Orange County National: Panther Lake

[italianstallion]

Review

Two weeks ago I took the opportunity to play Panther Lake at Orange County National. Here is my review.

Opening thoughts
I have played two Disney courses, Magnolia and Osprey Ridge. Both are fine courses, with the nod going to Osprey Ridge. Neither is certainly memorable. So when I visited my girlfriend in her hometown of Orlando I knew this time around I needed to try something that wasn't affiliated with Disney: Enter Orange County National.

Orange county national is known as being home of the Q school finals. There are two championship courses, Crooked Cat (7,493 yards) and Panther Lake (7,350). Both courses are par 72 and are rated at 76.6 and 76, respectively. I decided to play Panther Lake this trip. I am a scratch handicap so I played from the "Q-School" tees.

Condition
Orlando had experienced a major freeze a few weeks prior to my play. That meant that most Orlando area courses were a bit browner than usual. Orange County National clearly has a different type of grass than the Disney courses, it reminded me of the Kentucky Blue grass most NY courses utilize. So the rough was straight and healthy (not all tangled like Bermuda grass). Fairways and greens were plush and green as well. Greens weren't lighting fast but certainly speedy and most importantly, SMOOTH. My home course stimps at 11-12 on the stimp, so I would guestimate that Panther Lake was running around 10. Bunkers had nice even, fuffy white sand and were well edged and raked. The grounds crew and owners certainly put a great deal of effort into the condition of the course and attention to detail.

Layout
Standing on the first tee I knew I was in for a treat. Unlike other Orlando area courses, Panther Lake is set in undeveloped surroundings. No houses, no noisy roads, no nothing. Its 5 minutes away from the Magic Kingdom but it feels a world away. There are a few palm trees scattered around the course, and there's lots of elevation changes. In fact I had to remind myself I was playing in Florida because it certainly doesn't feel like a Florida Course.

The course features a plethora of fairway and greenside bunkers. These bunkers vary in size and shape. As a big fan of Bethpage Black and other classic Tillinghast designs, I really appreciated the massive bunkers on some of the holes (holes 6, 11, 16 are great examples). They're intimidating to look at and they make you focus on the shots you need to hit.

The holes are of varying yardage, long par 4's, short par 4's, long par 5's, short par 5's , long par 3's, short par 3's. This provides a very fair mix of holes without the ridiculous yardages you sometimes see at other courses in an attempt to break that 7,000 yard mark. The longest par 4 is 470 yards, the longest par 3 is 228 yards, and the longest par 5 is 623 yards (I actually managed to reach this one in two, I hit what I wanted to be my 3 wood layup a little too well). Its a good, fair mix of yardages. Its a 7300 yard course that doesn't make you feel beat down after you play.

Service
The level of service was pretty good. As usual for the Florida courses I've played they took care of my clubs and cart, washed them after the round, basically waited on me hand and foot. Naturally they're looking for a little tip which I don't mind handing out when I don't have to lift a finger. Whenever the service was too much for me I could easily say no and they'd oblige. Pro shop was really friendly, let my girlfriend ride with me at no charge, starter was friendly and helpful, pace of play was perfect, and the GPS on the carts was fantastic for getting around the course.

Conclusion
I played on a weekend so I payed the weekend premium, $80. This price includes GPS cart, range balls, and an exceptional golfing experience. Panther Lake is certainly worth every cent of that $80, especially when I knew I could be paying twice as much nearby for half the quality. If you're in the Orlando/Disney area, do yourself a favor and skip the Disney courses, pay a tad extra for a cab, and get yourself to Orange County National. I guarantee you won't regret it. There are a variety of tee boxes to fit any skill level, so anybody can enjoy this course. I can't wait to go back and play Crooked Cat.

My girlfriend was in charge of the camera:

1st hole, weird stance but I still knocked it on the green


2nd hole


3rd hole


4th hole




6th hole


8th hole


9th hole




11th hole




12th hole


14th hole


15th hole




16th hole


17th hole


18th hole

[Clark]

Great pics and the review was good, I'm actually going to play OCN in feb, so its good to see it being in good cond. and a good review is good too.

Did you pay the resident fee or do you hail outside of FL?

[italianstallion]

[quote name='Clark' timestamp='1295540490' post='2910359']
Great pics and the review was good, I'm actually going to play OCN in feb, so its good to see it being in good cond. and a good review is good too.

Did you pay the resident fee or do you hail outside of FL?
[/quote]

I live outside FL so full rate for me. My girlfriend and I go to school together, she is from Florida so I was visiting her at home.

[Togatown22]

Great review and pictures.
I'm headed down to Orlando for a 3 day, 36 holes per day trip mid-Feb from NY. I can't wait and your pictures really got me fired up for Panther Lake. Thanks again.