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Reviews
Shingle Creek Golf Club
Played On 04/12/2023Great course design and conditions
This ihas always been one of my favorites in the Orlando area. It's guaranteed to have better than average conditions overall and a superb layout that offers a good challenge. Hait a good shot iand your rewarded handsomely, if not prepare to take a bogey. Greens were in great shape and were pretty fast on a lot of holes.
Definitely recommend if you want a good value for the money. Staff are very friendly as well.
Reunion Resort - Palmer Course
Played On 01/18/2021Wish It Was a Public Course
Played the Palmer track and really enjoyed myself. I was invited to play by a friend that was staying at the resort.
The pro shop was nice and staff friendly. The practice facilities were excellent with all the expected practice amenities such as the driving range, chipping area and putting green (speed on the putting green was very close to that of the course greens).
Tee to green, the course was in excellent condition. We played from the whites which in effect lessened the difficulty quite a bit in my opinion. The back tees would make this track much more challenging, demanding more accurate shots off the tee. This course had an overabundance of sand traps to include large waste areas. However when playing from the fairways or even the light rough, you were rewarded with fairly routine approach shots. I managed to find myself in a few of the bunkers around the greens but the sand was predictable and easy to get out of.
The greens were fast and surprisingly easy to read so I rarely left myself more than 5-6' for par when on in regulation.
Definitely recommend this course, hope I have a chance to play the other courses someday.
LPGA International - Hills Course
Played On 10/14/2019Great Layout, Fun to Play!
My first time playing the Hills Course, I usually play the Jones. Much different in layout than Jones making it a bit more fun and challenging. Tee box to green, the course was in pretty darn good shape. As with the Jone's course, the bunkers suffer heavily after any appreciable amount of rain in the days prior. They just don't drain well at all and if your ball lands in one, you're often faced with a lost ball (deep puddle) or having to play your ball out of very wet and heavy sand. Greens were in fabulous shape and the fairways sat your ball up nicely for your approach shots. There's some pretty heavy rough in some of the areas around the greens making chipping difficult if good contact isn't made..
I played alone and happen to hit it when there was hardly anyone on the course so pace of play was 5 stars.
Definitely recommend,these two course at LPGA, they're two of the nicer courses within a 30 mile radius. Real treat, especially for the lower handicappers.
Pine Lakes Golf Club
Played On 01/14/2019Decent Course But Needs a Little More Work
Tried this course based on a recommendation from some other golfers. The staff was friendly and the practice range was pretty good.
Regarding the course conditions, the tee boxes definitely need some work, they're fairly sparse with not much grass density. They seemed level for the most part so that's a plus. The fairways were decent and it was easy to take a nice divot. Fairways could use more grass density as well to set the ball up for a nice strike. The greens putted fairly quickly which I like but were pretty brown. Probably from the lack of rain the past couple of weeks. The bunkers were in good shape, plenty of sand and they're one of the more fluffier bunkers I've played recently. Some holes required a pretty accurate shot off the tee or you were in the water, treeline or fairway bunkers.
Cart paths were all paved and well marked for finding the next hole. Overall decent course to play for the money and I'll play it again I'm sure.
Cypress Knoll Golf & Country Club
Played On 01/07/2019Course Needs Some Work
Staff is friendly and the practice range was pretty good. Greens were in good shape so they would get 4 stars by themselves. The tee boxes were inconsistent in quality (some good, some bad) and the fairways were very sparse regarding grass. I had to roll my ball (I'm not currently entering GHIN scores so this was no big deal) to find decent grass to hit from in the fairways. Seems they need to seed the fairways to fill it in more and it won't be as bad. Greens rolled pretty true and I was able to stick my approach shots without much release from the ball.
Pace wasn't great, ran into several elderly foursomes but they were pretty good about letting me play through as a single.
Very reasonably priced so others might like that part but as far as conditions, the course needs more work so I can't recommend others play this from my standpoint. I understand from other reviews that this course has improved over the last year from new management. Can't comment on that, only what I experienced for the first time playing this track. I'll probably won't return until I read the course is in much better shape.
Palm Harbor Golf Club
Played On 01/02/2019Decent Course
Good practice facility. Tee boxes, fairways and greens all in good shape. Bunkers had plenty of sand in them although the sand was a bit heavy. Greens were a little slow for my liking. Happened to play during a shotgun tournament so had a bit of a delay off the tees at times.
Did not partake in the 19th hole so can't comment on that. Overall a good value for the money.
Halifax Plantation
Played On 12/02/2018Good All-Around Experience
Driving up to the bag drop-off, I was immediately met by friendly staff to grab my clubs. In fact, all the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful. After paying in the pro shop, my partner and I didn't utilize the practice facility, the starter asked if we wanted to go off early so we opted to skip the driving range and putting green. From what I could tell however, the driving range looked pretty decent.
For a Sunday morning, there wasn't very many golfers so that was great regarding our pace of play. Everything from the tee boxes to greens were in pretty good shape, hardly any bare spots. This course is surrounded by homes so if your ball managed to stay in bounds or find the trees with those less than ideal shots, there wasn't much for hitting surface to get out of trouble. This is to be expected so this isn't a dig on the course at all.
Fairways were pretty good and consistent by setting your ball up for decent contact. Some areas of the fairways on each hole had some sparse grass but overall I give the fairways a "good" rating.
There was no water in any of the traps which was a nice surprise given they had quite a bit of rain the day before according to the starter. Trap sand was a little heavy because of the rain so I can't really rate the traps under dryer conditions, i.e., how fluffy they really are under ideal conditions.
Course layout was challenging (although the length from the whites was a little shorter than I like but my partner wanted to play the whites) in that there was plenty of water and fairway bunkers to deal with for errant shots.
The greens were in pretty good shape and held the ball nicely on approach/chip shots. Oddly enough, there were tons of non-repaired ball marks on the greens, I found myself repairing 3-4 ball marks in addition to the ones we made. I brought this up with the staff who were painfully aware of this and they stated they will bring this up with golfers before they start their rounds. Green speed was average, i.e., a little slower than I usually like but they were consistent and each of the greens had challenging breaks to them. In other words, not hard to 3-putt on those long putts.
19th hole was nice as well, the clubhouse has a nice pub and restaurant for grabbing a beer/bite. The course didn't have anyone driving a beer/food cart which would have been nice but I can understand that given the lack of golfers on the course. We finished our round as a 2-some in about 4 hours, that's taking into account a slower back nine where we waited at every tee box so that's still outstanding in my book.
Overall I definitely recommend this course as one of the better public course values in the Flagler/Volusia county area here in FL. .
LPGA International - Jones Course
Played On 10/28/2018Very Enjoyable Round (Jones Course)
The few times I've played here, I've enjoyed my rounds immensely. From the moment you arrive at their facility, you're greeted by the friendly bag drop-off staff. The pro shop staff is very friendly too and get you registered for your round quickly.
The practice facility is one of my favorites in the area. The turf conditions on the range mirror that of the course fairways. They have a great chipping area and putting green. I make it a point to spend a good 45 minutes to an hour warming up there.
The tee starter was friendly and as a single, I was hooked up with a couple of guys from out of town that ended up being great to play with.
The tee boxes were in very good and consistent shape along with the fairways and rough. The rough was challenging so you had to make sure you made a clean strike or the grass would twist your club. Fairways were soft enough to take a decent divot and in most cases, set your ball up nicely for approach shots. The layout of the course is very good, each hole had potential problems if you hit an errant shot off the tee but at the same time you were rewarded with a great approach shot when in the fairway.
Now let's talk bunkers. If it wasn't for the bunkers, I would have given this course 5 stars. The majority of the bunkers had tons of water in them. Granted, the course got some heavy rain a few days before but it seemed odd to me they had so much water in them. They were pretty much unplayable. Not sure if it's a drainage problem in the bunkers or what. You literally lost your ball in them if it went in the middle of the bunker, that's how deep they were with water. I'm just surprised given the care this course appears to get on a whole.
Greens rolled nicely on putts even though I could never get the speed right the entire round. I'm usually able to get a feel for the greens after a few holes. Aside from the greens being pretty hard (difficult to get the ball to check up on chips), there was a little inconsistency on the speed green to green. But again, I give the greens 4 stars for condition and play-ability .
I can't emphasize how enjoyable it is to play here, it's a great course and experience. My next round I'll try the Hills course which is supposed to be more challenging. I live within 30 minutes of this course and I'm seriously thinking of a membership, that's how superb this golf club is and would be worth the drive.
Royal St. Augustine Golf and Country Club
Played On 10/08/2018Great course for the money.
Was pleasantly surprised that the conditions were really good. Everything from tee to green was in good shape. Practice facility was a little strange in layout and I couldn't find the putting green for some reason. Other than that, great value for the money. Definitely will play there again.
Kissimmee Bay Country Club
Played On 02/19/2018Good Value for the Money
I had heard this club was under new management and course conditions were slowly improving from previous neglect.
The greens had just been top-dressed and most weren't brushed in yet, they were in the process of brushing them during my round. Neither Golfnow nor the pro shop had mentioned the greens being top-dressed so I was a little disappointed at discovering that on the first tee. Needless to say, I can't comment on the conditions of the greens since my group was putting through a lot of sand.
The fairways were decent but could use some improvement as well. Rough had some dry spots but it was easy to hit out. Traps varied as far as conditions. Some had some pretty heavy sand and others were a little more fluffy. Overall both fairway and green side bunkers were decent enough. The part of the course that probably needs more immediate attention are the tee boxes, especially when it came to playing the par 3s since there was a lack of decent grass to hit from.
The practice facility is pretty good, it's a big pond with little islands to aim at. Ironically, it seemed like the range balls were normal balls, not the reduced flight and/or floating golf balls. Not sure how they retrieve range balls. The practice green had not been top-dressed like the course.
Overall experience was positive given the cost of the round. Once the top-dressing settles, I hope to come back and try it again, I think this course will could be 4-stars soon as management continues their improvements.
Disney's Palm Golf Course
Played On 01/22/2018Course Conditions On The Decline
Per the review title, unfortunately Magnolia and Palms are on the decline from a course condition standpoint. Let me explain.. First of all, the pictures you see on this site are very generous as compared to the actual course conditions over the last year or so from my perspective. The tee boxes and fairways just don't have that nice consistent grass for setting the ball up for a good strike. Obviously this is a moot point when using a tee on the boxes but I like to use the grass for the par 3s. I found the grass on the practice range was better than the conditions on the course, i.e, especially the fairways.
As usual, the staff is very friendly and the overall facilities are pretty good. The value for the money (at least for Orlando residents) is excellent for this time of year. I've played these courses (Lake Buena Vista too) quite a few times over the last year and I can't help feel the conditions are deteriorating somewhat. Especially in light of these courses being in championship shape back in the early 2000s. Don't get me wrong, they're still in decent shape for the money and I still encourage folks to try them out.
The traps and greens were in pretty good condition. The greens still remain pretty fast so that's always a plus. Pretty much all areas containing rough are brown, there's really no grass to speak of for the rough areas. The fairways just don't have the concentration of good grass for giving you that confidence, but you can still take a nice divot with a clean strike.
I hope Disney invests more money in reseeding the fairways and watering more. I realize this is the dry season but I'm taking that into account regarding my review of the conditions. This is peak season for green fees in FL, the conditions should be better.
Thank you for your feedback on your recent round at Walt Disney World® Golf. We apologize for the fact that your were displeased with the service that our Palm courses presented you. We hope that you will play our wonderful courses again in time to come, so we can exceed your expectations upon your next visit to Orlando.
We have been experiencing an unusually cold start to the year here in Central Florida, and the roughs, that have not been over-seeded, have turned dormant (brown) I can assure you that it is not a result of doing something or not doing something that we should have been to maintain these courses at a high level of conditioning that has caused the grass to look like it does. We water our courses nightly, and it is simply a by-product of the cold weather. As temperatures begin to increase, the growth in the roughs will once again have everything green again. In the mean time, the courses do play firm and far, leading to longer drives, and shorter approach shots. The greens are putting tremendously well currently, therefore there's the potential of a personal best low score awaiting you the next time you play!
If you would like to discuss your experience further with our management level staff, please email us at disneygolfreservations@palmergolf.com
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us!
Shingle Creek Golf Club
Played On 12/17/2017Nice Layout
This is my first time playing here. Very friendly staff beginning with the valet/bag drop off when you first pull up. Club house is beautiful and the pro shop is nicely stocked.
As part of the price, range balls are included. I was not impressed with the practice range, they had us hitting off mats and only about a half dozen of them had balls to use. The range itself was nice, plenty of targets out there for all your shots. I'm sure this isn't usually the norm given the practice area was full of grass divots so I'm not going to dwell on the mat thing. They had a really nice chipping area and putting green.
Course layout was really nice in my opinion, made the course fairly challenging. The tee boxes were consistent in appearance for the most part with a few that needed to be mowed a little.
Fairways were in good shape and the rough was easy to hit out of. Both fairway bunkers and those around the greens were in good condition. Sand was not fluffy but it was predicable.
Greens are in very good shape, a lot of undulation in them (understand many had been redone and undulation was added as part of the new greens). I was ok with the different breaks in the greens, I'm used to that from playing up in New England.
They had a nice snack bar and the beverage cart came around at a good frequency. Golf carts were superb having GPS, a cooler, divot sand, towels, etc.
Very nice facility so for $49 through GolfNow, it was a fantastic deal given the quality of the course. I believe during peak season, fees are usually better than $125 for out-of-staters. Definitely recommend for all handicaps but the lower handicap players will really enjoy the course management thought process needed to score well.
Waldorf Astoria Golf Club
Played On 09/16/2017Overall Great Fun
Very friendly staff iand great amenities like complementary range balls and water etc. Golf course was in fantastic shape except for the bunkers which had water in them from the hurricane. Considering this course went through a hurricane 5 days earlier, the grounds crew did a superb job of getting the course backi in championship shape. I was surprised that the range was fairly short in length given where they had golfes setting up for practice but that's the only downside to this golf course.
From teebox to green (we played from the whites), the layout is challenging and demands good course management to score. Fairways were not generous in width so if your drives couldn't wander too far left or right without hitting traps which were strategically placed in typical landing area locations. Greens rolled really well, and we're predictable if you took a little time to read them. Pins had the prisms so it made it really easy with laser rangefinders.
Fairways were in excellent shape and the ball sat up nicely setting you up for solid contact with a goid swing. As I said above, traps were in pretty rough shape with standing water in some of them but the staff had warned us ahead of time that this was on their radar to get fixed up in the next few weeks. Didn't end up being a problem because you could just take a drop in an area of the trap that was suitable. That's the only reason why I didn't give the course 5 stars under course conditions. The rough around the greens was very thick and the ball nestled down into the rough so it was difficult to make clean contact without a really good strike on the ball.
It was hot that day but it was a beautiful out and I have to say one of the more enjoyable rounds I've had since I've been down here in Orlando.
Definitely recommend for golfers at all levels to experience at least once.
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes
Played On 08/13/2017Overall Great Experience
As usual, the practice facility (included in the price) and course were in excellent shape. Got a GolfNow deal so it was a great value as well compared to the normal fees. Got off early in the morning but ran into a scramble tournament around #12 so pace of play was terrible from that point on thus the 3 stars under pace of play.
Fairways, greens and tees were in excellent shape, ball always sat up nicely in the fairways and first cut. Greens were pretty quick, some inconsistency green to green but not bad at all. Traps were in very good shape as well so if you landed in a fairway trap, you could pick out of there pretty easily.
Will definitely come back again.
Crooked Cat at Orange County National
Played On 04/22/2017Nice Course
Course conditions were pretty good overall. Tee boxes were generally in good shape, allowing for a good set up of the ball on the par 3s if you elected to go without a tee. Fairways were in good shape but lacked a consistent density from tee to green. Had some fairway shots end up in lies where the ball did not sit up nicely for the approach shots. I wouldn't say they had bare spots necessarily, just patches where the grass was not grown-in consistently. However, that was more the exception so I give the fairways a B to B+. Rough was manageable and you could save par with thoughtful club selection. Greens were very nice and quick. I was able to get the speed down quickly because the practice green was indicative of the course greens. That's huge with me. Nothing more frustrating than practicing on the putting green only to find out the course greens/practice green are dissimilar.
Played from the green tees, but I'll play from the golds next time to lengthen out the course a bit. Front nine was quite different than the back 9 in layout and difficulty. Front nine was more generic in layout allowing good scores with decent drives off the tee. Back nine was laid out expressly for smart course management which made it a lot of fun. Poor choices off the tee resulted in very challenging approach shots if not an added stroke from the hazard and/or lost ball.
Practice facility is top notch which allows an excellent warm up for both the long and short game.
Staff was very friendly and professional. Can't wait to try Panther (the other 18). Only down side to the day was I discovered they had a better fee rate for Orange County residents which wasn't apparent going through GolfNow.
Definitely will play again!
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes
Played On 04/16/2017Great Condition
Course was a joy to play, conditions from tee to green were very good. Better than average difficulty with a generous amount of traps and water hazards. Good shots off the tee followed by decent approach shots rewards the golfer with some birdie opportunities as long as you can putt these lightning fast greens. Did have difficulty getting the speed right on these greens resulting in quite a few 3-putts. However, a couple more rounds and I could definitely get used to them.
Very friendly staff, top-notch practice facility and great amenities. I'll definitely play it again.
Falcon's Fire Golf Club
Played On 04/02/2017Great Experience
Enjoyed playing this course a lot. I was pleasantly surprised that the fairways were in good shape given the dry conditions around this area lately. They obviously spend money keeping the fairways and greens watered. That's huge in my book.
Course layout was good, not too challenging except for a considerable amount of fairway bunkers. Bunkers were well placed in potential landing areas for drives. Plenty around the greens as well if your approach shots were right or left. Greens putted pretty well but were a tad slower than I would normally like. They rolled true with predictable break on most of them. They seemed consistent for the most part.
Very few brown patches on both the fairways and rough which made setting up approach shots much easier. Had my share of bunker shots but the sand was predictable and easy to get out of. I played the blue tees but next time will play the golds given the yardage would be 7000+ which is better for long hitters. Some of the par 4s were fairly short.
Pace of play was slow, things got stacked up a little but weekend play is often like that anyway. Very friendly staff, definitely recommend for all player types.
Royal St. Cloud Golf Links - Red/White Course
Played On 03/17/2017Overall Great Fun
Overall conditions from tee to green were pretty good. We played the white course and blue courses. Plenty of challenges with fairway traps and water.
You are rewarded with good course management and with links-style greens made it nice for putting up from the fringe areas. Sand in the traps was a little hard and not very deep so your club tended to skip off sometimes causing an occasional skull shot around the greens.
Overall great experience, staff could have been a little friendlier but other than that great course for a great value.
Highlands Reserve Golf Club
Played On 02/12/2017Good Overall Experience
Had an early tee time and played as a single.
Practice facility - I would say their range was average, nothing spectacular. Tee area had nice grass but the range is narrow and uphill. Appeared to be long enough for most people when hitting driver.
Tee boxes - Some of the best I've ever played down this way, the grass was very consistent and cut to just the right length for hitting iron shots off the box. I didn't even have to tee the ball up for the par 3s, ball sat up nicely. Don't mean to belevar this fact but that's very important to me for setting up my drive, let alone confidence coming off the tee box.
Fairways - Decent for the most part, but not superb. Bent grass with decent density but with some bare spots here and there. Rough was ok in most places but quite a few patchy areas. Lots of sand traps/long waste areas. Not much for water hazards which made the course a little easier to play for those errant shots vs having to take a stroke in the case of water hazards. Although the fairways seemed wide, accuracy was still important or your drive would roll into one of the waste areas or into the rough.
Greens - I thought the greens were in nice shape, rolled pretty well and mostly consistent from green-green. Practice green was fairly indicative of the course greens which is a huge +.
As a single player on a Sunday, I didn't run into much for delay so the folks ahead of me were pretty courteous in letting me play through on a few holes. I played the tips (blacks) which is 6700 yards.
Definitely recommend for all types of handicaps. For those low handicappers, you can score on this course for sure with some thoughtful course management.
ChampionsGate Golf Club - International
Played On 01/15/2017Nice Overall Course
Good overall experience. Very nice practice facility (included in greens fee) and putting/chipping areas. Friendly staff to include valet service for parking.
Course: I thought the course was in pretty good shape overall. Tee boxes were well kept with plenty of options for teeing up the ball because of the well-manicured grass (I played the blue tees, not the tips). Fairways were in pretty good shape, certainly not championship shape but pretty good overall. Rough was surprisingly easy to get out of, not high and thick. Greens rolled pretty nicely and true. Some differences in speed from green to green but overall more consistent than I've played at some other courses. Carts had GPS which is another nice plus!
I thought the fairways were fairly open for the most part (with fairly straight drives) with decent areas for landing your drives. This course made up for the lack of water hazards with tons of fairway/greens traps and sand waste areas. Sand was a little on the heavy side but predictable and fairly easy to get out of. I wasn't playing particularly well that day but otherwise would have scored well with better approach shots. I think the layout is good for mid-low handicappers, high handi-cappers will do alright if you hit the ball straight but any big hooks or slices will land you in fairway bunkers/waste areas or even lost balls in the brush areas.
Definitely recommend, good course for the money.
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to review us, Cypress knoll Golf Course, and for the 3 stars. We're sorry to hear that certain parts of the course may not have been in the best shape on the day of your round, and we appreciate your feedback regarding the tee boxes and fairways so we may work on any necessary improvements. However, we're glad you received a good value for your round and had a fun time on the course. Thank you for choosing to golf with us, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.