Raven at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort

Ended up playing by myself between a threesome and a foursome. Pace of play was great, course conditions were excellent.

My wife and I have played a number of rounds different courses this week and we enjoyed the Raven. We were unaware that they mow the driving range on Wednesday morning so it was closed which was a disappointment as we had arrived early to warm up due to the cooler conditions. They should have posted on GolfNow that the range is closed for mowing. We had an 8a tee time and went off a few minutes early getting paired with a coupe of nice guys. The course was in nice condition with the only exception being the greens were of varying speeds throughout the day. Practice green was a little fuzzy and slowish. First green had likely been mowed and/or rolled and was 2-3 feet faster than the practice green. Second hole was more like the practice green speed and this variance continued throughout the round. Overall we would play again but would be sure and understand if the range was open or not to time our arrival.

I’m a 8 handicapper and absolutely loved this course. It had a great variety of holes, a ton of rolling features, risk reward doglegs, and well placed bunkers. It wasn’t brutal, but I left feeling like it was a perfect challenge for choosing shots and being rewarded for my efforts.

Least of all, the course was in great shape. I played Regatta Bay earlier in the week and The Raven was definitely in better condition. Additionally, it’s just a more exciting course than most of the other $100-$175 courses in Destin. Regatta bay was honestly flat and boring, but I was excited every hole at the Raven. I’ll definitely be coming back.

I know it’s winter, but we are here in Florida. I used to love this course, but the course condition has gone pretty far downhill. Tons of divots in the fairways. Greens inconsistent in speed. Worst thing is the staff had failed to update the pin position for the cart GPS system and it took Mr 4 holes of wondering why my club was off 15-20 yds before I pulled out my range finder to find a pin shown as 115 on the cart was actually 134 yds away. From then on I just used the range finder and ignored the cart system. Seems a shame to have it and make it useless or worse detrimental. It got better from then on, but still a very disappointing course even at the hot deal cost of $85. It’s usually well over $100. Just doesn’t bring the value for the money at this point. I won’t play it again until I hear they have it in shape. This despite a fantastic layout. It was one of the best in the area.

Course in good overall shape. Started with long frost delay but we were third group out and played in 3:30.
Could use a few more beverage carts as we didn’t see any all day.
Nice to have a snack at the turn

I brought guests in from out of state to play with me at this course. The range is completely overwatered and very soggy and muddy. They were Very disappointed to have to hit range balls in with a range that shape. Also on the golf course, zero of the bunkers were raked by the staff for the course set up for the day. Numerous problems with the bunkers.

Practice area not very good especially chipping and putting green.

An enjoyable round! Glad that course has dried out so as to be able to drive to your ball.

Played 2 days in a row. Heavy rain before so rough only first day 90 degree second. Fairways were wet in spots but greens were good. Enjoyed the course

Driving range hitting area was not big enough and we had to wait to hit balls for about 15 minutes. The balls were covered in dried dirt and mud. The range grass was very tall on the hitting surface.

The staff inside the pro shop were not very friendly and to be honest had an attitude problem. You really would think that paying $120+ to play golf on vacation that the customer service would be better. Unacceptable.

We saw the beverage cart once in 18 holes. There is zero drinking water on the course..

Summary: The golf course is great but not much else.

Bag drop and check in process was smooth and easy. As with other reviews, the only negative about the course would be the condition of the greens. There were quite a few little dead dots like something had leaked from the mower, a little shaggy and just not in the pristine condition I was hoping for. We were in a group of three and would expect to be slower than the foursome in front to us but they were at least 2-3 holes behind. With the GPS system in the carts, It seems like the staff would have recognized and addressed this sooner. One other thing, the range could have had more stations. I happened to get lucky and catch one open but it was the last one and everyone after had to wait.

Course was nice, definitely with $50 Courses was wet from previous rainy days. Range was closed and carts were restricted, understandable but problematic for the seniors I played with

No warning. No explanation to 16 A or B. Having played the course, still no idea what this is all about.

The course always delivers! There are many challenging holes on this course but it’s a fun course.