The 9-hole course in Winter Park is full of old-fashioned charm.
Courteous winter park golf course
Let’s say you’re in Orlando and you haven’t got a spot in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill, which is pinned there for professionals this weekend. Where else can you play golf? Here are four top public golf courses and facilities.
Winter Park Golf Course
Some brief courses have a long history. This charming 9-Holer, more than a century ago, was gaining a new life through Keith Rhea and Riley Johns’ 2016 renovations. The result is a character-rich Par-35, Golf Magazine ranked No. 1 in the world’s best 9-hole courses. Tucked in a community and framed by a cemetery, a pair of churches and a bus line for full-school effects, WP9 is well known as a top-notch racing venue with several sweet par-3s and a driveable par-4. It is also used for walking. Strangely, you want to go twice.
Orange County National Golf Center and Cabin
Located west of the city, this 45-hole facility is known as the Bandon Dunes in Sunshine State, with its lower floors, golf-centric atmosphere. In addition to the circular driving range, a 36-hole putter route and a 9-hole route called The Tooth, the property also features a pair of 18 Halls, Panther Lake and Crooked Cat. While the former is a tougher test, both layouts have enough action to set on the rolling ground with enough elevation changes to keep your interest rather than an invisible home.
Walt Disney World Resort
Calling the “happiest place on the turf” is home to four courses, with three of which (Palms, Magnolia and Buena Vista Lake) hosting the PGA Tour. If you have time to play two rounds, palms and magnolia will be the track of the goal. Faithfully to billing, the former is adorned with palm trees and the latter is lined with magnolia. Both are filled with white bunkers and water hazards and are in the original state you expect, where few details are ignored. A time-sensitive note: Mulan is doing some retouching work, and while it is still a 18-hole route, the 16th hole has been shortened, so the course is temporarily played at PAR-71 speeds. A 15% discount on serving time will be offered until the job is completed.
Omni Orlando Championshipsgate
In this 36-hole property, two Greg Norman designed courses, national and international, offer a study in the opposite direction. The latter is longer, and the sandy feature calls for a link, while the latter winds through trees and wetlands. If you don’t have a proper warm-up, there’s no excuse. Championsgate also has a training and entertainment center, with 30 hits and bays equipped with Toptracer Range technology.
