Brits are back to Orlando in March

[Mr Fabulous]

For the 3rd year running I will be coming over to Orlando in mid-March (10th-20th) with friends from the UK. Two of us have been the past two years, the other two have never been to the USA. Our handicaps range from 8 to 18, and I'm after some advice as to what courses are currently playing well, and are likely to be in good condition / offer good value in March : I am conscious that conditions do fluctuate greatly from year to year, and have always found this site to provide accurate, valuable and up to date information. (Special mention to Richie Hunt - thanks buddy !)

 

In 2013, we played :

Championsgate - National

Bella Collina

Orange Lake Legends

OCN Panther Lake

Mystic Dunes

Royal St. Cloud

Southern Dunes

 

In 2014, we played :

Shingle Creek

Mission Inn El Campeon

Reunion Palmer

Reunion Watson

Celebration

Lake Wales

Highlands Reserve

The Majors

 

We would be VERY happy to re-visit many of these courses, and equally happy to try any new options, but I am deliberately not stating my preferences, as I don't wish to influence your replies. I am simply asking where should our priorities lie for this coming March in terms of where offers great golf, good value, and what is currently/likely to be in the best condition, please ?

 

If it helps, we will be staying in the Tuscan Hills Estate on Hwy 27, close to Highlands Reserve and Four Corners.

 

I really look forward to seeing your replies, and can't wait to get back there !

 

Many thanks in anticipation.

[67VIP]

Take a look at Southern Dunes, Waldorf Astoria, Disney Magnolia, and World Woods is a bit of a drive but well worth it. The Nicklaus course at Reunion was my favorite of the three, Crooked cat at OCN is nice, and the New Course at Grand Cypress is pretty special too. Also take a look at Streamsong, it's getting a ton of recognition and they just announced a third course. It's a bit of a hike from where you'll be but probably well worth the effort. I know I'll be heading over there on my next trip to visit my parents in Winter Haven. I've been playing golf in England for the past four years and it has been a blast!

[BrooklynGolfer]

+1 on World Woods. well worth the drive!

[FLGOLFJUNKIE]

Go play the new Champions Gate CC...see my review and pictures on it. You will NOT regret it.

[sabram]

Based on where you are staying, I'd suggest the following courses that you haven't played on your prior trips:

Grand Cypress New
Grand Cypress North and East
OCN Crooked Cat
Championsgate International
Disney - any of their courses
Reunion Nicklaus
Ritz Carlton Grand Lakes
Remington - This is inexpensive but has some interesting holes.

If I was staying where you are and was to repeat a course from a prior trip it would be Southern Dunes.

To expand on what others have suggested, I would definitely take a little longer drive for a day trip to World Woods or Streamsong. Either of those places will be the highlight of your trip. World Woods is about 1 3/4 hours drive. Streamsong is about 1 1/2 hour drive. If cost isn't a factor play 36 at Streamsong you won't regret it. If you are looking for something less expensive visit World Woods.

[1puttTUT]

Southern Dunes is a little out of the way, but the price reflects it.

I'm going next month and based on some of the other replies I think I'll try the OCN courses as well as either Grand Cypress or Grande Lakes.

[67VIP]

[quote name='1puttTUT' timestamp='1422235302' post='10817649']
Southern Dunes is a little out of the way, but the price reflects it.

I'm going next month and based on some of the other replies I think I'll try the OCN courses as well as either Grand Cypress or Grande Lakes.
[/quote]

I've played Southern Dunes many times, it's a great track. Grand Cypress New Course is another great one...I wasn't able to play it for many years as the green fee was ridiculous. When I finally did get on it was a great round...if you do play it get a yardage book and taken your gps, you'll need both. I've only played crooked cat at OCN and it was very nice, but panther lake is supposed to be the better track.

[Togatown22]

Last year was the first year my guys golf trip played the Waldorf Astoria course in Orlando. We really enjoyed the layout, terrain, and overall design of the facility. Cool practice area, and a great course; Rees Jones designed I believe. I can't speak to the cost as it was part of our 5 round w/ lodging (at Reunion) we booked through Teetimesusa. I will say that we liked it so much we are playing again this February on our trip. We also really enjoyed the Ritz course; it was the first time we'd played there. Southern Dunes is also an annual favorite we play every year.

[67VIP]

[quote name='Togatown22' timestamp='1422299441' post='10821769']
Last year was the first year my guys golf trip played the Waldorf Astoria course in Orlando. We really enjoyed the layout, terrain, and overall design of the facility. Cool practice area, and a great course; Rees Jones designed I believe. I can't speak to the cost as it was part of our 5 round w/ lodging (at Reunion) we booked through Teetimesusa. I will say that we liked it so much we are playing again this February on our trip. We also really enjoyed the Ritz course; it was the first time we'd played there. Southern Dunes is also an annual favorite we play every year.
[/quote]

I liked Waldorf Astoria as well...played it not long after it opened. A really sad thing is that Disney closed it's two best courses; Osprey Ridge and Eagle Pines, to make room for the Four Seasons. Now the Osprey course has been re-badged under another name and is exclusive to Four seasons guests. The Magnolia is the only one that was reasonably on par with Fazio's Osprey Ridge and Dye's Eagle Pines.

[moose557]

Providence- close to where you are staying.
Tranquillo- at the 4 seasons at Disney
Waldorf
the New Championsgate CC
Grande Pines
N/s or the New Course at Grand Cypress.
Disney Palm.
Falcons Fire- near Celebration.
OCN Crooked Cat

All these are rather close to where you are staying.

[Mr Fabulous]

Thanks very much for the advice. It's looking like the following will be on the list :

The Golf Club at Eaglebrooke
World Woods Pine Barrens
World Woods Rolling Oaks
Mission Inn El Campeon (& possibly Las Colinas)
Celebration
Highlands Reserve (with hangover after St. Paddy's Day !)
Grande Pines
& finally Providence, Harmony, Championsgate CC or OCN Crooked Cat - which of these four should we go for ?

Cheers !

[67VIP]

[quote name='Mr Fabulous' timestamp='1422562687' post='10843001']
Thanks very much for the advice. It's looking like the following will be on the list :

The Golf Club at Eaglebrooke
World Woods Pine Barrens
World Woods Rolling Oaks
Mission Inn El Campeon (& possibly Las Colinas)
Celebration
Highlands Reserve (with hangover after St. Paddy's Day !)
Grande Pines
& finally Providence, Harmony, Championsgate CC or OCN Crooked Cat - which of these four should we go for ?

Cheers !
[/quote]

Of those last four, I've only played the old International course at Championsgate and Crooked cat at OCN...they were both very nice. Don't waste your time & money on Las Colinas at Mission Inn, but El Campeon is a great track. I would suggest Southern Dunes, Waldorf Astoria, Disney Magnolia, or Grand Cypress New Course as a substitute. Enjoy your trip, I'm moving back to the states at the end of Feb...but to the pacific northwest. Won't get to see my parents in central Florida until probably Oct. Hoping to take my dad to Streamsong, but I'm trying to squeeze in my last two rounds here in England at Walton Heath and Sunningdale...played both before and they were phenomenal.

[Philipp]

Hey Mr. Fabulous,

May I hijack your thread and ask a few questions about the location

Nov. '14 we've (3 guys) been to Naples (Lely Resort). Loding and golf was great. However, we didn't expect Naples as boring as it was (OK, OK, we got warned before...). We're in our late 30's and far beyond from partying hard, but Naples still sucked.

Planning for Nov. '15 (this time 4 guys) to check the Orlando area, but honestly I have no idea where to start.
Tuscan Hills seems to be nice. That's Davenport area, right?. Nice place to stay? At least a little bit night life nearby?

Courses I'll be checking later since I expect the Orlando area to be packed with great courses (at least to our lousy German standards).

Thanks
Philipp

[moose557]

Philipp, if your coming just for golf Davenport is a good option, but if your looking for nightlife you dont want to stay in Davenport it's outside Orlando and It's pretty rural. Your going to be driving or cabbing a long way to get to any nightlife. Your better off finding hotels in the attractions area. That way your close to CityWalk st Universal, which is a bunch of restaurants and bars, near the bars on I Drive, close to Dr. PHILIPS area which has a bunch of bars and restaurants, and not sure of your age or how crazy your looking for your not too far from Downtown Orlando. I always steer friends visiting to stay at the Marriott Grande Vista Which is right on I drive and close to everything I listed. They got 2 and 3 bedroom suites with kitchens and pull out sofas which can sleep a lot of people.

[67VIP]

[quote name='Philipp' timestamp='1422618199' post='10847343']
Hey Mr. Fabulous,

May I hijack your thread and ask a few questions about the location

Nov. '14 we've (3 guys) been to Naples (Lely Resort). Loding and golf was great. However, we didn't expect Naples as boring as it was (OK, OK, we got warned before...). We're in our late 30's and far beyond from partying hard, but Naples still sucked.

Planning for Nov. '15 (this time 4 guys) to check the Orlando area, but honestly I have no idea where to start.
Tuscan Hills seems to be nice. That's Davenport area, right?. Nice place to stay? At least a little bit night life nearby?

Courses I'll be checking later since I expect the Orlando area to be packed with great courses (at least to our lousy German standards).

Thanks
Philipp
[/quote]
[quote name='moose557' timestamp='1422630867' post='10848241']
Philipp, if your coming just for golf Davenport is a good option, but if your looking for nightlife you dont want to stay in Davenport it's outside Orlando and It's pretty rural. Your going to be driving or cabbing a long way to get to any nightlife. Your better off finding hotels in the attractions area. That way your close to CityWalk st Universal, which is a bunch of restaurants and bars, near the bars on I Drive, close to Dr. PHILIPS area which has a bunch of bars and restaurants, and not sure of your age or how crazy your looking for your not too far from Downtown Orlando. I always steer friends visiting to stay at the Marriott Grande Vista Which is right on I drive and close to everything I listed. They got 2 and 3 bedroom suites with kitchens and pull out sofas which can sleep a lot of people.
[/quote]

Hi Philipp,

For golf in the Orlando area I would recommend the following for consideration (without consideration of budget or timeframe): Grand Cypress New Course, Southern Dunes, Reunion Palmer & Nicklaus courses, Orange County National Panther Lake & Crooked Cat, Waldorf Astoria, Disney Magnolia, World Woods Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks, Streamsong Red & Blue, Mission Inn El Campeon, & Championsgate. Any combination of those would make for a great road trip with the boys. There are a zillion other courses in the area, but those are good ones I am familiar with. On a bit of a higher level you might check and see if Black Diamond or Golden Ocala will allow outside play...they occasionally allow visitors and both are impressive--at least they were when I played them. If you guys are into a great steak Orlando has a Morton's, Flemings, Ruth Chris, & a Shula's I think.

[Philipp]

[quote name='moose557' timestamp='1422630867' post='10848241']
Philipp, if your coming just for golf Davenport is a good option, but if your looking for nightlife you dont want to stay in Davenport it's outside Orlando and It's pretty rural. Your going to be driving or cabbing a long way to get to any nightlife. Your better off finding hotels in the attractions area. That way your close to CityWalk st Universal, which is a bunch of restaurants and bars, near the bars on I Drive, close to Dr. PHILIPS area which has a bunch of bars and restaurants, and not sure of your age or how crazy your looking for your not too far from Downtown Orlando. I always steer friends visiting to stay at the Marriott Grande Vista Which is right on I drive and close to everything I listed. They got 2 and 3 bedroom suites with kitchens and pull out sofas which can sleep a lot of people.
[/quote]

Thanks moose,

Well, good golf is our top priority and we defenitely want to rent a small house or townhome.
Walking distance to any restaurants/bars is not mandatory. However we don't want to stay in the middle of nowhere

[moose557]

Phillip, yoyr going to be near fantastic golf no matter where you staY. Either location is a short drive from a ton of top courses, but for me and people who come to town to visi we find it beneficial to be a real short cab ride from a bunch of restaursnts and nightlife. Just food for thought.

[Mr Fabulous]

Hey guys, just wanted to say a big thank-you to all for your tips, advice and comments. We travel on 10th March, and now have all our golf booked. I'd be interested in your opinions, but we've got everything booked and haven't had to pay over $100 for any round, with a range of $40-100 !

The running order is as follows :

Grande Pines
World Woods Rolling Oaks
World Woods Pine Barrens
The Golf Club at Eaglebrooke
Celebration
Bella Collina
Mission Inn El Campeon

then to finish off we're going to Bay Hill to see what we should have been doing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, provided we survive nights out at City Walk, Universal, Downtown Orlando and Paddy's Night !

We avoided Southern Dunes because we had a bad experience 2 years ago with ridiculously slow play : our 4-ball completed our morning round in 3hrs 15 minutes,then lunch, then the first 3 holes of our afternoon round took 30 minutes, until we caught up with golfers in front. The next 3 holes took 1 hour 35 minutes (I kid you not !) so we walked off ! There is no doubt that the course is magnificent, but another factor was that we couldn't get it for under the magical 100 bucks (same with OCN).

One question - the day we play World Woods, we are going to play both courses : realistically how long should a morning round take on Rolling Oaks ?

Cheers sports fans,

Mr Fabulous xx

[sabram]

[quote name='Mr Fabulous' timestamp='1425056852' post='11040683']
One question - the day we play World Woods, we are going to play both courses : realistically how long should a morning round take on Rolling Oaks ?
Mr Fabulous xx
[/quote]

There is never a guaranty, but we played our rounds at World woods at exactly 4 hours each. We were the second or third group out in the morning. Of course it depends on who is in front of you

[Philipp]

Mr Fabulous,

May I ask how you booked the lodging and golf. Through some agency eg Teetimesusa ?

Have you stayed at Tuscan Hills before? Anything to do there at night?

Thanks
Philipp

[caller]

going to a convention in Orlando, is March weather good for golfing?

[Ritzer81]

[quote name='caller' timestamp='1425127142' post='11046239']
going to a convention in Orlando, is March weather good for golfing?
[/quote]

By chance are you heading down to the BST Conference in Orlando? If so I'm looking for a playing partner for Saturday afternoon near the conference.

[moose557]

March weather in Orlando is perfect for golfing. 75-85 no. humiidity. Can't be better.

[caller]

[quote name='Ritzer81' timestamp='1425219233' post='11052801']
[quote name='caller' timestamp='1425127142' post='11046239']
going to a convention in Orlando, is March weather good for golfing?
[/quote]

By chance are you heading down to the BST Conference in Orlando? If so I'm looking for a playing partner for Saturday afternoon near the conference.
[/quote]

Going for the NPE show.
The last week of March.

[quote name='moose557' timestamp='1425238090' post='11054619']
March weather in Orlando is perfect for golfing. 75-85 no. humiidity. Can't be better.
[/quote]

Thanks, that is great to hear!

[Mr Fabulous]

So many questions to answer, so here goes :

Phillipp : Yes I've stayed at Tuscan Hills before, and also at Hampton Lakes (which is a mile or so South on Hwy 27.) The biggest issue in finding somewhere suitable to stay is that the best value (self-catering / villa) accommodation all seems to be West and South West of Orlando, and therefore in close approximity to Disney. However, unlike in the UK, the bars and nightlife are so spread out that a car is almost essential (not good for those of us who enjoy a beer or two !). The location suits us well, because it is one of the few places that does at least have a decent bar within walking distance (the Paddywagon just across Hwy27 at Berry Town Center). The complex there also has a decent Applebees restaurant, and Indian restaurant, a Publix supermarket, etc. It is NOT a jumping nightlife (except on Paddy's Day !), but it's a good and fairly busy sports bar that we like.

The best nights out are in Downtown Orlando (on Friday and Saturday night - but avoid any week-day, 'cos it's dead !), and CityWalk at Orlando on any night - they are both a good taxi ride away, but we figured that what we save on accommodation costs (and for really good accommodation) and also easy road links to a bunch of great golf courses, it is a price worth paying. We have a four double-bedroomed villa with heated pool, jacuzzi & games room + 2 en-suite bathrooms plus a third bathroom for $1000 for 10 days ! We booked this privately through Home Away website, but there is a huge choice available.

Regarding the golf, I booked most of it either through GolfNow (which tend to either match or better prices on TeeTimesUSA), directly with the Golf Clubs (a bit of negotiation over the phone works well, as they prefer cutting out the "middle man" of the agency fees), or via GroupGolfer.com.

As for weather, we have had perfect 75-85 F (23-29C) temperatures the last couple of years with the odd short, sharp downpour thrown in. Humidity is also very comfortable. Put it this way : I have not needed a sweater nor raincoat, and have lived in shorts and tee-shirts for the duration of my stays.

Ritzer : No, we're not going to any conference or convention, just 4 guys going for a golfing holiday. Also, as we are a fourball and have booked to play Celebration on Saturday 14th March, I'm not able to invite you to join us - sorry buddy !

I hope that answers your questions, but just get back to me if you need any more.

Cheers,

Mr Fabulous xx

[Philipp]

Thanks Mr Fabulous. That helps a lot.
I think we guys are like-minded. We want a nice 4 bedroom house and enjoy the golf. However, one or two nights out would not hurt. Something like the Paddywagon is all we need.

So by Tuscan Hills you mean just the Tuscan Hills Blvd, or is this a larger area? Just want to get it right when I book though Teetimesusa or any other agency.

Thanks again
Philipp

[Mr Fabulous]

Philipp - if you Google map Berry Town Center, you will see that just across Hwy 27 is the Tuscan Hills gated community. We have stayed on Brunello Drive, and it's secure, peaceful and a 15 minute walk (albeit with Hwy 27 to cross) to Applebees, a pizza place, the Indian restaurant and most importantly the Paddywagon !

If you do choose to stay at Tuscan Hills or one of the communities on Hwy 27, you MUST go for a meal at Manny's Chophouse, which is a 15 minute drive South on Hwy 27 on the Northern edge of Haines City - terrific American diner with great food, great atmosphere and great prices - it's always full of locals !

Grab a taxi for memorable beer-fuelled nights out at Citywalk or Downtown Orlando (Church Street is the place to be) - it's wild and fantastic fun !

As far as golf goes, my top recommendations within about half an hour's drive would be :

Celebration
OCN Panther Lakes & Crooked Cat
Southern Dunes (play as early in the morning as comfortable, cos play gets slow later in the day)
The Golf Club at Eaglebrooke
Orange Lake Legends
Grand Cypress New
Harmony Golf Preserve

If you're prepared to travel a bit further :

World Woods - Pine Barrens & Rolling Oaks
Mission Inn El Campeon
Bella Collina (what a clubhouse !!!!)

Finally, right on your doorstep here is Highlands Reserve - cheap and under-rated.

I hope this helps buddy, and have a good trip - this time next week, I'll be on my way !

[Philipp]

Wow, thanks Mr Fab you're the best.

I wish you and your lads an awsome trip !!!

PS
Don't forget the tripreport after your return. You can PM my what "really" has happened... ?