The best courses you can play in Orlando

From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:

I've always been fascinated by the design of Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer's home course for over 45 years (although Tiger Woods owns it, competitively-speaking, as he's won there eight times.) For one thing, it's rather hilly, a rarity in Florida (although not in the Orlando market) and dotted with sinkhole ponds incorporated in the design in dramatic ways.

I always thought the wrap-around-a-lake par-5 sixth was Dick Wilson's version of Robert Trent Jones's decade-older 13th at The Dunes Club at Myrtle Beach. Each of the two rivals had claimed the other was always stealing his ideas. But the hole I like best at Bay Hill is the par-4 eighth, a lovely dogleg-right with a diagonal green perched above a small circular pond. Okay, I admit that it reminds me of the sixth at Hazeltine National, another Trent Jones product, but I don't think Wilson picked Trent's pocket on this one, as both courses were built about the same time, in the early 1960s. 

For our complete review, visit Bay Hill's Places to Play page here.

Three stellar golf courses—designed by Nicklaus, Palmer and Watson—can be found at this full-service Orlando-area resort, making it the only destination with three courses designed by these three legends. A manageable drive to the airport makes this an easy trip to plan.  The Nicklaus Course is generally forgiving off the tee, but small, undulating greens place a premium on precise iron play. Elevated railroad-tie tees and greens, along with the occasional pot bunker, give the course character.

Recently renovated by the Palmer Design Group, Shingle Creek uses knobs, swales and slopes combined with closely mown runoff areas around elevated greens to provide a challenging, par-72, 7,213 yards of engaging golf.

Southern Dunes grew out of an unfortunate event in 1989, when a 350 acre citrus grove was lost to a severe freeze. Instead of replanting the grove, the group of owners decide to build a golf course on the land. Today, Southern Dunes offers a refreshing design that differs from many typical Florida layouts, where flat fairways are heavily guarded by water. Instead, Southern Dunes plays over rolling terrain with elevation changes of up to 100 feet. Though water is in play on a few holes, tall-lipped bunkers are the primary defense, and many guard the fairways and greens.

Orange County National is a hotspot for public golf in Orlando, with two quality courses (and a third nine-hole layout) and a massive, 360-degree driving range. The Panther Lake course winds through rolling meadows, native pines, and wetlands, immersing golfers in the natural landscape. Elevation changes of up to 60 feet and no housing developments make this Florida course unique.

Featuring two Greg Norman designed championship courses as well as a lit nine-hole par-3 track, ChampionsGate is the perfect choice for an action-packed Orlando golf experience. The challenging International course features large greens (made even bigger by a recent restoration) and numerous grassy dunes, giving the layout a links feel.

Opened in 1996, Celebration Golf Club was a design collaboration between the father-son duo of Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Robert Trent Jones Jr. The course features generous fairways that dogleg around numerous lakes and bunkers on the front nine. On the back side, there are a few more tree-lined holes, though the fairways are still wide. The course is conveniently located just a few minutes from Disney World.

The Ritz-Carlton Carlton Golf Club at Grande Lakes is the annual host of the PNC Championship, where major champions team up with their sons and daughters in a relaxed end-of-the-year event. Set within the headwaters of the Florida Everglades, the scenic Orlando layout—a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary—plays among pines, palmettos and oaks.

Mission Inn Resort offers two courses which have hosted numerous amateur and professional events, including PGA Tour Latinoamerica Q school. The El Campeón course opened in 1917, making it one of the oldest courses in the area. The course is situated on steep hills with elevation changes of over 85 feet, and water is in play on most holes.

Conveniently located next to Disney World, Waldorf Astoria is a challenging Rees Jones-designed layout. Unlike many resort courses which are forgiving off the tee, Waldorf Astoria’s landing areas are demanding, with water, trees and native brush lining many fairways. Jones incorporated design features from the Golden Age of architecture, notably at par-3 seventh, where the Biarritz green has a significant dip in the middle.

Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons is a Tom Fazio design that has previously hosted the LPGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions. It’s a true out-and-back layout, where the front nine plays away from the clubhouse into the forest before turning back toward the resort. Many holes are lined with dense forest that surrounds the property, making you forget you’re just a couple miles from Disney World.

Three stellar golf courses—designed by Nicklaus, Palmer and Watson—can be found at this full-service Orlando-area resort, making it the only destination with three courses designed by these three legends. A manageable drive to the airport makes this an easy trip to plan. The Palmer Course challenges players with undulating terrain, creating uneven lies in the fairways and rough. It features significant elevation changes, including a 50-foot drop from tee to green at the par-3 second.

Orange County National is a hotspot for public golf in Orlando, with two quality courses (and a third nine-hole layout) and a massive, 360-degree driving range. Crooked Cat, often considered easier than its sibling course, offers more of a links-style experience, with native heather framing the wide fairways.

Three stellar golf courses—designed by Nicklaus, Palmer and Watson—can be found at this full-service Orlando-area resort, making it the only destination with three courses designed by these three legends. A manageable drive to the airport makes this an easy trip to plan. The Watson Course utilizes strategic bunkering and hilly terrain as its defense. With hardly any water in play on the course, bunkers line the fairways, which are generally wide.

Tiger Woods captured his second career PGA Tour title at the Magnolia course in 1996, edging Payne Stewart by one shot. He would add another win at Disney’s signature course in 1999. The Magnolia layout features wide fairways guarded by water, which lurks on 11 of the 18 holes. Though the fairways are generally wide, if you miss them, you may be blocked out by the magnolia trees that line many holes. Note: Currently, 14 holes are open at the Magnolia course, as the other holes are being renovated. The course is offering a 33% discount off greens fees.

Mission Inn Resort offers two courses which have hosted numerous amateur and professional events, including PGA Tour Latinoamerica Q school. The Las Colinas course has less water in play than its sibling layout, but the large, undulating greens provide an intriguing test. Trees closely guard many fairways on the back nine, placing a premium on accuracy off the tee.

Featuring two Greg Norman designed championship courses as well as a lit nine-hole par-3 track, ChampionsGate is the perfect choice for an action-packed Orlando golf experience. The National course—the easier of the two layouts at the resort—plays through 200 acres of woodlands, wetlands and former orange groves. Though water comes into play on a few holes, there are few forced carries, making the course playable for the higher handicap.

A par 35 that stretches out to 2,480 yards, what Winter Park lacks in distance it makes up for in dramatic green contours, steep bunkers and moss-covered oaks. As Golf Digest’s Architecture Editor Emeritus Ron Whitten wrote on Winter Park: "Keith Rhebb, longtime course builder for the firm of Coore and Crenshaw, and Riley Johns, winner of the 2014 Lido Design Contest, teamed up to rip apart and restitch WP9, as it is now called, providing it with much-needed character and sterling turf."

The Deltona Club offers a captivating Bobby Weed design that differs from the occasionally monotonous, flat Florida layouts. Deltona is defined by its significant elevation changes and massive bunkering. It’s worth noting that if you place a high value on immaculate course conditions, Deltona may not be for you. Though the conditions may not meet the level of a private club, we include Deltona on our best courses you can play in Orlando list due to the intriguing design that differs from many nearby layouts.

Disney’s Palm course was originally designed by Joe Lee in 1971 but was redesigned by the Arnold Palmer Group in 2013 to make the course more challenging. Though the fairways are relatively generous, there’s water in play on nine of the 18 holes. The course finishes strong at the 463-yard par-4 18th, where the approach plays over water, which wraps around the right side of the green.