Florida for Non-Golfers: A Partner's Guide

Florida is four different golf trips

Unlike Pinehurst or Bandon (one resort), or Scottsdale (one city), Florida golf is spread across the state. The four major bases are 2 to 4 hours apart from each other. Pick wrong for partners and you will be hearing about it. Pick right and Florida is genuinely good.

• Streamsong Resort (Polk County, central Florida): world-class golf, partner-thin. The resort itself has a spa and a pool but the surrounding area is rural. Tampa beaches are 90 minutes away.
• TPC Sawgrass (Ponte Vedra Beach, northeast Florida): the home of The Players Championship, with St. Augustine 45 minutes south and Amelia Island 45 minutes north. The best partner base in Florida.
• Innisbrook Resort (Palm Harbor, Tampa Bay area): 30 minutes from Tampa, 30 minutes from Clearwater Beach and Tarpon Springs. The second-best partner base.
• Orlando (central Florida): theme park country. Disney Springs, Universal CityWalk, and the Disney resort hotels dominate the partner experience.

TPC Sawgrass / Ponte Vedra Beach

Ponte Vedra Beach is a coastal town just south of Jacksonville and just north of St. Augustine. The Sawgrass Marriott is the main resort hotel; the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass (with the famous island green 17th) is on the property. For partners, it is the best Florida base by a wide margin.

• St. Augustine, 45 minutes south, is the oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the US (1565). Castillo de San Marcos (the Spanish star fort), Flagler College (Henry Flagler's 1888 Hotel Ponce de Leon, glorious architecture), the cobblestone Spanish Quarter, and excellent seafood. Plan a full day.
• Amelia Island, 45 minutes north, is a barrier island with 13 miles of Atlantic beach and the Ritz-Carlton resort. Quieter and more upscale than Jacksonville Beach.
• Jacksonville Beach, 15 minutes north of Ponte Vedra, is the casual beach town with surf shops and beachside bars.
• The Spa at Sawgrass Marriott, on-property, is the easiest spa option. Mid-range; book ahead.
• Mayport, 20 minutes north, is the working fishing village with the freshest seafood in the area. Singleton's Seafood Shack is the local institution.

A good 3-day partner plan: day 1 St. Augustine, day 2 Amelia Island and the spa, day 3 Jacksonville Beach and Mayport.

Innisbrook / Tampa Bay area

Innisbrook Resort sits in Palm Harbor, about 30 miles northwest of Tampa and 10 miles east of the Gulf. Four golf courses including the PGA Tour's Copperhead. Partners get the Tampa Bay area as their playground.

• Tarpon Springs, 15 minutes from Innisbrook, is the Greek-American sponge-diving town with Mediterranean restaurants and a working sponge dock. Excellent half-day with lunch.
• Clearwater Beach, 30 minutes from Innisbrook, is regularly named one of the top US beaches. White sand, family-friendly, casual.
• Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island, both state parks accessible from Dunedin, offer quieter Gulf beach experiences. Caladesi requires a ferry.
• Downtown Tampa, 30 minutes south, has the Ybor City historic district (Cuban heritage, cigar shops, restaurants), the Tampa Riverwalk, and the Florida Aquarium.
• St. Petersburg, 45 minutes south, has the Salvador Dalí Museum (one of the best small art museums in the US), the Chihuly Collection, and a strong restaurant scene.
• The Innisbrook Spa is solid mid-range; the higher-end spa option is the Don CeSar in St. Pete Beach (the iconic pink hotel).

Streamsong Resort

Streamsong is genuinely remote: a luxury resort in central Florida's phosphate-mining country, about 60 miles from Tampa and 90 from Orlando. Three world-class courses (Red, Blue, Black). The setting is beautiful and very quiet. The partner experience is built around the resort: the spa, the pool, the lodge, the on-property restaurants.

Realistically, Streamsong is the wrong Florida base for most partners. It is a 3-night minimum to justify the drive in, and there is essentially nothing within 60 miles of the resort. Partners who want a quiet contemplative trip with massage and pool time will be happy. Partners who want any kind of variety will not.

The fix if you must base at Streamsong: do a 2 night Streamsong stay for the golf, then move to Tampa or Sarasota for the rest of the trip. Most partners would rather have the latter as the primary base.

Orlando: theme park country

Orlando is its own special case. The golf is good (Reunion Resort, Bay Hill, the Champions Gate complex) but the partner experience is dominated by Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. Whether that is a feature or a bug depends entirely on your partner.

For partners who love theme parks (or are bringing kids), Orlando is genuinely fun. Disney Springs and Universal CityWalk both offer excellent restaurants and shopping without requiring a park ticket. The Disney resort spas (Senses Spa at Saratoga Springs, the Mandara Spa at the Walt Disney World Dolphin) are surprisingly good. The dining scene at the Disney Deluxe resorts (California Grill, Yachtsman Steakhouse) is among the best in the city.

For partners who specifically do not want theme parks, Orlando is the wrong base. Drive 90 minutes east for Cocoa Beach and the Kennedy Space Center, or 90 minutes west for Tampa and the Gulf beaches.

Pace, weather, and packing

Florida runs at a relaxed beach pace. October to April is the realistic visiting window: 65 to 80°F, low humidity, courses in beautiful condition. Avoid May to September: heat, humidity, and daily afternoon thunderstorms. Hurricane risk is highest August to October; book travel insurance if visiting then.

Pack: lightweight layers, swimwear, sandals, walking shoes (St. Augustine cobblestones), sun hat, sunscreen, light jacket for evenings. Florida is informal everywhere except Disney's signature restaurants.

Common Questions

Florida for non-golfers FAQ

Keep Reading

Related guides