Following in the footsteps of tom doak, bill coore, and ben crenshaw to design the third 18-hole course at a new golf resort where the current two courses are already rated in the top 100 in the country is a tall task. As gil hanse and his architecture partner jim wagner launched the black course at streamsong in september 2017, they did exactly that.

Streamsong is a large 16,000-acre site 55 miles south east of tampa in polk county that was once controlled by the mosaic corporation during its farming production activities. it has been turned in a short period from an abandoned wasteland into one of america's most affluent, upmarket golf resorts.

Tom doak's blue course and coore & crenshaw's red course first opened to the public in 2014, and they soon found themselves in our us top 100 list. Fewer than a couple of architecture companies are likely to produce a third course of comparable significance, and hanse golf course design is undoubtedly one of them.

The black is located on a different section of the streamsong grounds, to the south of the red and blue, and it is much larger in size, with eleven acres dedicated to its putting surfaces and closely mown surrounds. The course has five par fives, a pair of driveable par fours, and a decent number of par threes, making it a par 73. Water threats are kept to a minimum and height changes are kept to a minimum.