Golf Courses in Destin Near Crystal Dunes 503

Destin offers plenty of options for golfers who want to work a round or two into a beach vacation. From resort courses and well-known public layouts to courses tucked into nearby communities, several of the area’s strongest options are within an easy drive of Crystal Dunes 503.

Rather than trying to list every golf course in the Destin area, we have focused this guide on the courses closest to the condo and the ones most likely to be worth considering during your stay. The selections below provide a mix of convenience, course style and reputation, making it easier to compare your options without sorting through every course in Northwest Florida.

Golf Digest maintains a current list of golf courses within 15 miles of Destin, along with ratings and reviews from its Places to Play course-ranking panel. We have focused our guide on the courses closest to Crystal Dunes 503 and the ones we think are most useful for guests deciding where to play. For the full current list and Golf Digest rankings, visit their Destin golf guide.

Use the course links below to explore each option in more detail, including location, course information and why it may be worth considering during your Destin vacation.

If golf is only part of your trip, you can also see the Crystal Dunes 503 Photo Gallery or check availability for Crystal Dunes 503.

Which Destin Golf Course Should You Choose?

If you only have time for one round during your Destin vacation, Kelly Plantation would usually be my first recommendation. I have played many of the courses around Destin, including Kelly Plantation, Regatta Bay, Indian Bayou, The Links, Raven and Burnt Pine, and Kelly gives me the best combination of scenery, course quality and convenience from Crystal Dunes 503.

That does not mean it is always the course I would book. When I am playing with guests, I usually balance course condition and price with where they would most like to play—and sometimes the best available tee time makes the decision for us.

Here is how I would think about the choices.

Best Overall Choice: Kelly Plantation

Kelly Plantation is the course I would recommend first to most golfers staying at Crystal Dunes 503. It is one of the closest quality courses to the condo, the Choctawhatchee Bay setting makes it especially scenic, and the course works well for a fairly broad range of golfers.

If you want to play one memorable round without spending much of your vacation driving to and from the course, this is probably where I would start.

Another Excellent Choice: Regatta Bay

Regatta Bay is another course I am comfortable recommending to golfers looking for a quality round. I personally prefer Kelly Plantation, but the difference is not large enough that I would pass up a much better tee time at Regatta Bay.

For a group of golfers, I would compare availability and price at both and choose the one that works best for the day.

Strong All-Around Choice: Emerald Bay

Emerald Bay is another course I would comfortably recommend to golfers staying at Crystal Dunes 503. It may not be my first choice ahead of Kelly Plantation or Regatta Bay, but it belongs in the same general quality conversation and is a course I would choose ahead of some of the more value-oriented options.

For me, Emerald Bay fits the golfer who simply wants a good overall round without overthinking the decision. It offers a strong combination of course quality, convenience and experience, which makes it an easy course to keep in the rotation when comparing tee times around Destin.

Best Scenic Value Alternative: The Links at Sandestin

If I am looking for a course that offers strong scenery without stepping all the way up to the higher-priced options, The Links at Sandestin is often the course I lean toward.

It usually costs a little more than Indian Bayou, but I personally think the views along Choctawhatchee Bay make the extra cost worthwhile. That scenery gives the round more of a destination feel, and that tends to push The Links ahead for me when I am deciding where to play.

Best Overall Value: Indian Bayou

For golfers trying to balance price with course quality, Indian Bayou is probably the best overall value in my opinion.

It is not necessarily cheap, but it offers a good mix of condition, quality and price. I would personally choose Kelly Plantation, Regatta Bay or Emerald Bay first if the goal were simply to play the better overall course, and I often lean toward The Links when the price difference is modest because I value the bay scenery.

But if the objective is getting a solid round while keeping value near the top of the decision, Indian Bayou remains one of the best choices.

Best for a Resort Golf Experience: Raven

Raven at Sandestin is a strong option when the golf itself is an important part of the vacation. It offers a more complete resort-golf experience and enough challenge and variety to appeal to more serious players.

It is farther from Crystal Dunes 503 than Kelly Plantation or Regatta Bay, so I would normally choose it because someone in the group specifically wanted to play there rather than simply because it was convenient.

Best for Families or Beginning Golfers: Seascape

I look at Seascape differently from the courses above.

For a family wanting to have some fun playing golf together, a beginning golfer, or someone who values convenience more than course quality, it may fit the trip well.

For more serious golfers—even those of us who are not low-handicap players but can generally keep pace and shoot in the low 90s or better—I would personally choose Kelly Plantation, Regatta Bay, Emerald Bay, The Links at Sandestin, Indian Bayou or Raven instead.

That distinction matters because Kelly Plantation is nearly as convenient from Crystal Dunes 503 while providing a substantially better golf experience in my opinion.

A Special-Access Option: Burnt Pine

Burnt Pine is one of the better-known courses in the area, and I have played it, but it is not a practical recommendation for most Crystal Dunes guests because access is limited to members and Sandestin resort guests.

It is worth knowing about, particularly for golfers already staying at the resort, but it should not be viewed as one of the normal public-access choices available from Crystal Dunes 503.

What I Would Do

If friends staying with us asked where we should play tomorrow, I would normally start with:

1. Kelly Plantation
2. Regatta Bay
3. Emerald Bay
4. The Links at Sandestin
5. Indian Bayou

Then I would compare tee times, price and what everyone in the group wanted from the round.

If someone specifically wanted a resort course, Raven would certainly be in the conversation. If the goal were simply a relaxed family outing rather than a more serious round, Seascape could make sense.

That is really how I think about golf in Destin: there are several good choices, and the best one depends less on a ranking than on who you are playing with, what kind of round you want and what tee times are available.