Walking friendly courses in Florida

Ollieb · April 14, 2016

Hi guys

If there are any Florida golf experts out there that can help me with the following it would be greatly appreciated!

I am looking to book a week's holiday over the Christmas break to Florida for some golf in the sun. We will be visiting purely for the Golf...not interested in Disney etc. I am assuming at that time of the year, the further south in Florida the better to get the higher temperatures?

Here is my list of criteria:

a) We all hate playing golf in buggies so are looking for courses that are walking friendly...or better still encourage walking.

b) I will be visiting with some decent single figure & possibly pro golfers so want courses that will be in good condition at that time of year...avoiding any major course maintenance periods....never having played in Florida when typically do your courses undergo hollow tining of the greens etc?

c) Ideally we would like a central base where we can play 3 or 4 decent courses.

d) 1 of the courses we would likely use as our main base so needs to have great practice facilities as a couple of the days we may spend on the practice ground.

e) Don't mind throwing in a top priced course (ie $200) but for the majority of the time would rather limit the costs per rnd to somewhere between $60-$100.

Having just come back from a trip to Scottsdale, this was a great destination in the sense that the town was small enough to get around on foot with plenty going on in the evenings, and lots of courses within 20-30mins of the old town. Can you recommend anywhere similar in Florida? I've have a slight sway towards trying the Naples area...not really sure why apart from the fact that Naples is supposed to be a classy/safe area to visit.

We'll probably be making use of Airbnb for accommodation as this trip is going to be more about the golf than staying in a 5 star hotel.

Any help greatly appreciated!

Ollie

BrianL99 · April 14, 2016

Other than Streamsong and World Woods, I think you'll be hard pressed to find a first class course that will allow you to walk if you're not a member.

I'm sure there are some out there, but I can't think of any. Of course, most of my Florida experience is around the Tampa area.

Ollieb · April 14, 2016

Other than Streamsong and World Woods, I think you'll be hard pressed to find a first class course that will allow you to walk if you're not a member.

I'm sure there are some out there, but I can't think of any. Of course, most of my Florida experience is around the Tampa area.

Thanks Brian, I'd love to play Streamsong as it looks great, & would make a great base for the week, however looking at their prices we may stretch to 1 round there but for this trip we really need to take it down a couple of notches in terms of the green fees. We don't necessarily need 'first class/well known' golf courses but what we are ideally looking for are some courses in the $60-$100 bracket that will be in good condition for some winter practice as we will be travelling from the UK trying to get away from the British weather!

jerebear21 · April 14, 2016

you can walk at Orange County National or mission inn during christmas time. It'll be kind of painful in the back 9 with some major elevation changes. Those are two courses near the disney area and are always in great conditions.

Ollieb · April 14, 2016

you can walk at Orange County National or mission inn during christmas time. It'll be kind of painful in the back 9 with some major elevation changes. Those are two courses near the disney area and are always in great conditions.

Ok many thanks for the heads up! Have just had a look at World Woods and that looks v interesting. Green fees look very reasonable and huge practice area too. Any other courses in that neck of the woods worth visiting, if we say based ourselves at WW and then threw in a couple of other rounds nearby? Anyone any experience of World Woods in terms of general condition of the course and greens?

BrianL99 · April 15, 2016

you can walk at Orange County National or mission inn during christmas time. It'll be kind of painful in the back 9 with some major elevation changes. Those are two courses near the disney area and are always in great conditions.

Ok many thanks for the heads up! Have just had a look at World Woods and that looks v interesting. Green fees look very reasonable and huge practice area too. Any other courses in that neck of the woods worth visiting, if we say based ourselves at WW and then threw in a couple of other rounds nearby? Anyone any experience of World Woods in terms of general condition of the course and greens?

Both courses at World Woods are in excellent condition, I played both this week.

I didn't know Mission Hills allowed walking, but they're both good courses and typically in very good condition.

I don't know of any courses around World Woods that will allow you to walk.

Ollieb · April 15, 2016

you can walk at Orange County National or mission inn during christmas time. It'll be kind of painful in the back 9 with some major elevation changes. Those are two courses near the disney area and are always in great conditions.

Ok many thanks for the heads up! Have just had a look at World Woods and that looks v interesting. Green fees look very reasonable and huge practice area too. Any other courses in that neck of the woods worth visiting, if we say based ourselves at WW and then threw in a couple of other rounds nearby? Anyone any experience of World Woods in terms of general condition of the course and greens?

Both courses at World Woods are in excellent condition, I played both this week.

I didn't know Mission Hills allowed walking, but they're both good courses and typically in very good condition.

I don't know of any courses around World Woods that will allow you to walk.

Thanks Brian, I did some more research last night and with the low costs of WW it gives us a little more budget to play with so now thinking we could do 3 rnds at WW and possibly an overnight stay at Streamsong with a rnd on both courses! Thanks for your help.

BrianL99 · April 15, 2016

Shoot me a message when the time comes, I'm always in Florida over Christmas break and at World Woods most every day.

Ollieb · April 15, 2016

Shoot me a message when the time comes, I'm always in Florida over Christmas break and at World Woods most every day.

Will do, will let you know if/when we get booked up. Cheers :0)

RichieHunt · April 15, 2016

Skyview at Terra Vista is a quality course that is about 30 minutes from WW. I'm pretty certain they would allow walking as well and the rates are usually quite good.

If WW is a problem, I would recommend staying in Ocala. I'm pretty certain these golf courses would allow walking:

- Stone Creek

- Candler Hills

- Royal Oaks

- Juliette Falls

- Ocala National

- Skyview at Terra Vista

I probably would not want to walk Ocala National, but it is walkable.

All of these are within 30 minutes of each other (some are within 5 minutes of each other).

Stone Creek is solid and usually in teriffic shape. Candler Hills is better and usually in great condition. Royal Oaks is a great design and usually in fair shape. Juliette Falls has one of the best designs in all of Florida. They stopped overseeding during the winter, but shouldn't be an issue during December. Ocala National is alright. I think it's a fair test, but very hard. Conditioning is okay. Skyview is really good, especially on the back nine.

RH

Ollieb · April 15, 2016

Skyview at Terra Vista is a quality course that is about 30 minutes from WW. I'm pretty certain they would allow walking as well and the rates are usually quite good.

If WW is a problem, I would recommend staying in Ocala. I'm pretty certain these golf courses would allow walking:

- Stone Creek
- Candler Hills
- Royal Oaks
- Juliette Falls
- Ocala National
- Skyview at Terra Vista

I probably would not want to walk Ocala National, but it is walkable.

All of these are within 30 minutes of each other (some are within 5 minutes of each other).

Stone Creek is solid and usually in teriffic shape. Candler Hills is better and usually in great condition. Royal Oaks is a great design and usually in fair shape. Juliette Falls has one of the best designs in all of Florida. They stopped overseeding during the winter, but shouldn't be an issue during December. Ocala National is alright. I think it's a fair test, but very hard. Conditioning is okay. Skyview is really good, especially on the back nine.

RH

Many thanks for your input Richie will check out a few of those courses you mention! In terms of finding accommodation would you recommend Ocala over say Brooksville near WW? Whilst it's not top of the "must have" list, staying in a nice touristy type town with a few decent bars and restaurants would be good for the evenings.

BrianL99 · April 15, 2016

Skyview at Terra Vista is a quality course that is about 30 minutes from WW. I'm pretty certain they would allow walking as well and the rates are usually quite good.

If WW is a problem, I would recommend staying in Ocala. I'm pretty certain these golf courses would allow walking:

- Stone Creek
- Candler Hills
- Royal Oaks
- Juliette Falls
- Ocala National
- Skyview at Terra Vista

I probably would not want to walk Ocala National, but it is walkable.

All of these are within 30 minutes of each other (some are within 5 minutes of each other).

Stone Creek is solid and usually in teriffic shape. Candler Hills is better and usually in great condition. Royal Oaks is a great design and usually in fair shape. Juliette Falls has one of the best designs in all of Florida. They stopped overseeding during the winter, but shouldn't be an issue during December. Ocala National is alright. I think it's a fair test, but very hard. Conditioning is okay. Skyview is really good, especially on the back nine.

RH

Many thanks for your input Richie will check out a few of those courses you mention! In terms of finding accommodation would you recommend Ocala over say Brooksville near WW? Whilst it's not top of the "must have" list, staying in a nice touristy type town with a few decent bars and restaurants would be good for the evenings.

You certainly won't find any worthwhile nightlife in Brooksville!

RichieHunt · April 15, 2016

Skyview at Terra Vista is a quality course that is about 30 minutes from WW. I'm pretty certain they would allow walking as well and the rates are usually quite good.

If WW is a problem, I would recommend staying in Ocala. I'm pretty certain these golf courses would allow walking:

- Stone Creek
- Candler Hills
- Royal Oaks
- Juliette Falls
- Ocala National
- Skyview at Terra Vista

I probably would not want to walk Ocala National, but it is walkable.

All of these are within 30 minutes of each other (some are within 5 minutes of each other).

Stone Creek is solid and usually in teriffic shape. Candler Hills is better and usually in great condition. Royal Oaks is a great design and usually in fair shape. Juliette Falls has one of the best designs in all of Florida. They stopped overseeding during the winter, but shouldn't be an issue during December. Ocala National is alright. I think it's a fair test, but very hard. Conditioning is okay. Skyview is really good, especially on the back nine.

RH

Many thanks for your input Richie will check out a few of those courses you mention! In terms of finding accommodation would you recommend Ocala over say Brooksville near WW? Whilst it's not top of the "must have" list, staying in a nice touristy type town with a few decent bars and restaurants would be good for the evenings.