Orlando Area Courses for High Handicappers and comments on Willowbrook between Orlando and Tampa.

[jordan2240]

I see a lot of information for Orlando Area Courses out here, but am looking for something most suitable for high-handicappers.  Basically, something with wider fairways.  Highlands Reserve is one I've seen in some threads that seems to fit the bill, but not sure if there are others.  Will be golfing with my sons, who live in the Metro West section of Orlando.  We already  played the Metro West club a few years back, so looking to try something else.

 

Also wondering if anyone knows anything about Willowbrook.  Will be golfing with a buddy in Tampa, and that's about half-way between Tampa and Orlando, but I've only seen advice on Eaglebrooke.

[sabram]

4 hours ago, jordan2240 said:

I ...am looking for something most suitable for high-handicappers.  Basically, something with wider fairways.  

 

Also wondering if anyone knows anything about Willowbrook.  Will be golfing with a buddy in Tampa, and that's about half-way between Tampa and Orlando, but I've only seen advice on Eaglebrooke.

Willowbrook is okay, but not in the same class as Eaglebrooke. However, it is better suited for high handicappers. Eaglebrooke has a lot of water in play and a number of forced carries. Willowbrook does have water in play on 4 or 5 holes but is not as daunting as Eaglebrooke. It is also  less expensive. Cypresswood is in the same area and is a little more forgiving but is a bit of a "plain vanilla" course.  Big Cypress and Sandpiper are also options between  Orlando and Tampa. Big Cypress was designed by Ron Garl who also designed Eaglebrooke, but like Eaglebrooke there is a lot of water and you can lose a lot of balls if you aren't hitting it straight. The greens at Big Cypress are very good.  Sandpiper is on a nice piece of land with some fun shots and some significant elevation changes. It is pretty forgiving for the first 12 holes, but 4 of the last six holes have water in play and can be difficult unless you move up to the front tees. Lastly, on another thread someone recently recommended  Cleveland Heights as a good choice between Orlando and Tampa. I haven't played there yet but it is on my "to do" list.

 

Click on a photo to see photo tour of the course. The ones from Willowbrook are from a very rainy day.

 

Willowbrook

 

Cypresswood

 

Big Cypress

 

Sandpiper

Eaglebrooke

[jordan2240]

Thanks sabram.  Great info.

[Eric49er]

Kings Ridge in Clermont is a very forgiving course.  Wide fairways and very little water (one par three that you really don't hit over water).  My high handicap buddies and I love it.  

 

On the other side of town, you could try Kissimmee Bay and Remington - both are in the same area and very forgiving.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Eric49er
typo

[jordan2240]

On 2/17/2021 at 10:32 AM, Eric49er said:

Kings Ridge in Clermont is a very forgiving course.  Wide fairways and very little water (one part three that you really don't hit over water).  My high handicap buddies and I love it.  

 

On the other side of town, you could try Kissimmee Bay and Remington - both are in the same area and very forgiving.

Thanks much Eric.  King's Ridge in particular looks like a winner because it is the closest to where my son lives.  I noticed that they all have the same designer.

[donny dogtails]

Hey Eric,

 

In your opinion which course is best Kings Ridge or Highlands Reserve. Golfpass rates them the same. Yardage and slope are about the same.

 

Sorry to jump in Jordan

[Eric49er]

I like Kings Ridge a lot better.  I have not played Highlands since the fall, but they always seem to have issues with grass around the greens and sprinkler issues.  And unless you live in Davenport, Highlands seems like a long way from everything to me (not that Clermont is central!).  Highlands does have a better bar

[sabram]

Here are links to photos of Kings Ridge and Highlands Reserve. If I had ten rounds to play, I'd play Highlands Reserve 7  times and Kings Ridge 3 times. Except for 1 green, Highlands reserve is in very good condition. Highlands Reserve is a more interesting course, but if the drive time is too long I can see playing Kings Ridge. Note that those two courses are only 20 minutes apart on Highway 27

 

Kings Ridge

 

Highlands Reserve - From a day where I was the first one out and there was thick fog for the first six holes

[jordan2240]

10 hours ago, donny dogtails said:

Hey Eric,

 

In your opinion which course is best Kings Ridge or Highlands Reserve. Golfpass rates them the same. Yardage and slope are about the same.

 

Sorry to jump in Jordan

No problem Donny.  That was an excellent question given they are both on my radar for this particular round with my sons, who golf very rarely.

[jordan2240]

2 hours ago, sabram said:

Here are links to photos of Kings Ridge and Highlands Reserve. If I had ten rounds to play, I'd play Highlands Reserve 7  times and Kings Ridge 3 times. Except for 1 green, Highlands reserve is in very good condition. Highlands Reserve is a more interesting course, but if the drive time is too long I can see playing Kings Ridge. Note that those two courses are only 20 minutes apart on Highway 27

 

 

Kings Ridge

 

 

Highlands Reserve - From a day where I was the first one out and there was thick fog for the first six holes

Thanks again sabram.  Looks like both are similar distances from the Metro West area where my son lives, so I may just end up going with whichever is cheaper since I'll be paying for all three players.  My sons don't golf often (whereas I only look like I don't golf often), so the more forgiving, the better.

[donny dogtails]

Thanks Sabram for the pics and thanks Jordan for letting me bust in again.

 

I sent the GM Donnie Shallow of Highlands Reserve an email regarding a fivesome. We are planning two threesomes but one guy might be flying in late so for the first course of our trip we might have 5 players. To my surprise he said they do accomodate fivesomes as long as we stay up with the group ahead.

 

You don't see that very often. Does anyone else know of courses in the Orlando area that will accept a fivesome?

 

[jordan2240]

3 hours ago, donny dogtails said:

Thanks Sabram for the pics and thanks Jordan for letting me bust in again.

 

I sent the GM Donnie Shallow of Highlands Reserve an email regarding a fivesome. We are planning two threesomes but one guy might be flying in late so for the first course of our trip we might have 5 players. To my surprise he said they do accomodate fivesomes as long as we stay up with the group ahead.

 

You don't see that very often. Does anyone else know of courses in the Orlando area that will accept a fivesome?

 

You might want to start a separate thread for that one donny, as you're likely to get more responses since this one doesn't have much activity.

[Jdhbbt]

I live in between Tampa and Orlando. Unfortunately, the best bang for your buck + big wide fairways is a course with terrible greens right now. Cleveland Heights (Lakeland) is a pretty muni with low rates $30 ish and wide fairways. It’s always busy despite the greens, and when the greens are good, it’s one of the best deals around. 

[Jdhbbt]

Also, the Heights DOES allow 5-somes. 

[donny dogtails]

Sorry Jordan, you're right, got carried away

[jordan2240]

14 hours ago, donny dogtails said:

Sorry Jordan, you're right, got carried away

No need for apologies.   Just thought you'd get more responses outside this thread.

[markheardjr]

Most of the resort courses are not that difficult if you play the correct set of tees. Waldorf Astoria stands out as a bit more difficult due to the green complexes.

 

Falcon's Fire has a lot of room off the tee on many of the holes. There's a few with water on the back but they are also shorter.

 

Shingle Creek isn't eating anyones lunch. They have mounds that help bring errant tee shots back into the fairway.

[GEORGE32654]

I would say Highlands Reserve is a more interesting course. My Sunday group plays both during the summer.

[jordan2240]

Just to update, we played 'Kings Ridge', and from my perspective, it was a very narrow course.  Houses lined the fairways on most of the holes, and we provided some of the owners with souvenirs.  Fortunately, we never heard any glass breaking, nor saw any irate owners approaching the fairway with ball-in-hand.  Perhaps the houses lining the fairways merely presented the perspective of them being narrow, but they certainly got into my head (though I only provided one souvenir on a particularly bad swing).  Probably would try something else next time.  I played Eaglebrooke with a different group the next day, and while it has tons of water, it had fewer 'targets' with people residing in them, and it might have been a better choice for the first group even though many balls would have found pond-bottoms (I donated my fair share for sure).  Regardless, appreciate all of the suggestions.

[Eric49er]

Another course to play (with no houses) is Royal St Cloud.  It is open, but long...I wish it was closer to Orlando, and not as pricey

[sabram]

Since this thread started I played Cleveland Heights for the first time. It has 27 holes and was very busy. I was surprised what a good pace of play was maintained on such a busy muni at mid-day. We played the "A"  and "B' nines in exactly 4 hours. The course was good but not great but a good value if you are in the area. Click on a photo for a full photo tour.

 

 

Cleveland Heights Azalea nine

 

Cleveland Heights Bougainville nine

[tcbringhurst]

What's everyone's opinion on the Disney World courses? Any alternatives nearby? Visiting next week and will be staying west of the park. I'm an 11 handicapper at the moment. Will be playing as a single.

[sabram]

16 hours ago, tcbringhurst said:

What's everyone's opinion on the Disney World courses? Any alternatives nearby? Visiting next week and will be staying west of the park. I'm an 11 handicapper at the moment. Will be playing as a single.

The three Disney Courses (Lake Buena Vista, Magnolia and Palm) are pretty similar to one another and each is worth a play, especially if you are staying on site at WDW. The other courses located within WDW are Waldorf Astoria and  Tranquilo (which used to be Disney's Osprey Ridge course and was re-designed by Tom Fazio about 5 years ago as Tranquilo). They are both more expensive than the three WDW courses. Tranquilo is worth playing if you have a big budget.

 

 Other courses in close proximity to WDW that you can play without staying on premises that are worth considering are:

• Grand Cypress - The new Course is a faux links homage to the Old Course at St Andrews
• Orange Lake - Two courses similar in style to the three Disney courses, but typically less expensive
• Celebration - Also similar to the three Disney courses with a little more upscale feel. Usually in impeccable condtion, but there was a recent post on this site indicating they are presently having some conditioning issues, so check before you book
• Championsgate - Three courses. Two are affiliated with the Omni resort. The International is a fuax links with wide fairways and pot bunkers and is worth playing. The National is more of a traditional Florida layout like the three Disney courses. The Country Club course is semi private, but I've been told it  is going fully private soon, so worth a play while you can. It is very good, except that the routing is disjointed with long cart rides between many holes like many residential courses and there are now houses along most of the holes
• Hawk's Landing -  Always in great condition, but is more difficult than the other listed courses with water in play on 12 holes and narrow fairways. Be prepared to lose some balls
• Highlands Reserve - This is more of a "local's" course, and is very under appreciated. It's on a great piece of land, with lots of elevation changes and interesting greens that have a lot of movement. It's usually significantly less expensive than the other listed courses so a great bang for the buck.
• White Heron is another good value course that is usually less crowded than the others on the list

 

My favorite course in the area is Southern Dunes. It's further from WDW than the others (about 30 minutes), but if you are staying anywhere near it, that would be my choice if I was only playing one round.

 

Click on a photo below to link to full photo tours of the course.

 

Disney's Lake Buena Vista

 

Disney's Magnolia

 

Disney's Palm

 

 

Waldorf Astoria

 

Grand Cypress New Course

 

Orange Lake - Reserve Course

 

Celebration

 

Hawk's Landing

 

Championsgate International

 

Championsgate National

 

Championsgate Country Club

 

Highlands Reserve

 

White Heron

 

Southern Dunes

Edited May 19, 2021 by sabram
to correct typos

[tastywaves]

On 5/18/2021 at 2:53 PM, tcbringhurst said:

What's everyone's opinion on the Disney World courses? Any alternatives nearby? Visiting next week and will be staying west of the park. I'm an 11 handicapper at the moment. Will be playing as a single.

Orange lake is worth a visit but in my opinion orange county national (crooked cat and panther lake) should be high on your list and aren't far from where you'll be. Just make sure to check their aerification schedule as I believe I read recently that they will be closed at some point in the near future for a week (different schedules for the two courses)

 

EDIT- crooked cat will be closed 6/7-6/17 and panther lake reopens tomorrow from aerification. Panther lake should be in fantastic shape!

Edited May 19, 2021 by tastywaves

[Hogan9]

We have a condo in Clermont and I play Kings Ridge quite often. It's not terribly challenging, but has some great holes and is usually in excellent shape.

The course directly across Hwy. 27 is Legends. It closed a few years ago, but will re-open soon. It was a great course before closing and hopefully will be good again. It was still closed two weeks ago when we were there so I didn't get to see it. I hope to get back and play it in the Fall. 

[markheardjr]

I played Grande Lakes at Ritz Carlton last weekend. Course is very friendly with wide fairways and flat green aprons. You can run a ball up the fairway into the green on almost every hole. Its expensive, but I would say its a good course for higher handicappers that are not afraid of fast-ish greens. Bunkers were a bit rough but they said they chose not to put sand in them because it would just wash away. When you charge $135-$250 for a round, you better put sand in the dang bunkers and rake them fresh every morning.

 

Range had TaylorMade Tour Response balls. No cart girl. Snack/Beer was pretty pricey.