Matanzas Course at the Grand Club (386-446-6330)
The Matanzas Course at the Grand Club is now a Hampton Golf property and is always open for public play. Stay & Play packages at Ocean Hammock Resort are available.
Matanzas Course REVIEW 12/23/03
The Matanzas Course at the Grand Club is one of two Arnold Palmer Signature designs at Ocean Hammock Resort and has been rated with 4 stars by Golf Digest Places to Play.
 It was also honored as "one of the Best
New Resort Courses in Florida". The 18th hole, with its island green, is one of the most photographed holes in the state. Abundant water
hazards and rolling fairways along a terrain that weaves through pines, oaks and cypress has earned the Matanzas Course the nickname of "beautiful monster".
 Narrow fairways are defined by mounding and
playable bermuda rough - framed by trees and tropical growth. The greens are small to medium in size with mild slopes and undulations. Length and accuracy are necessary to successfully navigate
this beautiful layout - and we recommend avoiding " Walter" - a huge gator that makes his home along the banks of the lake on number 14.
Four sets of tee boxes provide golfers with the choices to play from the blue tees at 6929 yards (141 slope), the whites at 6421 (138 slope), the golds at 5921 (133 slope) and the
forward red tees at 5236 with a 121 slope. Though a bit long overall for the average golfer, the layout from the
white tees features only 1 par four of 400 yards plus, as the yardage is pretty evenly distributed.
 The course opens with narrow par four framed by mounding on both sides
with a creek far right. There also is a water hazard past the putting surface. The second is short but tight - and played cautiously will easily yield pars
and birdies. The par 3 third is a beauty, especially when there is an early morning mist on the horizon. This opening 3-hole segment is perhaps the easiest on the course -
 a good warm up for the number one handicapped
fourth. The tee shot must carry a canal to a wide but well-bunkered fairway, and the water hazard on the right crosses about 100 yards out. Par it and celebrate. The fifth is also
challenging as it is tight off the tee, and turns left past the 150 yard stake. Another water hazard on the right comes into play on the approach. Number
six is a mid-range three par to a well-bunkered and slightly elevated green,
 and is followed by simple and score
-able par four. Mounding and a formidable fairway trap along the left side present a challenge on 8, and the closing hole on the front plays as one of the narrowest on the course -
with a bunker awaiting short approaches to a thin putting surface.
Number 10 presents a wide fairway that narrows on the approach, and precedes the par four 11th which presents the opposite - a narrow
fairway that opens up near the putting surface. A canal left and trees right frame the ample fairway on 12, and the short par three 13th completes another easy 3-hole stretch with the 12th, 10th and 14th
 handicaps. Fourteen is a
tremendous golf hole. Avoid hitting Walter off the tee by safely landing on the peninsula fairway, and be cognizant that the water crosses
about 250 yards from the green complex. The second shot should be placed left center on the fairway for the most advantageous approach.
Fifteen is the # 2 handicap - a long and tight par four that demands an approach to well protected green that is nestled to the right past a significant water hazard.
 The simple par three 16th is followed by a
score-able four par, which invites a tee shot over the fairway bunker and near the 150 yard marker. Eighteen is a great finishing hole. Aim straight
away and stop your ball about 210-220 away (just short of the water hazard)and you have a good shot of reaching this par five in two. Cautious players
can lay up to the left and play this as a three shot hole, leaving a pitch over the hazard to a beautiful green that is for all practical purposes an island.
This is a great, challenging round of golf. One gets the feeling of seclusion, even as the course winds its way through a residential community. There is
abundant wildlife, especially near the 18th green, as egrets, herons, hawks and other waterfowl frequent this
habitat. Outside of Ocean Hammock (which is in its own world), Mantanzas Woods was our favorite course in the area. Golf here is included in the many great packages available at the Ocean Hammock Resort.
You will find an informational page for the Matanzas Course with a link to their website on our alphabetical and geographical listing sections for Florida Golf (click here).
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