The 42-day post was about the data. Two qualifiers from the tips. Approach SG at +4.2. Driving SG improving from -3.3 to -2.1. Putting SG at -6.4. The data told me where the game was. Now, 28 days out, the question is different: where does the game meet the courses?
Streamsong isn't one test. It's three. Coore & Crenshaw's Red, Doak's Blue, Hanse's Black — each a different argument about what golf should ask of you. The game I'm bringing to Florida has a known profile: elite approach, improving driver, putter under pressure that hasn't held up in competition. Each of the three courses will test a different seam in that profile.
The Game I'm Bringing
Before mapping it onto the courses, here's what the qualifier data actually says. Three rounds at Patterson — one from the blues, two from the tips — with strokes-gained data on all of them.
| Category | Aug 7 (blues) | Aug 16 (tips) | Aug 20 (tips) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 71 (E) | 85 (+14) | 81 (+10) | — |
| Approach SG | +4.6 | +1.5 | +4.2 | Elite / constant |
| Driving SG | -0.2 | -3.3 | -2.1 | Improving |
| Putting SG | -2.6 | -7.7 | -6.4 | The crisis |
| GIR | 15/18 | 12/18 | 14/18 | Pattern, not fluke |
| Putts | 33 | 40 | 42 | Getting worse under pressure |
Three things to take to Streamsong: the approach is the strength, the driver is the fix in progress, and the putter is the gap between a good round and a great one. Now let's see what each course does with each of those.
The Matchup
Streamsong Red vs. The Approach
Advantage: GameCoore & Crenshaw's Red sits on the highest ridges on the property. The greens are large but perched — sitting on ridgelines, falling away on the sides. Miss the green and you're chipping up a bank with the pin invisible above you. The bunkering is naturalistic, irregular, sprawling — grass-faced, wind-shaped.
This is the course that matches up best with the approach game. 14/18 GIR from the tips at Patterson is a pattern, not a fluke — three rounds, 15/12/14. The irons hold up from 7,140 yards. At Streamsong Red, the fairways are generous. Finding them isn't the question. The question is what you do from the fairway — and that's where the approach SG at +4.2 says the game is ready.
But there's a catch. Coore's greens are large with internal contouring that makes a 40-foot putt have three different breaks. The approach gets you to the green. What happens on the green is a different story. The Red will expose the putting crisis more directly than the other two courses, because the greens are large enough that you'll have more long putts — and long putts are where the handle-stall shows up worst. The approach is the weapon. The putter is the exposure.
Streamsong Blue vs. The Driver
Advantage: Course (slightly)Doak's Blue is the most links-like of the three — wider fairways, more ground-game options, greens that run up to the fairway without a collar of rough. The 17th is the famous par-3 almost entirely surrounded by sand. The routing is the most walkable, the most fun, and the course where I expect to post the lowest score.
But the Blue is also where the driver matters most in a specific way. Doak's contrarian design philosophy means the wide fairways have subtle tilts that kick your ball toward trouble if you don't account for them. The ground game is alive — the ball runs on the sandy soil — which means a driver that launches low and leaks left (the Aug 16 pattern at -3.3 SG) doesn't just miss the fairway. It runs into trouble. From the tips, the improved driver (Aug 20 at -2.1, the August 17 lesson translating in four days) needs to keep trending in the right direction.
The Blue is where the driver fix gets its real test. Not because the fairways are narrow — they're not. Because the ground game amplifies whatever the ball is doing. A higher-launching driver that doesn't leak left means shorter clubs into Doak's greens from better angles. A low-leaking driver means longer approaches from worse positions, and the ground game turns a small miss into a big one.
Streamsong Black vs. The Putter
Advantage: CourseHanse's Black is the course that most rewards local knowledge. The greens are the most boldly contoured of the three. The putting surfaces are smaller than the Red or Blue. Water comes into play more directly. The Black feels tighter, more enclosed, more classical — tree-lined corridors, a more traditional parkland feel layered on top of the sandy base.
This is the course that exposes the putting crisis most brutally. Smaller greens mean the approach has to be precise — but the approach is ready for that. The problem is what happens after the approach. Hanse's contours will move the ball in directions you didn't anticipate. The first time you play the Black, shots that look good in the air end up in the wrong place because the slopes redirect the ball. You'll have putts that break in directions you didn't know existed. Three-putts eat you alive on greens like that.
The putting SG at -6.4 in the second qualifier — with two four-putts and four missed three-footers — is not a Streamsong Black problem. It's an everything problem. But it's a Streamsong Black problem most of all. The setup work from the August 3 lesson (eyes over the ball, handle through impact) is understood. The mirror work is done. What's missing is trust under pressure. On the Black's boldly contoured greens, every putt has consequences. The handle can't stall. The putter has to release.
What Each Course Asks
Put it all together and the matchup is clear:
- Red (Coore & Crenshaw): The approach is the weapon. The greens are large with internal contouring — the approach gets you there, the putter is what happens when you arrive. The approach is ready. The putter is the question.
- Blue (Doak): The driver needs to keep trending in the right direction. The ground game amplifies the miss. The fairways are generous, but the angles matter. The driver is close. The ground game is the amplifier.
- Black (Hanse): The putter is the test. Boldly contoured greens, smaller surfaces, local knowledge required. Every putt has consequences. The approach can get you to the green. The putter is what happens on it.
The 28-Day Plan
The 42-day post had a five-point plan. Fourteen days in, it's still the right plan — but the qualifier data and the course matchup refine it. Here's what the next four weeks look like:
- Putting under pressure — the project. The setup is understood. The mirror work is done. What's missing is trust under pressure. Competitive putts in practice. Don't leave a putt short without re-putting it. Make the 3-footers mean something. If the handle stalls, re-stroke it immediately. The Black will expose every stall. Build the trust before October 8.
- Driver — maintain the release feel. The August 17 lesson is translating (-3.3 to -2.1 in four days). Don't lose it. The feel: clubhead catches up to the hands, left hip pulls back in the backswing. Every range session, start with driver and check the launch. The Blue's ground game will amplify whatever the ball is doing. Higher launch, not leaking left.
- Approach — protect it. 14/18 GIR from the tips is a pattern. Don't add a new swing thought. The approach is the strength. The Red's large greens are where this shows up most — the approach gets you there. Protect it.
- Walk every round. 54 holes in two days on dramatic terrain. The legs need to be ready. No carts for the next 28 days.
- One lesson with Dave before the trip. A tune-up, not an overhaul. Check that the release isn't drifting back to hold-off. Check that the putting setup hasn't slipped. Make sure the path is right.
What Changed in 14 Days
42 days out, I was clearer about where the game was. The approach was a weapon. The driver was a fix in progress. The putter was the project.
28 days out, I'm clearer about where the game meets the courses. The Red matches up with the approach — the strength against the large greens. The Blue matches up with the driver — the fix in progress against the ground game that amplifies it. The Black matches up with the putter — the crisis against the boldly contoured greens that will expose it.
Three courses. Three architects. Three tests. One game with known strengths and known gaps. 28 days to close the gap between the game I'm bringing and the courses that are waiting.
The approach is ready. The driver is close. The putter is the project. The countdown says 28. The calendar says October 8. The range says today.