Mark Tutor, Director of Golf at North Hampton, says that the people who built North Hampton wanted to make an impression of excellence on anyone who saw the club. He says that the unique course design does just that, and that excellence extends to the course maintenance, clubhouse amenities and the clubhouse itself. Each hole on the course is different and presents a unique challenge to the golfer. The dunes, the varying elevations - which can mean hitting from an elevated tee box or up to an elevated green - and the many lakes and long grasses give all 18 holes their own unique character.

Another interesting feature at North Hampton is the size of the greens. While the greens at most golf courses usually total three or four acres, the greens at North Hampton cover over six acres. Each cart carries a chart that specifies which of six zones on the greens is in play that day, and that information is vital to prevent overclubbing or underclubbing. If you’re going to rise to the challenge of North Hampton and shoot at the pins, you better make sure you don’t leave yourself with an 80 foot putt!

Water awaits on 17 of 18 holes at North Hampton, seeping into your consciousness more than it should interfere with your round. Much of the water doesn’t come into play unless an unfortunate shot brings it into play. But don’t worry, Tutor counsels; the water and other hazards don’t make the course unplayable. It’s still possible to get up and down from most trouble areas.

Tutor likes a number of the short par 4’s at North Hampton, but his favorite hole is probably No. 10. The tee sits up pretty high, so you might reach for a long iron, a 3-wood, or even a 7-wood, depending on what you have in your bag, if you can fight off the temptation to try to drive the green. With trouble left and trouble right, you’ll probably come to your senses and reach for an iron, but a tee ball in the fairway might provide only brief solace. The green is tilted and narrow, pea-shaped, and a nice approach is needed to hold the green. The placement of the pin front or right might tempt you with visions of birdie, but if you don’t hold the green, the ball can fall down and away, particularly right, leaving you a blind flop wedge to salvage par. No. 10 at North Hampton is a short par 4 that will make you pay for bravado off the tee and any lapse in concentration.

If you run into trouble, you can place the blame squarely on The King, Arnold Palmer. North Hampton is one of his first links-style course, and he is quite happy with his handiwork, having played it himself and sent a number of friends there. The course is beautifully maintained, with watering throughout the day rather than only at night, as many courses do, to prevent the water from sitting on the grass and oversoftening the top layer. That leaves the greens hard and fast. It also helps them to avoid the usual algae problems encountered on most courses. The greens are seeded with Tif-Eagle, a new grass which has less thatch and can be cut short to keep the greens firm and fast. That pleases the many pro golfers who have played there, such as Palmer, Mark McCumber, Gary Hallberg, Matt Kucher and Joe Ogilvie, who holds the course record with a 66.

But North Hampton isn’t just a golf course for better players. With Family Tees that play at only 2,914 yards and let any golfer learn the game and build some confidence to their Quickstart Program, which introduces beginner players of all ages to every aspect of the game, North Hampton is committed to bringing the game of golf to everyone and ensuring that every golfer - at whatever level - has a very enjoyable golf experience.

227 South 7th Street
Amelia Island, Florida 32034