Orlando Area End of Feb

[hauscobra]

Help W/Courses

I have no idea about the courses in orlando area so I have been trying to do some research. I am heading down last weekend in Feb and staying at a resort in Championsgate Fl called Tuscana resort. I booked Sat round at Providence Golf Club, and Mondays round at Champions Gate Golf Club on the International. I need a mid range priced course fro Sunday. I was looking at the following:

Windemere
Highlands Reserve
Royal St. Cloud

Also what is better at Championsgate the International or the National? I could probably switch to the National if you guys think its a nicer course. Thanks for the help. Keep the suggestions coming!

[kappadan4]

[quote name='hauscobra' timestamp='1297819253' post='2980755']
I have no idea about the courses in orlando area so I have been trying to do some research. I am heading down last weekend in Feb and staying at a resort in Championsgate Fl called Tuscana resort. I booked Sat round at Providence Golf Club, and Mondays round at Champions Gate Golf Club on the International. I need a mid range priced course fro Sunday. I was looking at the following:

Windemere
Highlands Reserve
Royal St. Cloud

Also what is better at Championsgate the International or the National? I could probably switch to the National if you guys think its a nicer course. Thanks for the help. Keep the suggestions coming!
[/quote]


Try the Legends course in Clermont. Highest elevation in Orlando area. Resonanbly priced. Great track

[Drewrealty]

Orange County National

[Togatown22]

I'm flying to Orlando today for a 3 day trip, 36 holes a day.
Courses:

Mystic Dunes
Harmony Golf Preserve
Orange County National Panther Lake
Eagle Creek
Shingle Creek
Royal St. Cloud

I'll report back when I get home on Sunday.
Can't wait to get there and see some green grass, we've had a ton of snow this winter!

[bvmagic]

The international course gets all the attention, personally I enjoy the National course more, but you can't go wrong with either at this time of year. Windermere just renovated their greens and opened to the public. I haven't been since the renovation, but the layout is pretty good.

Highlands Reserve will be a short drive for you, I've only played it once and was not too impressed by the layout. The fairways are wide open for most of the holes and there is some decent elevation for Fl.

Royal St. Cloud is a fun links style course to play. I have always enjoyed the course and felt like it was a challenging layout. They opened another 9 holes out there to make it 27 total, last time I was there it was still being built.

I would put St. Cloud, Windermere, then Highlands reserve last if I were to list my favorites in order. Problem is St. Cloud will be the farthest drive from your location.

As others mentioned Orange County National has two great courses if they are in your price range. Eagle Creek is always in good shape and the staff is friendly. The fairways are wide and some holes have some nasty pot bunkers that are almost impossible to get out of. Harmony also has a great course and friendly staff. Has some big greens and some nice lakes out there. You'll probably spot a gator or two out there.

[Sea-Hawks]

I just got back from Orlando two days ago, only played three rounds there but I had a good time.

I played Celebration first; short course really, lots of water. Everything was in good shape, greens were a bit slow, staff was super friendly. The range doesnt really do much for me, except just to swing the club, its a water range where you hit 'floaters' into the water.

Second was Orange Lake Legends; Arnold Palmer design, very nice facility with friendly staff. Course was really nice, in very good shape, greens were quite a bit faster than Celebration. More forgiving off the tee, more of a premium on your approach shots. Someone came in to ask how much greenfees were, and I thought they said $84...but dont quote me.

Last course for me was Disney's Magnolia. I guess after playing two days in a row after a long layoff caught up to me, popped something in my back on the range in the warmup. Weather said scattered showers...but on the 3rd hole it POURED RAIN!! I soldiered on even though it was pretty unplayable after a while, and wondered why they even let us continue...but regardless, its in very nice condition, nice layout...and I can see why they held tour events there...there is tons of room for the galleries around the greens, tee boxes, and the fairways. Its not a super tough course if you play the appropriate tees....but when looking back from where the pros play? Yea, its LONG. 7500yd'ish. Would LOVE to give it another go when its not cold and pouring rain.

[sabram]

[quote name='hauscobra' timestamp='1297819253' post='2980755']
IMondays round at Champions Gate Golf Club on the International.
Also what is better at Championsgate the International or the National? I could probably switch to the National if you guys think its a nicer course. Thanks for the help. Keep the suggestions coming!
[/quote]

I like them both, but prefer the International. Here's a link to my pix of International from two months ago: [url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/579345623XLMssH"]Championsgate[/url]

[Togatown22]

I just got back from Orlando. We played 36 holes a day over 3 days at 6 different courses. It was the most golf I've played over 3 days by a wide margin. The weather was perfect; sunny and around 80 every day with a light breeze, no humidity. A nice change from sub freezing and about 5 feet of snow in upstate NY where I live. All 6 of the courses were in great shape; no course condition gripes whatsoever. We tried to play each course to about 6800 yards, give or take. We had one guy who is a short hitter, probably averages 225 off the tee. He struggled on some of the longer par 4's. The rest of us aren't long by any stretch (265-280 off the tee), and we had no issues with length on these courses. Here are my thoughts:

Day 1:

Mystic Dunes 7:40am tee time.
Interesting course; more waste bunkers than I've seen anywhere. seemed like almost every hole had at least one waste bunker running the length of the hole, and we could easily see where the 'Dunes' in the name came from. Course was well-bunkered through the fairways and around the greens, but many holes left the opportunity to chase an approach up the front. The bunker sand seemed more like dirt in some cases than sand. Most trouble was on the left, right, and long. Never saw a group in front of us, we were able to play at a good pace. Interestingly, this was our least favorite of the 6.

Orange County National/ Panther Lake 1:30pm tee time
This is an amazing facility. Basically it's 2 no BS players courses. Had a quick lunch in their nice little restaurant and headed out to Panther Lake. Really an eye pleasing layout. Beautiful bunkering, a few elevated greens, but most enjoyable was that the course is basically in the middle of wetlands and orange groves. there are no homes built on the course, and it seemed pretty remote. We all thoroughly enjoyed it, and we finished up under a beautiful sunset. Really well manicured tee boxes, fairways, and great greens. Very friendly staff, and a huge pro shop. This is a must play in the Orlando area, in my opinion.

Day 2

Eagle Creek 7:45am tee time.
Sweet greens: Mini Verde, I wish I could putt on greens like this every day. We all really enjoyed the layout; a par 73 with 5 par 5's. Nice looking clubhouse, and a really cool finishing hole (par 5). Again, really nice white sand bunkers made the holes very pleasing to the eye from the tee. Strangest thing is how the front 9 is developed with housing along the holes, but the back 9 is laid out for houses (roads, even street lights, electric boxes, and hydrants) that aren't built, basically empty overgrown lots. Honestly it didn't take much away from the course, but it was noticeable. I'd play here again.

Shingle Creek 1:40 tee time.
This tee time was too late in the afternoon given the enormous slow play problem we experienced. We had to cut it close to finish the other days afternoon rounds, but this was a 6 hour round. On the front, we were backed up about 4 groups on a difficult par 3. The layout is "resort golf"; mounding on the sides of the fairways (helpful to the slightly errant drive), lots of water (in play on 16 of the 18 holes) big greens, big bunkers. I should mention that it is at a large resort, which is probably why it was so crowded. We liked the course a lot, but it was sssssslllllooowww going out there, we only finished 15 holes before dark. It's a well manicured course with nice greens, but I wouldn't go out of my way to play here again. However, we all had great steaks in the restaurant in the resort afterward. Well appointed locker room allowed us to shower up and change before dinner.

Day 3

Harmony Golf Preserve 7:40am
The other "must play" from our 6 courses. Just a real unique golf experience. The course is built on a nature preserve, and after the first few holes there are no houses. Amazing wildlife; birds, turtles, gators, etc. A very cool layout that was challenging but not unfair. Not flashy in any way, but it was an extremely comfortable, peaceful place. Didn't hear a car the whole round, let alone construction equipment, etc. Very well manicured and we all wished we had a replay round after 18. Everyone here was very friendly; a great staff and even the other players were friendly.

Royal St. Cloud 1:05pm
As we rolled in, we could tell we were in for a more "muni golf" experience. Blue collar looking golfers, a sewage treatment plant runs next to one of the 9's (they have 27 holes), no gps in the carts, etc. None of us have a problem with muni golf as 3 of us are not members anywhere at home so this is what we see most often anyway, but it was starkly different from where we had just played. On the first tee, we noted the condition was not on the same level as the rest of the courses, and resigned ourselves to a "muni round". However, when we got up to the 1st green we were amazed at the quality. Beautiful greens on every hole made it a real value. I understand the weekend rate is something like $45. Best $45 greens I've ever seen, and I'd play here quite a bit if I lived close. $2 beer specials as well. Our second 9 was back on the other side of the clubhouse, and you couldn't see the sewage plant. In fact, the second 9 seemed much more sprawling and less restricted. We had a great time and finished again as the sun set. A very courteous staff here as well.


Happy to answer any questions on these courses. It was my first trip to Orlando for golf, been to Disney many times. Only advice is bring toll money becasue it seems like there are tolls every 5 miles, and be ready for the rush from Sea World when it closes; the traffic looks like our rush hour traffic!

[kduffy]

I've played the National course in Champions Gate, its a good course but it is a little overrated although then again i played under loads of rainshowers.

Highlands Reserve is a decent enough track. I stayed in a house beside the course so I played it a few times. I thought it was a good layout and it was pretty good for the price but I heard from someone who played it a few months ago and he said it wasnt great.

[mikeybusa]

I went last year for 10 days of golf here is where played and what thought

1- Royal St Cloud- this was ok, reasonable price but not the greatest course and it is a bit weird how the nines varying so much. The greens though were good and the staff pleasant.

2- Mission Inn Las Colinas - excellent course, great variety of holes, a bit of water to keep it interesting. Course in good condition and a quiet location to play golf. We paid approx $45

3- Stoneybrook West- actually really enjoyed this course and thought was good variety of holes with plenty of water. Only paid $20 and the greens were excellent. There are a lot of villas but in a way we as a group found that quite interesting.

4- Harmony- A very relaxing course. Very well kept and nice staff. Great with all the wildlife. As you will see on golfwrx it is a favourite of many. That was why we went and were not disappointed

5- Championsgate National- my favourite course of the trip. Love the set up, the condition and some stunning holes in there. Probably helped i played my best golf there but i cant imagine many people not enjoying the course.

6- Both courses at Orange County- the layout of the courses were great but this was the most disappointing of the trip. The greens were in a horrible state. I understand the bad weather has not hit this year so they are fixed again. A shame as for layout the best course but it is hard to enjoy golf on such bumpy greens.

7- Mission Inn El Campeon - this is a real must if you can get there. The course is fantastic. Lots of elevation changes. It is a bit like mixing Augusta with a course in the Algave. The holes are all different and testing. The last few holes were fantastic and keep you interested all the way round. Would highly recommend playing here if you can

8 Dear Island. An hours drive north but we paid $15 for a round on a Saturday morning so worth it. As good a greens as we putted on all trip, all holes very different, great wildlife, very relaxed atmosphere. Plenty of water on the course to keep you honest but a thinkers course rather than a slog. Of the 8 on our trip 5 would say this was the best course we played.

Hope that helps, the value you can get in Orlando is incredible. All the golf there came in at less than $400.

[dmart41]

Bella Collina