Streamsong’s New Fourth Course Gets Name And Logo With Links To Property’s Mining Days

The fourth, and forthcoming, course at the Streamsong Gplf Resort in Central Florida officially has a name, “The Chain,” which pays homage to mining equipment that was discovered on the site while Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were routing the unique layout.

The Chain will be located within walking distance of the Lodge at Streamsong, unlike the resort’s other three highly-regarded courses (Red, Blue and Black), and is a short course that can be played in loops of 6, 12 and 18 holes. The course will have holes ranging in length from 90 to 300 yards, so is a mix of what would be considered par 3 and par 4 holes, although the scorecard won’t list par. Instead, large drag chain links will identify the beginning and end of each tee box, but without specified tee markers, players are encouraged to choose their starting point and yardage on each hole.

The course can play to a maximum yardage of about 3,000 yards and is intended to take significantly less time than the three championship courses, offering a shorter, time-friendly option adjacent to the resort’s main accommodations. The namesake “chain” was used long ago to hold a dragline bucket in place when the 16,000-acre site was being mined for phosphate ore, leading to the sand formations that make Streamsong’s topography so unique in Florida. As a natural extension, the new short course area will also feature a two-acre putting course called “The Bucket” that’s about twice the size of the existing Gauntlet putting course at Streamsong Black.

“Although diminutive in size, we believe The Chain, when combined with the anything-but-diminutive Bucket putting course, has the potential to complement, perhaps even enhance, Streamsong’s reputation for must-be-experienced golf,” said Coore, who also teamed with Crenshaw to build the resort’s Red Course.

The 100-acre property for The Chain is very different in appearance from that of Streamsong’s other three courses, with a landscape of stately live oaks and lakes as well as sand. Holes also play along and across old mining cuts and Little Payne Creek, the water source from which Streamsong got the first half of its name.

The first six holes are essentially par 3 holes, the longest stretching to about 145 yards. The 12-hole loop, meanwhile, has holes that range from 125 yards to about 300 yards, including a penultimate risk-reward hole that will have fairway and green flanked by a deep mining cut on one side and the creek on the other.

While the routing has been largely cleared, construction hasn’t yet begun, making it likely The Chain won’t open to resort play until 2024. But special-edition merchandise featuring the new course’s logo will go on sale online and at Streamsong beginning in August.