Super Last Minute Guys Trip - staying in Winter Haven -end of Feb

[wannabettz]

Hello All,

 

Out of pure disgust for the current snowy and cold conditions of the northeast myself and a few buddies have decided to get the hell out of here and head down to Florida for some much needed golf.  We will be staying in the Winter Haven area at a condo we have access to free of charge.  The easy part was booking our flights.  The hard part now, that falls on my shoulders, is to choose which courses we will be playing. (Lucky me)

 

We will be arriving into Orlando Airpot on Feb 24th around 9AM and departing Feb 28th around 3PM.  Ideally, we are looking to get in a solid 5-6 rounds while there.

 

Last January we stayed in Kissimmee and played 2 Disney courses (Magnolia + Palms), Celebrations, and Falcon Fire during the uncharacteristically cold week in January when the iguanas were falling from the trees.  Aside from the 30degree temperatures and 20+mph winds we did enjoy these courses but would like to try some new tracks for this trip.  If I HAD to play another of these again though, I would most likely choose Celebrations, loved it!

 

So with that said there will be 7 of us in total all ranging in handicap anywhere between 8-15.  We are looking to have fun with some decent challenge and nice scenery and atmosphere.  I have spent the past day doing brief research on some of the courses in the areas between Winter Haven and Orlando and possibly even towards Tampa.  I have compiled a list of courses that stuck out to me in these areas that were within our budget.  Ideally we want a nice mix of quality courses and good value.  Willing to spend up to $150 per round but would like to mix in other price points as well if that makes sense.  Below is a rough idea for itinerary along with the list of courses I have researched.  Looking mostly for feedback on which courses would be a nice mix to check out but open to opinions on itinerary as well.

 

Wed 2/24:  Arrival at MCO 9AM.  Thinking of going directly to a course near the airport for 1 late morning round and then head to condo to settle in and grill.

Thurs 2/25: Possibly play 36 and take advantage of weekday rates

Fri 2/26:  Play 18 or 36 if we didn't on Thursday.

Sat 2/27: Play 18

Sun 2/28:  Departure from MCO 3PM.  Thinking of booking an early tee time near the airport.  Play 18 and go directly to airport to head home.

 

The courses I am currently eyeing in no particular order.   Any information, insight, recommendations, or old anecdotes you can provide would be greatly appreciated since we are up against the clock and I would like to start booking tee times in the coming days.

 

1.  Grand Cyprus 

2. Southern Dunes GC

3. Championsgate GC (National)

4. Championsgate CC

5.  Highland Reserve GC

6. Providence Golf Club

7. Eaglebrooke

8. Hawks Landing

9.  Shingle Creek

10.  Eagle Creek

11.  OCN Panther Lake

12. White Heron

 

 

Sorry for the long read and thank you to anyone who made it this far!

Edited February 12, 2021 by wannabettz

[RichieHunt]

Eaglebrooke is close by.  You should definitely do that one for a close by course.

 

Grand Cypress isn't bad.  I believe they kept the 'New' Course which is basically a links course.  

 

Southern Dunes is really great.  

 

Forget ChampionsGate Resort, better off playing ChampionsGate CC...very good.

 

Highland Reserve is a waste of time.

 

Providence is more of a good value course.  Pace of play should move along.  Nothing great, but nothing bad.

 

I think Hawk's Landing is overrated.

 

You may like Shingle Creek, but the re-design really bummed me out.  Went from one of the best in the area to more middle of the pack.

 

OCN Panther Lake is really good.

 

I'd go with the following:

 

Wednesday - Go to Eaglebrooke and get some food after the round.  The restaurant overlooks the 18th hole and it's really a rare example of a great finishing hole with a perfectly placed clubhouse.  Food is usually good there as well.  Then get to the place you're staying at.

 

Thursday - I'd probably go and play Southern Dunes.  Between flying, driving to Winter Haven from OIA and then playing Eaglebrooke, you may be a bit tired to take a longer trip.  Southern Dunes is a great course and probably the shortest trip to you.

 

Friday - I would go with either ChampionsGate CC (NOT the resort) or OCN.  If you want to play 36, OCN may be a better option as you could play Panther Lake and then Crooked Cat.  Panther Lake > Crooked Cat, but not by a wide margin.

 

Saturday - Either ChampionsGate CC or OCN, depending on what you played Friday.

 

Sunday - Best bet is either Shingle Creek, Eagle Creek or Providence Club.

 

Usually the pace of play at Shingle Creek is decent.  Eagle Creek's pace of play is usually pathetic.  And Providence is usually pretty good as it's typically wide open.  I'd rank them Eagle, Shingle, Providence in terms of design.  Shingle, tie between Eagle and Providence in terms of conditions and Providence, Eagle and Shingle in terms of value.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[pearls24]

RitchieHunt why are you so down on Hawk's Landing?  Ive played it the last couple of years and thought it was a really fun course.  The greens have been fantastic the times I've played there.  I agree Championsgate CC is great as well but I did enjoy the International course at Championsgate Resort.   Southern Dunes is a great track as well as the Ritz and Four Seasons.  Haven't played OCN in 3-4 years but always enjoyed it.  

 

What happened at Grand Cypress?  Did they close the North/South/East courses?

[sabram]

A lot of the decision making will depend on how far you want to drive.

 

I'd say that Southern Dunes and Eaglebrooke are the two must plays that are pretty conveniently located to Winter Haven. Eaglebrooke is about 30 minutes and Southern Dunes is about 25 minutes. I played both this week and they are in great shape and fun, albeit quite different from each other. I agree with most of Richie Hunt's advice, except that I like Shingle Creek and Highlands Reserve. Highlands Reserve is primarily a local's course. It's on a very interesting piece of land with a lot of elevation change, good bunkering and interesting greens, including a Biarritz and it has no water in play. I paid $39 to play there this week and had a blast. It's not in the prefect shape that some of the touristy courses are but if you are looking for a less expensive course to balance out the budget, this is a good choice.

 

Wed 2/24: Arrival at MCO 9AM.  Thinking of going directly to a course near the airport for 1 late morning round and then head to condo to settle in and grill.

If proximity to the airport is important for this round I'd suggest either Falcons Fire or Celebration. They are not my favorite courses but both are fine and about 20 minutes from the airport,  and on the way toward Winter Haven. If you want to drive a little more but still be on the way to Winter Haven I'd suggest Championsgate CC which is about 40 minutes from the airport and a little step up from the other two.

 

Thurs 2/25: Possibly play 36 and take advantage of weekday rates.

Fri 2/26:  Play 18 or 36 if we didn't on Thursday.

 

These are the days to play Southern Dunes and Eaglebrooke. Play Southern Dunes whichever day you can get 36 there

 

Sat 2/27: Play 18

For this round I'd suggest mapping out the remaining courses on your list and balancing out the driving distance, course quality and green fee to make a choice. OCN panther and Grand Cypress New Course are probably the best of the remaining courses on your list but are likely going to be an hour drive from Winter Haven.  Highlands reserve and White Heron will probably take about 30 minutes and will be significantly less expensive and a step down in quality, but still nice. They differ from one another the same way that Eaglebrooke and Southern Dunes differ. White Heron is tighter with a lot of water.  Highlands Reserve is more forgiving off the tee, has no water and more elevation changes.

 

Sun 2/28:  Departure from MCO 3PM.  Thinking of booking an early tee time near the airport.

If you can get an early enough tee time play either Falcons Fire or Celebration. Eagle Creek is on your list and is also a good choice for a course close to the airport .

[wannabettz]

Hey RIchie and Sabram, thank you both for your detailed take on this.  As I browsed through a bunch of tee times I noticed how quickly times get booked 2 weeks out.  I ended up pulling the trigger and below is the itinerary that I ended up with.

 

WED - Arrive early and head to OCN Black Panther.  

THURS -Morning round at Providence then shooting over to Championsgate CC for afternoon round.

FRI- Southern Dunes

SAT- Eaglebrooke

SUN- nothing booked yet but possibly a final round at Celebrations or Grand Cyprus before departure.

 

This should be a fun few days of golf mixing it up nicely.  Kept a list of other courses I want to attempt on our next trip.  

 

Thanks again for weighing in on this, it definitely helped me in narrowing down my choices!

 

 

 

[RichieHunt]

On 2/13/2021 at 7:43 AM, pearls24 said:

RitchieHunt why are you so down on Hawk's Landing?  Ive played it the last couple of years and thought it was a really fun course.  The greens have been fantastic the times I've played there.  I agree Championsgate CC is great as well but I did enjoy the International course at Championsgate Resort.   Southern Dunes is a great track as well as the Ritz and Four Seasons.  Haven't played OCN in 3-4 years but always enjoyed it.  

 

What happened at Grand Cypress?  Did they close the North/South/East courses?

 

I think the front nine is too rinky-dink for me.  I do like the back nine.  The conditions are decent, but to me it's way overpriced.  It's priced at either a great design with decent conditions or a decent design with great conditions.  It's neither, IMO.

 

At the risk of bragging, I carry my driver a legit 285 yards so for me that front nine is too short.  I can see why shorter hitters like it.  

 

It's like my home club, Orange Tree.  From the blues it plays a little short and rinky dink for my liking.  But from the black tees it's a stout course.

 

 

 

 

RH

[RichieHunt]

19 hours ago, wannabettz said:

Hey RIchie and Sabram, thank you both for your detailed take on this.  As I browsed through a bunch of tee times I noticed how quickly times get booked 2 weeks out.  I ended up pulling the trigger and below is the itinerary that I ended up with.

 

WED - Arrive early and head to OCN Black Panther.  

THURS -Morning round at Providence then shooting over to Championsgate CC for afternoon round.

FRI- Southern Dunes

SAT- Eaglebrooke

SUN- nothing booked yet but possibly a final round at Celebrations or Grand Cyprus before departure.

 

This should be a fun few days of golf mixing it up nicely.  Kept a list of other courses I want to attempt on our next trip.  

 

Thanks again for weighing in on this, it definitely helped me in narrowing down my choices!

 

 

 

 

Thanks, I hope you enjoy this.  This is a good schedule to have.  Really not a bad course on the list.

 

 

 

 

RH

[pearls24]

15 hours ago, RichieHunt said:

 

I think the front nine is too rinky-dink for me.  I do like the back nine.  The conditions are decent, but to me it's way overpriced.  It's priced at either a great design with decent conditions or a decent design with great conditions.  It's neither, IMO.

 

At the risk of bragging, I carry my driver a legit 285 yards so for me that front nine is too short.  I can see why shorter hitters like it.  

 

It's like my home club, Orange Tree.  From the blues it plays a little short and rinky dink for my liking.  But from the black tees it's a stout course.

 

 

 

 

RH

Yes I can see that.  I hit the driver the same as you and don't hit it a lot on the front 9.  But the par 3's were all legit from the tips if I recall?  

[Jdhbbt]

This is a great itinerary. If I can chime in, the only thing I’d change is scratching Providence, and begging to get on Winter Haven CC. If they say no, shoot me a PM.