daa2202

Some of the talk about this being the "Augusta National of the North" had me rolling my eyes, but there are a few holes on the back 9 (especially the 18th) that actually lived up to that, at least in beauty. Flowers everywhere. Course conditions were very good; fairways were in excellent shape. Some of the greens were a little bumpy, but we played in the afternoon...I suspect they're better in the morning.

I think the GPS in the cart was not accurate - I think it was overstating distances, sometimes significantly (10% or more in some cases.)

Next time I'll move back a set of tees. It was a little on the easy side from the white tees, playing at about 6,000 yards.

This course is located about 45 minutes away from the I-Drive/Sand Lake area of Orlando. If you don't mind the drive, it's not a bad option if you're looking for something less expensive.

The design by Johnny Miller is interesting and can stretch out to 7,400 yards from the tips. There are several holes which are visually intimidating from the tee but when you get out to the fairway you realize there's actually plenty of room to play. The front nine is surrounded by houses (although they're not right on top of the course), but there are no houses on the back nine...at least not yet, and it didn't look like any would be there in the near future.

Biggest issue that we had were the glacially slow greens in December...I mean really slow. I think that was due to the winter overseeding, but after playing the glassy greens at the Ritz Carlton 2 days earlier, this was like putting on sand. The greens rolled true, but you had to hit the ball so hard it was difficult to get it on the right line. I presume this would not be the case during the prime season.

Lots of discounts available to Disney resort guests, Florida residents, etc. The standard rack rate of $120 is pretty steep for what you get.

The course is nice, but nothing spectacular. Some areas of the course are actually pretty noisy from adjacent Disney attractions. Greens were a little crusty but putted true and held approach shots.

I'd play it again if the opportunity presented itself, but I'm not sure I'd seek it out unless I had a pretty decent discount.

The East course at the Bay Club is in good shape - tees and greens were nice, and the greens were rolling smoothly. Fairways were very nice and had a good "springy" feeling when you walked on them. A very good deal for $45 given the location - we'll play here again.