St. Johns Golf and Country Club
224 St. John's Golf Drive St. Augustine, FL www.stjohnsgolf.com Phone: (904) 940-3200 Phone: (904) 940-3206 Visit website Map Contact course

Now into its sixth season of growth into a natural sanctuary of pine forest and wetlands less than 15 minutes south of downtown Jacksonville, St. Johns Golf and Country Club could settle into a nifty niche with the leaders among the area's semi-private courses. After all, the National Golf Foundation just ranked St. Johns in the Top 10 in the entire country in Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty.

So what has St. Johns done with that accolade? Put it on the mantle with the honor of North Florida PGA Merchandiser of the Year for 2004 and hosting the 2006 PGA TOUR Q-School. Then it was back to work, buying an entirely new fleet of carts with Uplink GPS, getting chosen by the USGA as a qualifier for the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, adding the Tom Burnett Golf Academy to Head Pro Dan Zimmer's own learning center and continuing to improve the course conditions on a Clyde Johnston-designed layout that has already received rave reviews. Many courses have a few of these first-class amenities. Likely none has the complete package.

Johnston's gem will challenge you from any of the six tees, from the fun family-length layout of just under 2400 yards to the daunting 7236-yard tips. Anticipating your first few visits, the scorecard itself recommends that only single-digit handicappers venture back to the gold, or the 6800-yard blue tees. Midhandicappers will likely find their most appropriate test with the just-under-6400-yard white tees (with a rating and slope of 71.0/132), while higher handicappers still get the full St. Johns treatment from the tees of just under 6000 yards. While water comes into play on 12 of the 18 holes, there are only a handful of forced carries, keeping the course playable and the pace-of-play on course for 4:10 rounds.

Yet the variety of shot opportunities is broad. You're likely to hit four different clubs off the tees of the par-3s and the par-5s are only reachable by the biggest of hitters. Johnston loves the old golf designers creed, "start easy, finish hard", completing both nines with fantastic finishes. The ninth and 18th holes, both par-4s are the two toughest on the course. The par-5/par-4 eighth and ninth stretch out to over 1000 yards from the tips, and the final four holes of the back nine offer (from the middle tees) two over-400-yard par-4s, a just-under- 500-yard par-5 and an almost-200 yard par-3.

But you won't feel beaten-up after you've met that challenge, particularly if you enjoy the ambiance of St. Johns' elegant clubhouse. It's home to the aforementioned honored Golf Shop featuring top-of-the-line equipment and apparel, a comfortable indoor lounge and dining area and a beautiful back patio offering stunning views of the ninth and 18th holes for full 144-player outings, or smaller groups as well.

Located within a growing and extremely active St. Joe-developed community featuring a variety of home sites and architectural styles, St. Johns Golf and Country Club isn't satisfied with just being the leader in First Coast daily fee golf. Its thriving membership, of both residents and frequent visitors, mixes well with those making their first foray into St. Johns Golf and Country Club. Maybe because they know it likely won't be their last.

For more information on tee times, call (904) 940-3200, for membership and special event info (904) 940-3206 or visit www.stjohnsgolf.com