Orlando’s 10 Best Golf Courses

Living in central Florida provides me with an opportunity to play golf year round. Since May of 2007 I have played in over 50 golf tournaments all over the state, which has allowed me to enjoy many different courses. Florida’s golf courses have great variety, despite having very little elevation. In fact, the highest point in FL (in the panhandle) is only 345 feet above sea level, and the mean elevation is 100 feet above sea level. Heck, the highest point in the state south of Orlando is a land fill, so it should come as no surprise that most of the elevation and contours on the golf courses have to be manufactured by bringing in dirt or digging lakes to give the designers dirt to play with. Florida has almost 1500 golf courses, and some of the best in the state are within a 30 minute drive of Downtown Orlando. Being one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country not named Hawaii (Check here for Hawaii tee times) there is no shortage of things to do when not playing golf. Tourists from all over the world come to Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, Cypress Gardens and nearby Busch Gardens. With that in mind, I will present my list of the ten best golf courses or destinations in the greater Orlando area.

This was not a scientific study, just a subjective list based on my personal experience and the feelings of some of my fellow Floridians. Most of these courses have been a mainstay of the Orlando top ten list for years, and some are newcomers. Tee times at many of these courses can also be booked at discounted rates through Orlando Tee Times.

So, without further ado…

Ten Best Greater Orlando Golf Destinations

• Rosen Shingle Creek Resort
• Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Resort & Spa
• Mystic Dunes Golf Club
• Grand Cypress Resort
• Disney Resort (Palm & Magnolia)
• Champions Gate Resort
• Reunion Resort
• Southern Dunes Golf Club
• Orange County National Golf Club
• Sugarloaf Mountain Golf Club

There you have it, in no particular order. Before the discussion starts and everyone throws a list of courses that should have made it on the list my way, I’ll present my list of Honorable mentions, since there are many fine courses worth playing.

Honorable Mentions

• Falcon’s Fire
• Grand Pines
• Hunter’s Creek
• Metro West
• Ridgewood Lakes
• Grand Lakes
• Celebration
• Stoneybrook West
• Diamondback
• Orange Lake Resort (Legends Course)

The amount of quality courses in the Orlando area makes it very difficult to select the best courses, since there are probably another 10 or 15 courses that deserve mention. I’ve listed 20 courses or resorts here that any visitor will enjoy, with greens fee ranging from $35 to over $200. I could have listed more, or moved a few of the honorable mentions into the top ten list, and Sugarloaf Mountain almost didn’t make the list because of the unfortunate condition of their greens lately, but the design stands on it’s own as one of the best in the area, and would probably make my top 5 list. So with my opinions put to paper – let the discussion begin!

{This post was originally written on 18 June, 2009 by John Duval}

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