Bay Point Golf Club

Bay Point Golf Club's Nicklaus Course is an 18-hole resort layout stretching to 7,152 yards along the waterways and pine corridors of Panama City Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1986 as Lagoon Legend by Bruce Devlin, the course was transformed by a Nicklaus Design renovation in 2005 into one of Florida's most recognized resort tests, hosting multiple USGA U.S. Open local qualifiers.

Bay Point Golf Club in Panama City Beach operates two championship courses on the Gulf Coast of the Florida Panhandle: the Nicklaus Course, redesigned by Gary Nicklaus and Rick Robbins in 2005, and the Meadows Course, a Willard Byrd design that weaves through the mature oaks and pines of the Bay Point community. Together, the two layouts represent the full range of Florida Panhandle golf character — from the redesigned Nicklaus Course's demanding waterfront challenge to the Meadows Course's tree-lined parkland rhythm. The Nicklaus Course has its origins in the original Bay Point golf development, which opened in 1986 as Lagoon Legends under the design of Bruce Devlin.

The Devlin layout built a reputation as one of the toughest tests in the Panhandle during its nearly two decades of operation — a waterfront design that punished inaccurate play and rewarded controlled shot-making over raw distance. When the course closed in 2004 for renovation, the goal was to preserve the demanding character of the original design while updating its conditioning infrastructure and strategic challenges to modern expectations. The redesign was completed by Rick Robbins and Gary Nicklaus, with the renovated Nicklaus Course reopening on September 17, 2005.

Travel + Leisure Golf recognized it as among the worthy redesigns and notable debuts in Florida following its reopening — an acknowledgment of both the scope of the renovation and the quality of the resulting layout. The course remains the only Nicklaus-branded course in Northwest Florida, a distinction that makes it the flagship golf destination for the Panhandle region. The Meadows Course, designed by Willard Byrd, plays through the established trees and strategically placed bunkers of the Bay Point residential community.

Byrd's design brings a different character to the Bay Point golf experience: shorter and more tree-lined than the Nicklaus Course, it rewards placement off the tee and precise iron play into protected greens. Bay Point's position in Panama City Beach — a short drive from the Gulf beaches of the Emerald Coast — has made it a consistent draw for golf travelers visiting the Panhandle and for the Bay Point residential community it anchors.