Georgia
Destin & the Panhandle Golf Courses & Tee Times in Georgia
Golf in the Panhandle follows the water. Around Destin and Sandestin the courses sit on Choctawhatchee Bay, Bay Point plays around the Grand Lagoon and St. Andrews Bay in Panama City Beach, and Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola and Tallahassee run their own city courses. Sandestin's Raven course hosted the Boeing Championship on the PGA Champions Tour in 2006 and 2007. The area's golf history goes back further in Pensacola, where Osceola opened in 1926 and was played by the field of the Pensacola Open, a PGA Tour event, starting in 1929.
Good weekend tee times in Destin & the Panhandle go fast, and the ones that come back later (cancellations, groups that shrink) aren't announced. Yoink watches the tee sheets at 1 public course here, and tells you the moment a time you want opens up.
The longest layout here is Tired Creek Golf Course at 6,694 yards.
Who runs public golf in Destin & the Panhandle
Most of the golf around Destin is resort and daily-fee. Sandestin's Raven, Baytowne and The Links take outside play, while Burnt Pine is the resort's most exclusive club. Kelly Plantation says it is open to the public. The cities run their own golf. Fort Walton Beach runs Fort Walton Beach Golf Club, with its Oaks and Pines courses, through a newly established Golf Course Department. Pensacola owns Osceola, a Florida Historic Golf Trail course that was fully renovated in 2011. Tallahassee bought Hilaman in 1981, reopened it in 1982 as an 18-hole par 72, and also runs Jake Gaither, a nine-hole par 36.
Public courses worth knowing in Destin & the Panhandle
- Sandestin - Raven Golf Club: Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout, par 71, 5,060 to 6,931 yards through marsh and pine. Hosted the Boeing Championship on the PGA Champions Tour in 2006 and 2007.
- Sandestin - Baytowne Golf Club: Tom Jackson design and, per Sandestin, the only Emerald Coast course that runs from the beach to the bay. Five sets of tees, 3,002 to 6,804 yards.
- Sandestin - The Links: Sandestin's original course, a Tom Jackson design with five holes along Choctawhatchee Bay and the Baytowne Marina. 4,897 to 6,710 yards.
- Burnt Pine: Rees Jones course next to Raven, the one place his and Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s courses meet. Ranked #14 in Florida on Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play list for 2018-2019.
- Kelly Plantation Golf Club: Fred Couples and Gene Bates design over 7,000 yards on a former turpentine plantation on Choctawhatchee Bay, with bunkers and tees redone by Bill Bergin Golf Design.
- Bay Point - Nicklaus Course: Bruce Devlin's 1986 Lagoon Legends, reworked by Nicklaus Design and reopened in 2005; the only Nicklaus Design course in Northwest Florida. The fifth tees off to an island fairway in the Grand Lagoon.
- Emerald Bay Golf Club: Bob Cupp design running through a gated community on Choctawhatchee Bay between Destin and South Walton.
- Osceola Golf Course: Pensacola's city course, designed in 1926 by Wild Bill Mehlhorn while he was the pro at Pensacola Country Club. On the Florida Historic Golf Trail; renovated in 2011.
Booking tee times in Destin & the Panhandle: the local rules
At Sandestin, resort guests can book tee times up to six months ahead, and golf packages and group times up to 13 months. Everyone else, including Club Members, gets a much shorter window, so check the course page before you plan around a date. Burnt Pine's page lists its outside rates for resort guests only, after 1pm in summer and after noon in winter. Fort Walton Beach books its city courses through fwbgolf.com, and Osceola in Pensacola takes tee times by phone at 850-453-7599.
Yoink
Know the rules. Let Yoink do the waiting.
Booking windows decide who gets first pick. After that, times come back one at a time as plans change. Yoink watches the course in Destin & the Panhandle and tells you when a time that fits comes back, so you're not refreshing the page all week.
1 course in Destin & the Panhandle
Why tee times in Destin & the Panhandle are hard to get
In Destin & the Panhandle, the busiest months are spring and fall. In summer, everyone wants to finish before the heat, so early tee times go first.
Each course releases its tee times on its own schedule, commonly a week or two out, with residents of town and county courses often booking first. Leagues, outings and members claim chunks of the sheet in advance, and whatever prime weekend times are left tend to go on release day.
When tee time cancellations happen
A full tee sheet rarely stays full. Many courses let you cancel without a fee up to 24 or 48 hours before your time, so spots tend to reappear in the last couple of days. A bad forecast shakes more loose, and a foursome that drops to three opens a single. None of it is announced. The time just shows up again on the booking page, and whoever looks first gets it.
How to get a tee time in Destin & the Panhandle
Yoink
Let Yoink watch the tee sheet in Destin & the Panhandle
Yoink watches the course in Destin & the Panhandle for you. The open tee times sit in one place instead of a dozen booking pages, and your phone buzzes the moment one fits your day, time window and group, cancellations included.
Doing it by hand? Here's what works.
- Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
- Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
- Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
- Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked
Tee times in Destin & the Panhandle: questions
How do I get notified when a tee time opens up in Destin & the Panhandle?
Set a watch in Yoink for the courses you want, the days you can play, a time window and the number of players. Yoink checks those tee sheets every few minutes and sends a notification as soon as a matching time appears, cancellations included. You book it directly with the course.
When do tee time cancellations usually show up?
Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the weather forecast changes. They appear without notice and tend to be rebooked quickly.
How far in advance can you book a tee time in Destin & the Panhandle?
It depends on the course. Many public courses open bookings 7 to 14 days ahead, and town or county courses often give residents an earlier window. Each course's own booking page has its policy.
When is golf busiest in Destin & the Panhandle?
Demand is highest in spring and fall, and early in the morning in summer. Weekend mornings are always the hardest tee times to get.
Does Yoink book the tee time for me?
No. Yoink tells you when a time opens; you book it with the course on its own booking page, at the course's price, with no extra fee.
More golf in Georgia
- Atlanta · 82 courses
- Macon & Middle Georgia · 19 courses
- North Georgia Mountains · 16 courses
- South Georgia · 14 courses
- Hilton Head · 12 courses
- Augusta · 11 courses
- Jacksonville · 9 courses
- Knoxville & Chattanooga · 2 courses
- Northwest Arkansas · 1 courses
Sources
Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.
- sandestin.com · official
- sandestin.com · official
- sandestin.com · official
- sandestin.com · official
- kellyplantationgolf.com · official
- emeraldbaygolfclub.com · official
- emeraldbaygolfclub.com · official
- fwb.org · official
- destinflorida.com · media
- talgov.com · official
- cityofpensacola.com · official
- cityofpensacola.com · official
- baypointgolfclub.com · official
- nicklausdesign.com · official
- kempersports.com · official
Tee times in Destin & the Panhandle, without the refreshing
Watch as many courses as you like. When a time opens that fits your day, window and group, Yoink tells you first.