from the Hampton in Niceville. See the Shalimar Pointe course guide and our Fort Walton Beach golf guide.

The Mid-Bay Bridge

The Mid-Bay Bridge (SR 293) crosses Choctawhatchee Bay from Niceville and Bluewater Bay to US 98 at the east end of Destin. With its northern connector it is the quickest route from VPS and Niceville to Destin and Sandestin.

The toll figures in our research are FDOT's FY2023 rates for a two-axle car: $4.00 cash, $3.00 SunPass and $2.00 for frequent SunPass users. Tolls are indexed annually and cash acceptance in 2026 was not confirmed. Rental cars pay by plate, so check your rental company's toll program before you cross daily.

The bridge is why Bluewater Bay is only about 15 minutes from the east Destin hotels:

Routed free-flow times; add time in season. Kelly Plantation is included as the nearest Destin course across the bridge.

Where to stay for Niceville golf

The Hampton Inn Niceville sits on Rocky Bayou in Bluewater Bay with about 56 rooms, free breakfast and free parking. It is 9 minutes from both courses, but it has no beach and Destin means paying the toll. It suits a value group that cares more about golf than the Gulf.

For most visitors, Niceville golf works best as a day out: the better plan is a Destin base near Destin Commons and a single trip over the bridge for Rocky Bayou or Bluewater Bay. Our where to stay in Destin for golf guide compares the areas.

Weather north of the bay

Niceville runs colder at night than the beach. NOAA normals put the January low at 38.0F against 45.3F at the Destin airport, and frost delays are possible on winter mornings. Daytime highs are close: 61.2F in January and about 80F in October. It is also much wetter, at about 73 inches a year against about 55 in Destin, with 8.91 inches in July and 9.21 in August. Book later morning tee times in winter and dawn times in summer. See Destin weather by month.

Off the course

Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park, off SR 20, has sand-pine trails and bayou kayaking. The Air Force Armament Museum sits just outside the Eglin gate on SR 85, about 10 minutes from VPS, with no base access needed. For flights into VPS, see flights to Destin.

For a quieter golf town elsewhere on the Gulf Coast, see our Ocean Springs golf guide on the Mississippi side.

Plan it on the map

Open the Destin golf map to plan Niceville golf alongside the beach courses. It shows Bluewater Bay, Rocky Bayou and every course across the bay, with drive times from each stay. The $30 plan can build a day-by-day trip that crosses the Mid-Bay Bridge only when it pays off.