Forest Lake Golf Club of Ocoee

How likely is it for one to find a golf vacation destination in the Orlando area devoid of housing, created with such fine and clever design techniques? So fine that in fact, even having a turnpike right smack in the middle of it did not make it any less better. The odds are low, but definitely not an impossibility. Just a little outside of Orlando, a golf course holding a 4-star rating from Golf Digest’s Places to Play and holding just as much heart, has been the best-kept secret of Orlando golfers: the Forest Lake Golf Club of Ocoee.

This Clifton, Ezell, Clifton design is known for giving great value for golfers’ money. It is never mainstream expensive but always high class quality in looks and in plays. The Forest Lake Golf Club of Ocoee has been mapped out particularly well. It has the right amount of sand bunkers, water and other hazards and the holes are placed strategically, where the turnpike is visible but not a distraction. And with no homes in sight, and the only thing there is that’s considered a development is the highway, it would be easy to ignore everything else and focus on the game. How is that for total golf vacation experience?

The Forest Lake Golf Club of Ocoee delights its guests with its 5 sets of tees, the longest yardage measuring a whooping 7,113 yards and the shortest measures just a little over 5,000 yards. Now, that said, how likely is it that every visitor finds a golf trip here their most unforgettable? They most probably would.

Diamondback Golf Club

There can never be anything more dynamic a course in Orlando than the Diamondback Golf Club. And that is even with half of it generally bare. This is one of the highly favored, average-priced courses that golfers go to in Orlando for their golf vacations. No unusual displays, nothing too fancy. There is just a lot of golf and a lot of fun all in a single location.

Designed by Joe Lee, the Diamondback Golf Club was opened in 1996 and measures 6,805 yards from the tips, playing for a par of 72. What makes this golf vacation destination really interesting and a hit among golfers – local and visiting alike – is the fact that for a course that follows the natural contours of the land, it is highly varied in terrain. It is a salad bowl of natural swamplands and virgin forests and flat lands – all that texture can be experienced throughout the 18 holes. It feels like a little bit of Florida and a lot of other places. Oaks and pines with a little helping of citrus groves compose these woods that give more than enough distance and danger in between holes and greens.

Generally speaking, the Diamond Golf Club is fun and playable. This may not be the easiest and most relaxing course in the world, but hey. Nobody wants to be a sixth grader in a kindergarten course! Every round here is also an explosion of different emotions and reactions brought about by the levels of excitement that almost every hole gives. And each golf trip here will definitely be different from the last; no wonder golfers come here over and over and over.

Ridgewood Lakes Golf and Country Club

When in Orlando in search of a golf vacation destination with a fun and enjoyable layout, multiple sets of tees, beautiful surroundings, and a great value for money, golfers know that Ridgewood Lakes Golf and Country Club always tops the list. The golf course knows just exactly what to give and how much of it to give its patrons. No wonder this is on the list of many golfers that they do not hesitate to recommend to friends and family.

Ridgewood Lakes Golf and Country Club is the Ted McAnlis creation in Davenport, Fl that perfectly epitomizes the essence of Florida golfing – fun, unforgettable, and has lots of sand and water. In this case, large and sparkling white sand bunkers and water hazards playing on each one of its 18 holes accentuate the perfectly maintained greens and wide fairways. This gives the course enough grit and teeth to make every round here challenging. But it is generally playable from any one of the four sets of tees, the longest being 7,016 yards long, par 72. This makes it an ultimate favorite for golf trips among the ladies, the seniors, and pretty much everyone else.

The golf vacation favorite, though, did not stop with an excellent layout to make this course stand out. Ridgewood Lakes Golf and Country Club has an even more beautiful practice and driving range; a most perfect warm up to go with the game. The search for the best golfing experience in Orlando starts from everywhere, but will always end here.

Kissimmee Bay Country Club

The lakeside view is perfect. The numerous water hazards – thirteen ponds on 16 sixteen of the eighteen holes – even more so. And then there are the wooded areas – both beautiful and treacherous. Of course, there’s the 6,846 yards of golf from the longest tees, par-71. If there is anyone who could say something that is not irresistible about the Kissimmee Bay Country Club in Florida, the floor is open. That is just least likely; this is one of the most favorite golf vacation destinations this side of the Sunshine State, and that is among locals and tourists alike.

This Lloyd Clifton creation opened in 1990 and has since been the go-to place for epic golf vacations and simple golf outings. This is the epitome of simple, timeless beauty – with just the right of grit to keep the golfers engaged and happy. Centenary oaks and towering cypresses grow abundantly throughout the Kissimmee Bay Country Club and in one way or another, will make their presence known as more than just visual aesthetic elements.

And then there’s the wind. The wind that blows off the lake is as fickle as a woman, thus making rounds vary from day to day; on more interesting days, the wind would change its mind more than it is supposed to in a day and transforms a game into an entirely different one. That is the Kissimmee Bay Country Club – of little perfections coming together to make every golf trip the best one there is for everyone.

King’s Ridge Golf Club – Kings Course

There’s nothing better and more idyllic than a round of golf after a hard long week. And there’s nothing better than a golf course that is playable, fun, relaxing, and beautiful. That pretty much rounds up every single element a golfer would want and need for a most perfect golf vacation. And that’s exactly what the Kings Course of the King’s Ridge Golf Club in Clermont, Florida can offer its guests. One round here just is never enough; it will always be round after round after round.

The Kings Course of the King’s Ridge Golf Club is a Lloyd Clifton creation that opened in 1996. This 18-hole layout is shaped according to the dictates of the land’s natural contours. Thus, there is a high variety of elevation on the course. That, paired with several elevated tees, results in a golf vacation destination of rolling hills, natural mounds, and fast greens. There are just the right amounts of par-3s and par-4s all over the course to make it a fun course, playable for all skill levels with tee sets ranging from 6,183 yards the longest, and 4,462 the shortest, with three others between them.

And with the view of the scenic and peaceful Florida countryside, there is not a reason why a golf trip here won’t be relaxing and beautiful. The Kings Course of the King’s Ridge Golf Club, indeed, has enough a reason to keep a golfer coming back. Can there be anything better than this? None, for this offers only the best golf experience.

The Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes

Tom Fazio did not become a household name overnight. He worked for it and earned it. What he is today is the result of years and years of building his name and building some of the best golf vacation destinations this generation has ever seen and played. He has long carved his legacy in his many creations. And for the one that he named to be where he gave the “most effort”, it is more than deserving to be called his Legacy – The Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes.

The Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes is undoubtedly one of the best anyone will ever see in the Sunshine State, and perhaps in the entire US. The course measures 7,160 yards from the longest tees, par 72. The course is said to be one that has wonderfully carried the best of man and nature – a cornucopia of lush forests, wildlife and native vegetation all worked well together under the careful, artful work of Fazio. He has so well worked on the natural environment that it earned the golf vacation favorite the only Audubon International Signature Certified Sanctuary in all of Central Florida.

 The developers and managers of the course have also not put in vain whatever hardwork Fazio has put in here. They have paired it with the best amenities and quality of services any golfer could ever ask for in a golf trip. That’s the Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes – a legacy not only to further immortalize Tom Fazio’s name in the history of golf but a model that up and coming course designers could look up to for inspiration: beauty need not come in the way of nature, and vice versa.

Red Tail Golf Club

When somebody says, ‘Florida is beautiful’, one would not expect anything more than a silent nod in agreement. That much is given. Even more so when people say ‘golf vacations in Florida, especially in Orlando, are even more beautiful’. Statements such as this one would very easily conjure up images of beachside golf, a lot of sand, few trees, flat layout. True, that is pretty much what Orlando golfing looks like. But much is not all; there are courses the likes of Red Tail Golf Club where a breath of fresh air is literally a breath of fresh air.

That, it owes much to the countless centenary oaks dotting the whole course. At Red Tail Golf Club, the whole length of its 7,152-yard maximum yardage, par-72 is accentuated by these beautiful trees that they have so very well preserved. As are the rest of the property. It is so well-preserved that in fact, this golf vacation destination is hailed as among Florida’s best natural setting for golf. Thanks to the genius of designer Dave Harman, the natural paradise was transformed into a golfer’s haven without so much as altering what masterpiece Mother Nature has created here. The excellent golfing is defined by the naturally rolling hills of Lake County, complimented by Harman’s links-style layout.

And to complete the golf vacation package, the Red Tail Golf Club comes with an excellent 10-acre practice facility to help perfect that swing and shot. That makes it a perfect place to warm up for a round from any of the six sets of tees at the course. When somebody says this course is ‘gorgeous’, there won’t be silent agreement. There would be a ruckus of happy and excited stories of unforgettable golfing experience here.

DeBary Golf and Country Club

The DeBary Golf and Country Club is located between two of Florida’s most beautiful cities, Orlando and Daytona. It shares all the best natural features of the two cities. SO basically, this golf vacation destination is caught between being beautiful and gorgeous.

This Lloyd Clifton creation features many things un-Florida. In truth, there is a more of Carolina golf course feel to the DeBary Golf and Country Club, owing it to the many trees dotted all over the property and the lack of water. There is only a single water hazard all throughout the course and it plays on the shared greens between the 9th and the 18th hole. The course measures 6,776 yards from the longest tees, par-72. Golf vacations here are characterized by plays on excellent greens carpeting some well-placed holes, several other hazards, and lots and lots of trees.

Speak of trees, the trees and forests on course serve more purpose than just the aesthetics. They do more than play the role of natural hazards as well. These forests of native growth trees are what separates the DeBary Golf and Country Club course from the housing development on the other side of the club. That is one dream golf trip: away from the sights and sounds of residential communities without exactly being away from civilization. Now, that said, there really isn’t anything surprising about the course’s four-star rating for Golf Digest’s Places to Play List, as well as its being a regular host of US Open Qualifiers. Neither is it surprising that golfers who come here will end up caught between being in love and in awe.

Black Bear Golf Club

When a golf vacation destination carries the name of some legendary golf course designer, people almost instantly judge it as astounding and beautiful and remarkable. That, even without putting it on an actual test. And not a few times has this kind of ‘history advertising’ failed. But not on the Black Bear Golf Club is Eustis, Florida, just outside Orlando. The PB Dye creation may carry the Dye family name but it proves to be just as deserving to be in the list of Dye family portfolio but to be in the list of America’s best.

 The Black Bear Golf Club is all 7,000++ yards of the best there is when man shares and uses his genius in perfect collaboration with nature. This 18-hole, par-72 spectacle is a links-style layout that was tailored according to the natural contours of the land. The course is sprinkled with numerous shaped bunkers and large sand traps set on undulating terrain.  And the best part is, the golf vacation can be as beautiful and as serene as can be – this part of Florida happens to be very quiet and secluded. And with minimum development, there is real peace and quiet.

 Perhaps the only time this course isn’t quiet is when it hosts the USGA Public Links Qualifiers. Why, the Black Bear Golf Club has actually hosted the said tournament seven years in a row. As for most of the year, this is the best place for that golf trip straight out of paradise. Without so much as an exaggeration, this is indeed, one of America’s best. That should go down in history.  

 

Waldorf Astoria Golf Club

Not only is this golf course a bearer of a legendary name known for the best vacations around the world. It also bears the signature of an equally legendary name in golf design. And as if that weren’t yet enough, the course is located in one of America’s most favorite, not to mention, most beautiful places – Orlando, Florida. The Rees Jones-designed Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, though young and in tough competition with the well-known classics in the area, is making waves as one of the fast-rising golf vacation favorites.

The Waldorf Astoria Golf Club measures more than 7,100 yards from the longest tees, par-72. There are five sets of tees to choose from making the course one for everybody. And, yes, one for everybody includes a great golf instruction program that would make even the least skilled of golfers enjoy what this course has to offer. One of the highlighted features of the course are the numerous bunkers that carry a classic design – a true and tested obstacle that will bring the the attitude that will make the golf trip extra unforgettable.

These bunkers look nice but they aren’t exactly as nice when the game begins. Thus is the case, too, of the many pines and ancient cypresses lining the wide fairways of the course. They have as much help in the aesthetics as in the course obstacles. In totality, the Waldorf Astoria Golf Club is one course that requires precision in technique and shotmaking, as much as it attracts appreciation for being naturally exceptional. Well, there is nothing too surprising about it. The resume of this golf vacation destination justifies it all and erases any doubt.