Lost Key Golf Club Review

Date Played June 3, 2020

My wife and I got a chance to play Lost Key Golf Club this week. I can tell you up front…..we will play this course again. We loved our round! There is so much to talk about that I am not sure where to begin. So, I will start at how we were introduced to the course.

My neighbor works at Lost Key Golf Club. Something I learned last month. We were out for a walk and my neighbor Nick, said hello. We stopped and chatted a bit. During our conversation Nick said that he had noticed we load up the car with golf clubs often and suggested we play Lost Key Golf Club. He mentioned he worked there and would love to see us out there one day. Of course we were interested and wanted to give his course a try. 

We didn’t know what to expect so we took an exploratory drive to check it out.  It was nice from the second we drove up. Lost Key Golf Club is a members club that is open to the public. It is in a gated community with plenty of beautiful trees and water. We were excited to book our first round of golf there. However, with poor weather and COVID-19 it took us another month before we could step on the beautiful grass of Lost Key Golf Club.

When we arrived for our tee time Nick was outside and greeted us with a warm smile and a hearty hello. We chatted for a bit and he started getting us all set up for a round of golf. During our conversation he mentioned that Bubba Watson was going to be playing in front of us. I was instantly nervous and excited at the same time. We were getting ready to play golf on a course that a pro plays….and….we were going to be playing behind him. By the time it was our tee time the starter squeezed in another twosome and we were two groups back from Bubba. 

The first thing I noticed about Lost Key Golf Club was how green everything was. We are in a little bit of a drought here in the Florida panhandle and keeping the courses watered enough has been a difficult task. There was a little bit of “cancer” in some areas of the course, but very little. When we got to the greens of the first hole I was very impressed. The greens were immaculate. There were no marks, no divots, no brown spots and no areas needing repair. This was the theme for the rest of the course. 

As we continued to play, I noticed that I really couldn’t see any other players. Every now and again we would catch up to the group in front of us at a hole – or we could see the players behind us teeing off – but that was it. Later, when speaking to Nick about the course, he told me that was the intent and part of the design. Lost Key Golf Club makes you feel like the course is all yours. 

The course felt like a Florida course. It had it all – water, sand, trees, woods and sawgrass.  You have to have sawgrass in Florida!  

The layout was amazing. This was not a grip it and rip it course. As a matter of fact….I only used my driver twice. You need to play your shots with the next shot in mind. You for sure have to stay on or near the fairway.  Any stray shots had a very high potential for being lost. Nick did tell me before we started that this is a difficult course and to expect a higher score than normal. That statement stuck in my head. It caused me to play a little smarter and a lot less aggressive.  In the end it paid off – I had a good round of golf. 

Lost Key Golf Club was well suited for Kathy as well. She is a good player that hits the fairway a lot more than me.  She did have a little trouble with a couple of the holes that needed a longer drive than she can hit.  Other than that, she was able to enjoy the course and its complexities. Some courses lose their feel from one set of tees to the other….Lost Key Golf Club doesn’t.  It requires the same level of respect from every level of player.  Lost Key Golf Club actually teaches you to plan your shots instead of taking out your driver on every hole. I am sure that is why Bubba plays here. 

As I said in the beginning – we will play Lost Key Golf Club again. It is a beautiful course with a professional course feel. It is not your 20 dollar municipal course. Take your time and enjoy the round of golf, the nature of the course and the peaceful feel. You will get more than your moneys worth from Lost Key Golf Club.

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting. Written by Marc Festa

HOLE	PAR	SCORE	COMMENTS
1 – Tee Time Availability	4	4	It was easy to get the tee time we wanted.
2 – Cost of Green Fees	4	4	Comparable to courses of the same quality.
3 – Starter/Marshal	3	2	There is a starter that wants to get you out on the course. Provided information about the important things to watch out for.
4 – Condition of Tee Boxes	4	3	Tee boxes are in great shape.
5 – Condition of Fairways	5	4	The fairways are in great shape.
6 – Condition of Greens	4	3	The greens are also in great shape. Flawless if I am being honest.
7 – Length of Course	5	5	It is not a long course. The layout makes up for the distance.
8 – Hazards	4	4	There are different hazards on every hole. You can get into trouble fast.
9 – High Handicap Friendly	3	3	There are five different tee boxes for the all skill levels. Enough bathrooms on the course.
OUT	36	32
10 – Practice Area	5	5	There is a driving range and practice area. Beautiful putting green.
11 – Locker Rooms	3	3	Everything is clean.
12 – Pro Shop	4	4	Small but everything you need to play golf.
13 – Location	4	4	The location of this course is very easy to get to.
14 – Rental Equipment	4	4	They have a couple of sets available.
15 – Restaurant/Food Cart	4	4	Snack bar/restaurant. Good enough to get a bite to eat after your round or have a snack while you play.
16 – Club House	4	3	Fantastic staff.
17 – Parking	3	3	Parking lot right in front of clubhouse.
18 – Customer Service	5	4	Friendly staff that will get you on the course.
IN	36	33
TOTAL	72	65