The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes

3.5
466 Reviews (466)
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3.5
466 Reviews (466)
5 Stars
305
4 Stars
111
3 Stars
29
2 Stars
12
1 Stars
9
Conditions
2.8
Value
2.5
Layout
3.6
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
4.1
Amenities
4.8
89.0%
Recommend this course
416 out of 466 reviews
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About

Holes 18
Type Resort
Style Links
Par 72
Length 7122 yards
Slope 139
Rating 73.9

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes sits along the pristine headwaters of the Florida Everglades, surrounded by live oaks, towering pines, and palmettos. Two-time British Open Champion Greg Norman designed the golf course. He and his team focused on preserving the area's natural beauty and ecosystem. The ponds, wetlands, and mature trees were carefully protected and incorporated into the challenges of the design. The final result blends in so seamlessly it's as though the golf course had been there all along. Norman's commitment to the environment was recognized with the course's certification as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. The player-friendly layout has wide fairways and generous landing areas but the subtly contoured greens and strategically placed hazards will keep you on your toes. Five sets of tees make the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes even more accessible to players of any skill level.

Course Details

Year Built 2003
Golf Season Year round
Architect Greg Norman (2003) Matthew Dusenberry (2003)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Caddies Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes
Dress code Proper golf attire required.

Food & Beverage

Bar

Lodging

Lodging Available

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Spa

Available Sports

Fitness

Accolades

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Reviews

3.5
466 Reviews (466)

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great resort course

Conveniently located when staying at JW Marriott, Lakshore and Ritz. Course in great shape.

GPS, towels, water provided on cart. Complementary balls on driving range. Golfnow made cost very reasonable.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart

Beautiful!

Beautiful course, very fast greens and in great shape.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 24
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great 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.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great Track

The conditions were phenomenal and the greens were rolling fast. A little pricey, however I received a good deal on golfnow's hot deals. We were a twosome and played in a little over 3 hours. I would highly recommend this course and will be back.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great must play!

We played 36 holes here on sat and it was perfect. The Ritz has a great set up from practice facility to golf course. It comes at a price but well worth it.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice layout, greens were perfect and ran about an 11. Would play it again.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Course Must Play

This was my first time playing the Grande Lakes course. I saw it on TV as part of the PNC Father Sons tournament and randomly was in Orlando. I ventured over from Disney about a 15-20 ride. Great choice as the course was in excellent condition and the layout was fantastic. Most of the course is away from the resort and really gives you a calm atmosphere to play. My play did slow down a bit towards the end of the first 9 as there was a rather large group playing in front of me. Their experience level wasn't the best, however i was alone and still enjoyed my time on the course. Definitely recommend Grande Lakes to anyone!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Awesome Course

Loved the layout and conditions of the course. Definitely a step up from other courses in the area (nicer than Grand Cypress and Celebration). Great practice area. Definitely worth playing particularly if you can get a cheaper tee time (I paid $80).

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 51
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good round

Greens were really nice. Huge greens and tons of sand.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 51
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Worth Purchasing Week Membership

I paid $450 with tax for a week membership which includes cart and unlimited use of driving range. At $180 a round plus tax, this is well worth EVERY penny. The bag drop staff, rangers, starter and the golf shop staff are all top notch and on point. They should be commended.

Regarding the golf course, it's a great layout with large greens (you need to be on the proper portion) and fairways; so be sure to play the right tees because with distance comes difficulty. The course was in phenomenal shape all week.

However, it's disappointing that the 6 rounds I played here over 4 days spread out the pins were in the same two locations for all 6 rounds. Also, the bunkers need more rakes as people seemed to have a hard time raking bunkers. I'd recommend telling folks the little blue things in the carts are divot repair tools and remind them to rake the bunkers.

It's definitely a great facility and nice to have a great driving range that's long and flat. MY only CONCERN there is people are purposely hitting balls into 18 and the cart path next to it. I almost was hit half a dozen times.

Lastly, the course should tell people about mini shotguns it has on holes 9-18 on many mornings as it slowed a lot of folks' days and/or annoyed them from what I gathered (NOT ME).

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Featured
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Norman scores

Greg Norman has created an excellent course for all skill levels commonly found at resort courses. This section of Orlando is flat so you might incorrectly label it boring and undistinguished. The PNC Father Son Challenge is played here next week and in fact I met one of my heroes on the range. I'm pretty sure he appreciated the swing thought I shared with him.

As a senior I found that playing a mix of blue and white tees gives one a nice set of challenges and I suggest playing at least the par 5's from the blues. On one hole all you can see from the tee are ribbons of fairway between the bunkers and waste areas that crisscross the fairway. My GPS said taking it on would require a confident 258 yd. carry. BTW take your own GPS or Range finder because the one in the cart is pretty much useless for defining the hazards.

Beware when exiting the greens because the cart paths are fitted with curved curbs that can prove to be treacherous underfoot.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great track and very profesional

I really enjoyed playing this golf course, it was in great shape and bottles of water on every other hole was welcome in the 90 degree heat. I will definitely be back!

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

A fun course to play

I played this course as part of a golf tournament. The course is beautiful and relatively straightforward.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Played after aeration

I was informed prior to arrival that aeration took place a few days earlier. I was given the choice to cancel for no fee which I declined. The aeration was not a problem for me however they had extra large holes I suppose to compensate for the fact that the greens were substandard. I have never seen this before and would have cancelled had I known about that. It significantly detracted from the round.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Excellent Staff and Course

The course was in great shape and the staff was great too. We had an early tee time and the pace of play was great.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great Course!

We took advantage I have an off-season rate. Loved playing this course

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Well Maintained and Fair Layout

I played here in August and the course was in great shape. The layout is fair with most hole providing generous fairways for you tee shot. The set up is nice and gives you a lot of fun looks from the tee box as well, not completely blind carries but some that make you think and pick the appropriate line. While most of the greens look accessible, there are several holes that are tighter than expected and bunkered. The sand was pristine. The greens received the ball well and performed as expected on your approach. All greens were consistent in speed and were very true.

I think this is a wild life reserve of sorts. We saw some wild game on a couple holes and there were some interesting wetland areas.

The amenities were good and staff was relatively friendly.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
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