Private golf clubs in Destin and the Emerald Coast: who can play, and the alternatives

Few private golf clubs in Destin are truly closed to visitors. Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club and Panama Country Club are members only. Burnt Pine and the three Watersound Club courses are private but sold to resort or inn guests, and Regatta Bay, Indian Bayou and Emerald Bay are member clubs with public tee times. Kelly Plantation, though gated, is public.

This guide sorts every restricted club on the Emerald Coast by who can actually play, and names the best course to book instead.

Quick facts

• Members only: Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club, Panama Country Club.
• Private, stay to play: Burnt Pine (Sandestin), Camp Creek, Shark's Tooth and The Third (Watersound Club).
• Resort guests only: Sandpiper Cove Par 3 (free for guests, per rental listings).
• Member clubs selling public times: Indian Bayou, Regatta Bay, Emerald Bay, Shalimar Pointe, Rocky Bayou, Bay Point.
• Military: Gator Lakes open to civilians with a base pass; Eglin closed December 1, 2025; Pelican Point status unclear.
• Gated but public: Kelly Plantation.

Private golf clubs in Destin and nearby, by access

Prices were seen October 26, 2026 on sandestin.com, inn pages and GolfNow/GolfPass. Rates change.

Fully private: Santa Rosa and Panama Country Club

Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club, off 30A at Dune Allen in Santa Rosa Beach, went to a private membership model in February 2022. Membership has been reported full with a waitlist, and no guest-fee, reciprocal or vacation-rental route is published. It was renovated by Bill Bergin in 2021. Nearest public alternative: the Sandestin courses, about 14 minutes away. See our Santa Rosa Golf and Beach Club guide.

Panama Country Club in Lynn Haven, north of Panama City, is a private member club with initiation and dues. One older blog said it had opened to the public, but no current public tee sheet was found, so treat it as not open unless invited. It is 107 minutes from Destin Harbor. See Panama City Beach golf for the courses there that take visitors.

Private, but you can stay to play

Burnt Pine at Sandestin is the best course at Sandestin, 6,996 yards from the back with a 147 slope. Sandestin describes it as available only to members and registered resort guests, with resort-guest tee times after 1 p.m. daily. The Hilton Sandestin's golf page says its guests also have access, but Sandestin's own wording does not name the Hilton, so confirm. There is no online booking: call 850-267-6500 once you hold a reservation. The 2026 rate was $179 in season and $149 from November 2. See our Burnt Pine golf club guide.

The Watersound Club courses at the east end of 30A are Camp Creek (Fazio), Shark's Tooth (Norman) and The Third (Davis Love III). Lifestyle Members, their accompanied guests and overnight guests of Camp Creek Inn and Watersound Inn can play, at $295 per golfer per round for inn guests. Members' rental guests are excluded. WaterColor Inn access is not confirmed for 2026. After Hurricane Isaias, Camp Creek reopened on October 17, 2026 as nine holes and Shark's Tooth was closed until further notice, so check before booking. See Watersound Club golf.

Sandpiper Cove Par 3 is a nine-hole pitch-and-putt inside the gated Sandpiper Cove condo resort, 4 minutes from Destin Harbor. Rental listings describe it as free for guests, with clubs to rent at the clubhouse; GolfLink lists it as private. It is a bonus for kids and short-game practice, not a real round.

Member clubs that sell public tee times

These member clubs are easy to mistake for private golf clubs in Destin, but visitors can book them.

• Indian Bayou, 9 minutes from Destin Harbor: a member club with a daily public tee sheet. Only the Seminole/Choctaw 18 is in play; the Creek nine closed in 2018. It rates 4.5 out of 5 on GolfPass from 2,565 reviews, and afternoon deals drop to about $75. The range is for members and booked players only. See the Indian Bayou course guide.
• Regatta Bay, 13 minutes: a gated-community club whose site says "Public Welcome!" with a separate member tee sheet. Slope 147 from the 6,840-yard tips, and 4.6 out of 5 on GolfPass. Groups of nine or more book through the sales office on 850-337-8080. See the Regatta Bay course guide.
• Emerald Bay, 14 minutes: a Bob Cupp course with public times on TeeItUp and GolfNow. October 2026 reviews are split on green conditions. Its eight-bedroom Guesthouse, for groups of up to 16, comes with golf discounts at Emerald Bay and its sister course Seascape.
• Shalimar Pointe, Rocky Bayou and Bay Point across the bay and in Panama City Beach also sell public times; see Niceville golf.

Gated but public: Kelly Plantation

Kelly Plantation sits inside the gated Kelly Plantation community, but the club says the course is open to the public, and its own booking button opens GolfNow. Late-October 2026 deals ran $89.99 to $118.99; early-September mornings were $169.99 to $179.99. There is no rental-guest golf discount, so renting in the community is for location, not access. See the Kelly Plantation course guide.

Military courses

• Gator Lakes, Hurlburt Field: open to civilians since April 21, 2023. Fill in the affidavit on myhurlburt.com, pass a background check at the Visitor Control Center and get a six-month installation pass. Booking is 10 days ahead with a pro shop login. The civilian green fee is not published online.
• Eglin AFB, Niceville: closed December 1, 2025; the Falcon nine closed January 13, 2025. Lease talks with the American Dunes Foundation began in May 2026. See Eglin AFB golf.
• Pelican Point, Tyndall AFB: status unclear, call first. Not on our map.

Closed courses you may still see listed

The Golf Garden of Destin, a nine-hole executive course on US 98 in Miramar Beach, is listed as permanently closed. Adara Golf Club in Crestview, the former Shoal River Country Club, closed in about 2009. Hombre and the Bay Point Meadows Course in Panama City Beach closed after Hurricane Michael in 2018.

The best public alternatives

If the private golf clubs in Destin are out of reach, these give a similar feel without a membership:

• Burnt Pine via a Sandestin stay, if you can play after 1 PM.
• Regatta Bay, the toughest public test in Destin, at about $91 to $190 depending on time.
• Kelly Plantation, renovated in 2024, at about $90 to $119 in late October.
• The Raven at Sandestin, $159 public or $130 for resort guests in season. See our best golf courses in Destin ranking.

For more on choosing a resort base, see Destin golf resorts. For a member club on the Mississippi coast that also sells public tee times, see Windance Country Club.

Plan it on the map

Open the Destin golf map to see every course with its access marked, from members-only clubs to stay-to-play resorts and public tee sheets. The $30 plan builds a day-by-day trip using only courses you can actually book.