Orlando in January

What is your favorite course within a half an hour of Disney World? I prefer a course with quality fast greens.

Here's mine ranked:

1. Bay Hill

2. Reunion - Watson

3. Tranquilo

4. Southern Dunes

5. Ritz Carlton

6. Waldorf Astoria

7. ChampionsGate CC

8. Reunion - Nicklaus

9. OCN - Panther Lake

10. Disney - Magnolia

11. Reunion - Palmer

12. Grand Cypress (new)

13. Celebration

14. Eagle Creek

15. OCN - Crooked Cat

16. Bella Collina

18. Falcon's Fire

19. Shingle Creek

21. Providence

22. Disney - Palms

23. Orange Lake Resort - Legends

25. North Shore

26. Stonegate (either course)

27. Rio Pinar

28. Metrowest

29. Dubsdread

30. Hunters Creek

RH

> @RichieHunt said:

> Here's mine ranked:

>

> 1. Bay Hill

> 2. Reunion - Watson

> 3. Tranquilo

> 4. Southern Dunes

> 5. Ritz Carlton

> 6. Waldorf Astoria

> 7. ChampionsGate CC

> 8. Reunion - Nicklaus

> 9. OCN - Panther Lake

> 10. Disney - Magnolia

> 11. Reunion - Palmer

> 12. Grand Cypress (new)

> 13. Celebration

> 14. Eagle Creek

> 15. OCN - Crooked Cat

> 16. Bella Collina

> 18. Falcon's Fire

> 19. Shingle Creek

> 21. Providence

> 22. Disney - Palms

> 23. Orange Lake Resort - Legends

> 25. North Shore

> 26. Stonegate (either course)

> 27. Rio Pinar

> 28. Metrowest

> 29. Dubsdread

> 30. Hunters Creek

>

>

>

>

>

>

> RH

Great list...should be 'pinned' for everyone who asks this question lol

With that said, I would put Dubsdread a little higher up. Sure it's a short course and in the middle of downtown - but its in much better shape than Rio Pinar or Metrowest...those courses are literally goat tracks with holes in the fairways.

> @RichieHunt said:

> Here's mine ranked:

>

> 1. Bay Hill

> 2. Reunion - Watson

> 3. Tranquilo

> 4. Southern Dunes

> 5. Ritz Carlton

> 6. Waldorf Astoria

> 7. ChampionsGate CC

> 8. Reunion - Nicklaus

> 9. OCN - Panther Lake

> 10. Disney - Magnolia

> 11. Reunion - Palmer

> 12. Grand Cypress (new)

> 13. Celebration

> 14. Eagle Creek

> 15. OCN - Crooked Cat

> 16. Bella Collina

> 18. Falcon's Fire

> 19. Shingle Creek

> 21. Providence

> 22. Disney - Palms

> 23. Orange Lake Resort - Legends

> 25. North Shore

> 26. Stonegate (either course)

> 27. Rio Pinar

> 28. Metrowest

> 29. Dubsdread

> 30. Hunters Creek

>

>

>

>

>

>

> RH

Which of these courses will be around $50 per round or cheaper in January? A bunch of guys are taking a trip down there but we know we're gonna play bad since it's January and we're coming from cold weather. We'd like to play some fun courses that are in good shape. All of us are around scratch or better.

The lower ranked ones would be closer to under $50. Check GolfNow and find out.

However these courses are within 30 minutes of Disney.

You could go to a course like Victoria Hills which is about 40-45 minutes from Disney and pay under $50. Or Deltona Club. RedTail is iffy as far as being under $50, but it's an excellent course. Or you could travel 40-45 minutes to Lakeland and get on Eaglebrooke. Harmony Golf Preserve is worth a shot as well.

I would stay away from most of the lower priced ones on the list. Either crappy conditions and/or pace of play issues.

RH

#19, Providence is an interesting course. There are faster greens around, but the layout can be challenging. IMO 15 is one of the most difficult par 5s you’ll find in FL.

I'm going to play Providence on Sunday. I'll give a report next week.

RH

only because it's a 3rd shot from 150-160 for everyone. No other place to bail out on the 2nd shot. Not even a chance to go at it in 2. So I hit hybrid off the tee, 5 iron and have the ideal place to play the 3rd from marked on my GPS watch, no other way of playing it for me.

Completely changed vistas now on 15 and 16 thanks to construction. Greens are much better there now, played end Oct this year.

I'll second that on Dubs and they have a great 19th hole! Rio Pinar was... bad! Hard to believe it was an old PGA Tour stop

Rio Pinar used to be quite good and it was one of the favorite home courses of lots of mini-tour players. I was a member there for a year and then it went really bad. The area itself is sorta frozen in time. Some nice houses there, but lots of bad looking houses as well. Membership and restaurant clientele got old and passed away. 

It’s too bad because there were a lot of good people that were members there and the staff was excellent. They needed to get the members more involved and have a weekly cash game like Orange Tree has for its members to keep the younger members still wanting to come back. And the housing market crash hurt Rio Pinar greatly.

I think it’s still a good, solid design. If the conditioning was on par, it would be much higher on the list.

RH

you're right, it was just in such poor shape the 1 time I've played it i really can't bring myself to go back. The fairways were as wet as I've ever seen

Put it this way, Rio Pinar is so bad and desperate that they let us host our fraternity scramble there earlier this year. Shotgun start with 100 drunk idiots.

I even thought it was sub-par for a beer tournament such as that anyway, when I pulled up and saw the clubhouse I thought I was transported back to 1965. The grounds looks like they hadent been kept up in that long, either.

I can't believe the Rollins team practices there. For a ritzy private school you'd think they would have a better contract somewhere.

great list... thanks for posting this... I am in Florida for two weeks starting this Friday and I hope to get 5-7 rounds in.