I was able to get to Emerald Bay to play this weekend. We played the back nine first, which had a great variety of fun holes. 10 and 11 were totally different par fours to get you started, followed by a brutal long par three, a par five with an dilemma for a second shot, an odd but fun short four. The golf really began wiith 15, a long four with the Choctawhatchee Bay in the background for the approach. With ten bunkers, the hole might seem to be overkill, but they created immense strategy, as flirting with the six to the right off the tee meant not having to contend with four on the left for the approach shot. The hole played tough into the breeze.
16 is right along the water, though it is not particularily difficult to hit the green. The main concern was the green itself, where Cupp created interesting contours which defy the general pull toward the bay, making putts difficult to read. 17 was a fun short four with a narrow, undulating green (a staple of the course) and 18 was a swing hole for a finisher as a short par five.
Then came the front nine, which was the protoypical FLA housing course, water on side, condos on the other. For me, only holes 1 and 3 were truly interesting and fun. Because of the extreme mediocrity of the front nine, the course may or may not merit a return visit, despite the inherent character of the back nine.
Also played Seascape, across US 98 from EBC, which we found to be more enjoyable. It was very short and very quirky, with a lack of strategy, but it still had a lot of neat features without being really contrived (many would say the water was very contrived, but most of it was probably already there. Holes 1, 2, 3, 10, 12, 14, and 18 were all pretty neat as far as I am concerned. But maybe I just liked it because it was short and fit my game
