The Chain at Streamsong is much more than just ‘a bit of fun.’ In fact, Coore and Crenshaw’s 19-hole short course might be the best way to start, and finish, a day at this world-class Florida resort.
The sun was rising over The Chain at Streamsong and dew lay silver on every blade of grass.
I’d skipped breakfast and walked out of The Lodge just after 7am. The moon still hung high in a sky turning peach and pink as I crossed the wooden bridge that links the hotel to Streamsong’s fabulous short course. Twelve hours earlier, I’d watched the sun set over Bone Valley. Now it was rising to meet me again.
Magic hour is quite something in this part of Central Florida. Light spills through the live oaks and turns the Spanish moss from grey to gold. I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather have been. Waiting for me in the pro shop was Payton, with the kind of morning energy that makes every day a great day. “Good morning, Mr Smith,” he said. “You are a very lucky man. You’re going to have this incredible golf course to yourself today. There was a group of eight due out in about 30 minutes, but they’ve just cancelled.”
He grinned. “So it’s millionaire’s golf for you.”
What is The Chain at Streamsong?
The Chain is Streamsong‘s 19-hole, walk-only short course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the architects behind Streamsong Red. It opened in 2023 and winds across 36 acres within sight of The Lodge.
The first thing to say about The Chain is this: forget everything you think you know about short courses. For a start, there is no par here. Not for the course, and not for any single hole. The scorecard simply has a column marked “+/-“. There are no conventional tee markers either. Instead, each tee area is marked out by lengths of dragline chain, the same chains that once hauled the giant buckets of the phosphate mine this land used to be. You choose where to play from. Some holes measure barely 60 yards. The longest, the 8th, stretches to 293 yards from the tips.
The Chain: A Match-Play Paradise
The Chain was built for match play: whoever wins a hole chooses where everyone tees off on the next. Pick a short pitch over a bunker, or make your rival hit a long iron into the wind. Your imagination is the only real limit. The rules on the scorecard run to just three lines: “All sandy soil is to be played as a waste area. With respect to all other matters, common sense shall be exercised. Please respect the game and this special place.”
That probably tells you as much about Coore and Crenshaw’s philosophy for The Chain as anything. They have long been advocates of short-course golf, believing that when strength and length are taken out of the equation, golf becomes accessible to a much wider range of players. Architecturally, it also gives the designers licence. They can be bolder around the greens. More playful. More eccentric. Payton’s briefing was straight to the point, though. “This is a 14-club golf course, Mr Smith. Unless you can hit your pitching wedge 293 yards.” He was right. This is no sideshow to Streamsong’s four big courses. It is a proper golf course in its own right. Payton, for one, needed no convincing. Of all the courses at Streamsong, The Chain is his favourite.
Playing The Chain: alone at sunrise
So I set off. My bag on my shoulder, and nobody out there but me and the wildlife.
For the first six holes, my ball left a trail through the dew on every green: a line drawn across silver turf that showed exactly where each shot had started and finished. I made a solid start. On any other course my scorecard would have read par, par, par, par. On the 5th green I turned to look back and saw a single set of footprints running from the fringe to the flag. All mine.
Those opening six holes ease you into The Chain. But even they can bite. At the 6th, my approach finished a yard behind the flag. In a bunker. A bunker in the middle of the green. The putting surface is contoured to let you work your putts around the little pit if you need to, but that morning that option wasn’t available to me. I’d never had to play a one-yard bunker shot before, and it showed. I couldn’t get up and down, but I didn’t care one bit. It was insane. It was brilliant. And it was exactly the sort of thing Coore and Crenshaw can get away with here: the kind of feature they might think twice about on a championship course, but clearly didn’t give a second thought for The Chain. Why not, right?
From the 7th tee, The Chain moves up through the gears. I needed a hybrid of 200-plus yards from that tee, and then driver on the 8th, the longest hole on the course. I’ll say it again: this is no par-3 course.
The greens are full of extraordinary slopes and well protected, and the shots into them demand real precision. It’s fun, endless fun, but it’s serious golf too.
The 11th: The Chain’s Signature Hole
Which brings me to the 11th, unquestionably the signature hole of The Chain at Streamsong. This long one-shotter demands a carry over gator-infested water to a stunning punchbowl green. From the tips it measures 189 yards, almost all of it carry, with a long wooden bridge curving away to the left. For me that day it was a 5-iron. My first attempt disappeared into the long grass just the other side of the water. Given what lives in that water, I had no plans to go looking for it. My second landed on top of the bank in front of the flag and vanished from sight. It was only when I’d crossed the bridge and clambered up the slopes that hide the green on all sides that I saw the result. Two feet from the hole. Birdie. Kind of.
I wasn’t entirely alone on 11. An alligator lay in the shallows just to the left of the bridge. We exchanged pleasantries and then didn’t take our eyes off each other until the water was out of sight. And breathe.
The finishing stretch is wonderful, and I produced golf to match. I lipped out for a 2 on the 16th, made 2s at the 17th and 18th, and lipped out again for a 2 on the 19th. On a course with no par, I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but I knew exactly how it felt.
The Link at Streamsong: The Chain’s six-hole loop
The Link is the name given to the first six holes of The Chain. All resort guests can play it as part of their stay, first come, first served; holes 7 to 19 carry an additional charge. The Link is perfect for a quick loop, a friendly match, or one more walk before the day is done. You can also play The Chain as a 13-hole loop, or with The Link for all 19.
There is a practical bonus too. Streamsong’s four championship courses are each a short shuttle ride from The Lodge. The Chain is a walk from your room. Out of the hotel, across the wooden bridge and onto the 1st tee.
The Bucket at Streamsong: a 36-hole putting course
At the heart of The Chain sits The Bucket, a 2.5-acre putting course with 36 holes that change daily. Its centrepiece is a 22,000-pound dragline bucket, the kind that once scooped phosphate rock from this very ground. Silhouetted against the sunrise, it stands guard like a sculpture. In a sense, it is. Families stop to photograph it now. And The Bucket is where your match can carry on after the 19th: putting contests, drinks, bites, and settling whatever wagers or arguments remain from the round.
The chains on the tees, the bucket on the skyline: these are the touches that tie this corner of Streamsong so eloquently to its mining past. The same land that gave up fossils and phosphate for more than a century now gives golfers something just as valuable: memories.
Sunset to sunrise: our verdict on The Chain
Coore and Crenshaw were at Streamsong before almost everything else: before The Lodge, before the clubhouses, before a single green was shaped. They remember walking through the dunes, looking at the land and imagining what Streamsong might become. Now they can come back and see what it is. The resort has built a global reputation for adventure, wild and wonderful golf courses and first-class service. The Chain is central to that story. Some golf courses make you stiffen with tension. Others put you at ease from the very first tee. The Chain is firmly the latter.
The irony is that I played it alone, with the sense that it’s probably best enjoyed in company. Perhaps it took playing it alone to appreciate that. This is a course for loosening up, laughing a lot and drinking a bit. Think The Cradle at Pinehurst, but with more teeth. Competition. Conversation. The craic, as they say in Ireland. Even at dawn, I could picture it at sunset: the laughter, the needle, the groans, the glory.
At The Chain one bad swing won’t ruin anything but one great shot, one holed putt, even one botched one-yard bunker shot, can make a memory that lasts forever. Nobody plays The Chain protecting a score, and so it invites risk and rewards creativity. That might be its greatest trick. The architecture is first-rate. The challenge is real. But neither ever gets in the way of the simple pleasure of just playing.
At Streamsong, where the land already gives golf a truly epic stage, The Chain offers a delightful change of tempo. It’s the perfect counterpoint to the resort’s four championship courses. Some courses are best experienced quietly, and I loved The Chain that way: alone at sunrise, with my footprints in the dew and a gator or two for company. Millionaire’s golf, Payton called it. But next time, I’ll happily share the fortune.
Ben was a guest of Streamsong. To book a trip or for more information, visit StreamsongResort.com
The Chain Streamsong Scorecard
The Chain Streamsong: key facts
The course: Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, The Chain opened in 2023. Its 19 holes wind across 36 acres beside Streamsong Lodge in Central Florida.
The golf: The course measures 2,916 yards from the back chains and 1,576 from the front, with individual holes ranging from approximately 60 to 293 yards. There is no conventional par or fixed tee position. Dragline chains define the teeing areas, and the format encourages match play, imagination and creativity.
Playing options: Choose from six holes (The Link), 13 holes or the full 19. The Link is included for resort guests, while holes 7–19 carry an additional charge. Allow approximately 2.5 hours for a complete round.
The experience: The Chain is walk-only and easily reached on foot from The Lodge. The Bucket, Streamsong’s 2.5-acre putting course featuring 36 holes that change daily, sits at the heart of The Chain.
Green fees: For the 2026/27 season, resort guests pay $95 for the full 19 holes of The Chain and day guests $115, with lower rates of $65 and $85 in late September. The Link is complimentary for resort guests. Rates vary by date, so check StreamsongResort.com when booking.
The Chain Streamsong: FAQs
What is The Chain at Streamsong?
The Chain is a 19-hole short course at Streamsong Resort in Central Florida, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. It has no par and no tee markers, and is built for match play.
How much does it cost to play The Chain?
Green fees vary by season and by whether you’re staying at the resort. For 2026/27, a full 19-hole round costs $95 for resort guests and $115 for day guests, dropping to $65 and $85 in late September. The Link, the first six holes, is free for resort guests.
How long is The Chain?
It measures 2,916 yards from the back chains and 1,576 from the front. Individual holes range from barely 60 yards to 293 yards.
Is The Chain a par-3 course?
No. The Chain has no par at all, for the course or for any hole. The longest holes need a driver, so bring a full set of clubs.
Why does The Chain have no par?
Because players choose where to tee off on every hole, there is no fixed length to set a par against. The scorecard has a simple plus or minus column instead.
How do you play The Chain?
Match play. Whoever wins a hole picks where the group tees off on the next.
What is The Link at Streamsong?
The Link is the first six holes of The Chain. All resort guests can play it as part of their stay, on a first-come, first-served basis. Playing the rest of The Chain, holes 7 to 19, is an additional charge.
What is The Bucket Streamsong?
A 2.5-acre, 36-hole putting course at the heart of The Chain, built around a 22,000-pound dragline bucket from the site’s mining days.
How long does it take to play The Chain?
Streamsong suggests allowing about two and a half hours for all 19 holes. Playing alone, I walked it in around two.
Can you walk to The Chain from The Lodge?
Yes. It’s a short walk across a boardwalk bridge, unlike Streamsong’s championship courses, which need a short shuttle ride.
Is The Chain good for beginners?
Yes. Forward chains make some holes as short as 50 yards, so golfers of every level can enjoy it. Strong players can stretch it out to make it a real test.
How does The Chain compare with The Cradle at Pinehurst?
Both are short courses built for fun, laughter and a drink in hand. The Cradle, Gil Hanse’s nine-hole course at Pinehurst, is the gentler of the two. The Chain is longer, with 19 holes, no par, match-play tees and greens with real teeth.
