New Streamsong Golf Course Might Be McLay Kidd’s ‘Most Fun’ Design Yet

David McLay Kidd designed the forthcoming fourth 18-hole golf course at Streamsong Resort. And the architect of Bandon Dunes, Mammoth Dunes and Gamble Sands says this might be his most fun course creation yet.

Erik Matuszewski

The grow-in process is ongoing at the newest golf course at Streamsong Resort in Central Florida, with a soft opening of the David McLay Kidd design set for the tail-end of this year before the full reveal in January 2027. But Kidd — the architect of some of the best modern-era public gems in the game in Bandon Dunes, Mammoth Dunes and Gamble Sands — has already snuck in a few rounds.

During a late-evening tour of the course, as the sun cast long shadows over the sandy hills, hollows and bunkers across a landscape that long ago was a phosphate mine, his energy is infectious. And his takeaways give more reason for excitement over what’s soon to come at a destination already hailed as one of the great modern golf playgrounds in America.

“I had a giant smile on my face the whole time,” Kidd said. “Even the bad shots made me chuckle and try and figure out how to get around my own problems. I called my wife right after I played (recently) and said, `You know, it might be the most fun course I’ve ever done.’”

Architect David McLay Kidd hits a late afternoon tee shot on the newest course at Streamsong, a layout he designed that’s scheduled to debut later this year.

Erik Matuszewski

That’s a big statement from the Scotsman, whose recent resort courses have been widely praised for their playability and fun factor.

At Streamsong, which is located just over an hour from both Orlando and Tampa, Kidd joins an all-star roster of course architects. The property’s first two courses — Red by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and Blue by Tom Doak — opened simultaneously in 2012. The third 18-hole layout, the Gil Hanse-designed Black course, debuted in 2017.

With Kidd’s addition, Streamsong becomes the first golf property in the world to feature courses from that group of the most influential architects of the modern era.

“For the last dozen years, I’ve been desperate to come and work here,” Kidd said. “All of my peer group have been here. I have loved this place. I’ve come here and actually spent real money, my own money, to play golf here, which is very unusual. I play golf for free, usually.”

Streamsong’s Newest Course

David McLay Kidd joins an accomplished group of architects at Streamsong that includes Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, Tom Doak, and Gil Hanse.

Erik Matuszewski

Kidd’s new course, still unnamed but expected to follow the resort’s color-themed convention, is scheduled for select preview play in late 2026, with a full public opening planned for January 2027. It will share the clubhouse used by the Black course, with the first few holes occupying a strip of land that used to be home to the property’s former short course known as The Gauntlet.

Kidd’s course is a strategic, links-style design set across dramatic terrain, with smaller greens and striking dune formations. Some of those sandy piles have triangular, peaked shapes — white sand framed by native grasses — that bear a striking resemblance to inverted shark teeth, perhaps a nod to the prehistoric, fossilized Megalodon teeth that have been found on the property.

There’s a rugged, natural look to McLay Kidd’s links-style course.

Erik Matuszewski

The course shares the walking-only, ground-game ethos that defines Streamsong and first took root in the American destination golf world at Bandon Dunes. It was that resort on the Oregon coast where Kidd made his mark at the age of 26 by building the first of the property’s seven courses. He’s excited to now bring his own voice, and architectural style, to the other side of the country.

“It’s kind of the East Coast Bandon Dunes,” he said. “They’re walking a lot. They’re playing the ground game. There’s no real estate out here. It’s golf for just pure golf’s sake. What more could a golf course designer want than that?

“We wanted to celebrate the success of Streamsong, not build something that was alien,” he added. “But at a certain point you want to take your own ideas… and bake that into the same DNA. That’s what this golf course is — a representation of my thoughts and love of the game coming from Scotland, having built the original course at Bandon baked into what Streamsong has become, and trying to meld those two things together. I’m thrilled with what we came out with.”

Whimsical and Playful

The 18th green at Kidd’s new course at Streamsong, which will play out of the same clubhouse (in background) as the resort’s Black course.

Erik Matuszewski

Kidd’s approach reflects a philosophy he’s honed over decades: defend the ideal “line of charm” for skilled players while offering enough room and creativity for recovery when shots miss their mark – as resort golfers are known to do.

“Do I have to keep piling on? Or should I actually give them some opportunity for recovery?” he said while standing on the tee of one of the course’s terrific par 3 holes. “It doesn’t mean they’re going to get back to par, and they might not even get back to bogey, but I don’t have to put them in their pocket. Allowing someone to recover, keep playing, keep their chin up, keep them in the game, that’s the most important thing for me. I want them to stay engaged.”

Bunkering surrounding one of the par 3 greens on Kidd’s new course at Streamsong.

Erik Matuszewski

Kidd says his course’s “whimsical, playful and unexpected” character is what makes it different from Streamsong’s other championship courses. And an emphasis on playability and fun is what ultimately defines success in Kidd’s eyes — maybe even more than ratings or architectural acclaim.

“I want this to be the favorite course,” he said. “I want it to be the one that the golfers say they had the most fun on. The rankings can come and go. If I can build something that is super popular, that the golfers gravitate to, regardless of rankings, then I will have scored every goal. That’s better than every par.”

Could McLay Kidd’s new course at Streamsong be the best yet at the popular Central Florida resort?

Erik Matuszewski

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