Streamsong Resort - Black Course

Signature Setup

Streamsong's Black opened in 2017 as the third course on the property, and unlike the Red (Coore & Crenshaw) and Blue (Tom Doak) that share a clubhouse a few miles north, the Black is Gil Hanse's solo statement on its own routing in Bowling Green, Florida. The land is reclaimed phosphate-mining ground in Polk County — sandy spoil heaps that Hanse left raw rather than softening. The defining feature isn't a single hole but the greens: enormous, contoured, some over 20,000 square feet, including the now-famous "Roundabout," a circular punchbowl that gathers a good shot and spits out a timid one. It plays roughly 7,300 yards from the tips at par 73.

Hole-by-Hole Wind & Playing Lines

The Black has no trees to hide behind, so wind is the whole defense. Central Florida runs a prevailing SE-to-E flow most mornings, swinging more southerly through the afternoon.

• Hole 2 (#1 handicap, par-4 ~470y): Into the SE breeze this is the hardest tee shot on the property. I'd club up twice into the green and ignore the back pin — the front third is the only sane target.
• The long par-3s: On an E wind they balloon. A stock 200-yard 4-iron can come up 15–20 yards short; play the front edge and let the contour feed.
• The Roundabout hole: Downwind it's a gift — land anything on the back lip and watch it trickle to center. Into wind, a short shot rejects off the front shoulder and you're chipping back up the slope.

Green & Fairway Characteristics

The greens are MiniVerde Bermuda, kept firm. They are not lightning by Augusta standards, but the sheer size means three-putt territory is everywhere — a back-left pin to a front-right ball can be 100 feet. Fairways sit on free-draining sand, so after a dry week the ball runs out 30–40 yards on the firm spoil ridges. Front nine and back nine both flirt with elevation change that surprises people who expect flat Florida — the mining heaps give you 40–50 feet of vertical in spots.

Seasonal Weather Pattern

This is inland central Florida, not the coast, so forget any sea-breeze relief. Summer (June–September) is brutal: highs in the mid-90s°F, dew points near 75°F, and near-daily convective thunderstorms that fire up between 2 and 4 p.m. — lightning closes the exposed course fast. The sweet spot is November through March: mornings in the low 60s°F, firm turf, lighter winds before noon. I played a late-October round where it was 58°F at 8 a.m. and 84°F by the turn — pack layers you can shed. I haven't played the Black in July, so I'll only say what the historical data and the locals say: don't.

Local Play Tips

Two things the booking page won't tell you. First: the Black sits apart from the Red/Blue clubhouse, so build in drive time — don't tee the Black at 7:40 if your group ate breakfast at the main lodge. Second: take the caddie even if you usually cart elsewhere. On a course this open with this many false fronts and blind green shoulders, a looper who knows where the Roundabout gathers and where Hole 2 punishes is worth more strokes than any rangefinder.

Pre-Round Weather Workflow

Check the 7-day G-Score the night before and again at dawn. On the Black, prioritize two signals: wind direction and afternoon storm probability. A morning G-Score 8–12 points higher than the afternoon is normal here — tee early, finish before the 2 p.m. cells build. Cross-reference the windExposure rating: on an open, treeless reclaimed-mine course, a 15 mph SE wind plays harder than the same speed on a sheltered parkland track, so add a club to every approach and widen your miss to the fat side of these huge greens.