Destin West Beach And Bay Resort

Sandestin - More Accessible than Ever

It's not quite an airline hub like O'Hare in Chicago, or Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta. But the tiny Northwest Florida Regional Airport in Destin, Fla., serves as home base to at least one active carrier, Vision Airlines. And this up-and-comer brings visitors to the Florida Panhandle from a couple of dozen destinations primarily in the southeast, though flights do arrive from as far north as Buffalo, and as far west as Las Vegas. This is great news for golfers, because the charms of Sandestin Resort, just 30-odd minutes from the airport are now within much easier reach than they were previously.

For example, the drive to Sandestin from this correspondent's home base on Georgia's coast would be an untenable seven-plus hours, nearly 500 miles of blacktop. But the flight from Savannah International is an effortless hour-and-ten. It's a simple formula: Flying leaves additional time for driving. Not to mention putting, chipping, wedge-work, bunker play, and all the disparate elements that draw ardent golfers to the game's most interesting venues.

And 2,400 acre Sandestin Resort, with its sugary-sand beaches, lively and attraction-filled Village of Baytowne Wharf, proliferation of pools, tennis courts and marina, and particularly its quartet of fine courses, certainly qualifies.

The Raven Golf Club, a former host venue of the Boeing Championship on the Champions Tour, is among the marquee venues and the first among equals in regards to the trio of pure resort courses available for public play. This Robert Trent Jones Jr. design is a lovely walk through the marshes, wetlands and pine trees of the resort.

Its accolades include "Best New Course in Florida in 2000" by Florida Golf News, and a 4½ star rating by Golf Digest in both 2006 and 2008. The course offers mostly generous landing areas and has a sense of spaciousness lacking at several of the other courses. But as the resort has grown in population, the housing presence encroached too closely on the par-4 16th, which was a tight dogleg-right to begin with. To lessen the chances of errant tee shots whacking off of roofs and through windows, the holes are now consecutive par-3s, known as 16-A and 16-B, and they are used alternately depending on the day. The configuration of the various layouts on property results in the unique distinction of a single juncture of parallel fairways between the Raven and Burnt Pine, designed by the architect's brother, Rees Jones.

Florida Vacation Rentals - Destin West #505

Located on the beautiful Okaloosa Island, The Destin West Beach and Bay Resort offers you the best of both worlds. The Gulf Side boasts a 5,000 sq. ft. gulf front lagoon style pool, kiddie pool, hot tub, fitness center, and bbq grills all with a view of the Gulf of Mexico. The Bay Side shines with its 700 ft lazy river, central pool with waterfall, two oversized hot tubs, and bbq grills, all with a view of the Choctawhatchee Bay and a skywalk to the beach.

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