Tag Archives: golf vacation destination

Shingle Creek Golf Club

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Most, if not all golf courses carry with them a “time” theme to their designs. Others are plain “new-age”, some are “classic”. But very rarely does the golfing world see a golf course that carries the grandeur of both the time yonder and today’s innovations. It is like seeing a time warp all at the same time and place. One such course is Orlando’s Shingle Creek Golf Club. The golf vacation destination carries with it a long and rich history embedded in its natural features, accentuated by the genius of a new-age designer.

Mark Harman designed this 18-hole, 7,213-yard, par-72 golf vacation favorite. The Shingle Creek Golf Club is named after the creek of the same name, which is a part of the headwaters of the scenic Everglades of Florida. Golfers are to expect quite a lot of waterholes on this course. Along with the waters, the sandy banks of this course also play a part in defining the challenge set by this course. And all that beauty is set against a backdrop and earth of pristine natural goodness. Unmoved, untouched, and maintained to always be at its prime all year round. These features of the course combine to create a stunning, mystical and unforgettably beautiful spectacle that is bound to make one forget Disney is but a short drive away.

To make matters even better than it already is, the course has five sets of tees to choose from. That is a gift to golfers with no discrimination whatsoever for the players handicap. It is an enjoyable, fairly challenging course from any tee. The Shingle Creek Golf Club is that rare golf course that brings the good ol’ days of golfing into any golf trips, without it feeling outdated at all.

Falcon’s Fire Golf Club

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Who says the best things in Orlando golfing come with mouse ears for logos? One need not go far, nor look elsewhere to find a most perfect alternate to the Disney courses in Orlando! For a different flavor for golf vacations in Disney city, there is one place to go too – and it’s only a stone’s throw away from the main Disney gates: The Falcon’s Fire Golf Club. It is gool ol’ golfing goodness at its purest, most beautiful form.

 The Falcon’s Fire Golf Club holds an elusive four star-rating from the Golf Digest’s Places to Play list and is listed as amongst Florida’s best. And the reasons are not at all hard to tell. The Rees Jones design features classic architecture of more than 7000 yards from the longest tees, par 72. That is all 7000 yards of pristine maintenance of prime Tif Eagle greens, and year-round optimum conditioning to suit all types of golfers, having five sets of tees to choose from. The course is challenging only to those who are willing to be challenged; the shorter tees make it a fair and fun course to play – even more so, relaxing thanks to the natural scenic features. In total, the golf vacation destination is always a delight to play.

 And a greater delight off the greens too. With world-class services and amenities that include a highly-recognized Falcon’s Nest Restaurant known for being exquisite and an award-winning golf shop, there is not a reason to doubt whether the Falcon’s Fire Golf Club is at par with the world class, highly famous Disney courses. It sure does, sans the sky-high green fees at that! Now that wasn’t hard. That is golf trips worth taking out of the usual and the ordinary.

Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club

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A golf vacation to Orlando would surely never stop within Orlando, right? Surely, the outskirts of the theme-park city has a lot to offer for their golf loving guests. This is Florida! Golf is basically everywhere! All there is to do is drive a little further out of the city and voila! The rarest of gems are ripe and ready for the picking! What’s more surprising, these courses turn out to be even greater than the overrated ones in the city. One perfect example is the Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club in Haines City, just off of Highway 27.

The golf vacation destination boasts of a risk-reward game that is defined by five par-4 holes and several par-3s, extensive mounding with elevation changes of up to 100 feet, and more than a hundred strategically placed bunkers. From the longest tees, the Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club measure a good 7,200 yards and play for a par of 72. It plays with five sets of tees for yardage lengths that will suit any type of golfer. On top of it all, the greens are large and fast. Every feature of this course was made to provoke and challenge golfers.

Now, that said, it should not be surprising why quite a lot of golfers choose to take golf trips at the Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club. Neither should it be surprising that this course holds a 4.5 star-rating from Golf Digest, and ranks among Florida’s and the US’ top golf courses. Going out of the box – or in this case, the city – reaps some good things too. (Plus Disneyland is only 15 minutes away!)

Celebration Golf Club

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It’s a celebration! At the Celebration Golf Club, players and lovers of the sport rejoice and celebrate the many wonderful things that makes this sport one of the best man has ever created, as well as the beauty of surroundings that only nature can give. The famed golf vacation destination, located in the town of the same name just outside of Orlando, in itself is a wonderful reason to be happy and delight in the sport.

The Celebration Golf Club is one of the collaboration projects of father-and-son golf design duo, Robert Trent Jones Senior and Junior. They have created one spectacle in golf that brings together the great features well-loved by most every golfer, set in a backdrop painted by Mother Nature herself. The course winds through a natural wetland environment – of old live oaks, pines and magnolias and shimmering lakes. The designers kept the natural topography untouched, thus golfers enjoy a layout of rolling terrain – generally challenging, utterly provoking, but fair. Fair enough, the course has five sets of tees to play from to keep things interesting for golfers despite their skill levels. The maximum yardage length is set at more than 7,200 yards, par 72. The course is so spectacular it not only is celebrated for golf vacations but for some of the best, most popular golf tournaments as well.

Topping the list are the US Senior Open Qualifier, the Robert Gamez Celebrity Invitational, the Florida State Public Links Championship and the Buick Scramble National Championships. And to complete the truly celebratory Orlando golf trip, the Celebration Golf Club is minutes away from the best themed-resorts in the country. In here, life is truly a celebration!

Mystic Dunes Golf Club

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There is nothing mystic or supernatural about the Mystic Dunes Golf Club in Orlando. Although, it would only be truthful to say there is nothing ordinary human about it. There is an air of divine-like beauty in its layout. It seems as if the gods themselves have set foot on earth to create a beautiful mash-up of some of the best courses the world in the Carolinas, the British Isles, and the world-renowned classic the Augusta National. This is one golf vacation destination where there is not a need to summon the good spirits.

The Mystic Dunes Golf Club, a Gary Koch design, does not hold a 4.5 star-rating from Golf Digest for no reason. It is a whooping 7,012-yards, par 71 layout. Four other sets of tees make the course playable for golfers of varied skill levels should the championship tees prove too overwhelming. And then there are very distinct nines – a glimpse of the Carolinas to open the game with – native wetlands and marsh areas, old growth cypresses and oaks – and travel to the British Isles – links-style, bunker-laden back nine – to close it with. If that is not enough a golf trip surprise delight, one need not wait long or think hard to find the Augusta National flavor to it.

Paired with the 80-feet elevation changes, the greens here which are of prime kind and perfect maintenance are almost exactly that of the famed Georgia golf course. That’s primera classe greens carpeting rolling terrain bordered by even more rolling sand dunes and natural vegetation. Nowhere else is there a golf vacation creation that brings together golf world’s bests. There is no need for good spirits at the Mystic Dunes Golf Club, the best are already here.

Harmony Golf Preserve

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The things that are hardest to find are the most valuable. That’s why the rarest gems are the priciest. The Harmony Golf Preserve in Florida is a rare one. What is so special about this golf vacation destination, and what is most loved is the fact that it has as much solitude as there is accessibility. Where else does one see a course that is actually part of a housing community with no houses in sight? And that is not because no one wants to live there! This had just been so well planned that perfect balance was created.

Well, not surprisingly though. The Harmony Golf Preserve is the handiwork of renowned golfing personality, Johnny Miller. This is his only one in Florida, thus, the additional merits on rarity. It is a golfer’s haven sitting on an 11,000 acre property that’s bordered by thick forests of towering southern pines and broad meadows. Not only do there features create a picture-perfect aspect to the course, it has also made a part in creating a real challenge for golfers of all skill levels. And like icing to cake, making things even more delicious around here, there are two large, sparkling lakes that make its way into several holes. The course is built wrapped in natural wetlands, thus the harmony between nature and human genius. The result is, without a doubt, superb. And golf trips here are never shortchanged.

The Harmony Golf Preserve measures a whooping 7,428 yards from the longest tees, par 72, with several sets of tees to satisfy all golfers of all skill levels. And downtown Orlando is just a stone’s throw away. A golf vacation here will turn out to be one of the most unforgettable for anyone. And most valuable.

Eagle Creek Golf Club

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There can only be so much of Scotland that can be channeled to Florida right? Wrong. There is as much Scotland as there is on this Ron Garl/Howard Swan golf vacation destination creation. The Eagle Creek Golf Club has everything Scotland in their brand of golfing that it feels like golfers have been transported to a time and place where nothing else matters but just the golfer and the sport.

The Eagle Creek Golf Club measures 7,198-yards from the longest tees, par-73. Some of the best and most interesting features of this golf course is that there 5 par-5s on course that golfers have to contend with. And the rest of the holes are even more so challenged by the bulkheads, over 90 bunkers and incessant Florida wind. For the challenge-seeking golfer, that is beauty right there – in its sheerest, cleanest, most beautiful form. Beauty of beauties. For the skill-challenged, there is not a reason to fret thought. The layout has five sets of tees to choose from. This is one golf vacation that’s worth more than its green fees – it’s the cheapest way to get an unforgettable Scottish golfing experience sans the transatlantic plane flight and the need for passports!

And speak of beauty, there is literally a huge helping of beautiful sights here too. It has preserved its nature endowments so well that the course is actually a holder of an Audubon International Sanctuary certification. Supposedly, there are only 600 of them around the world, handpicked, for being eco-friendly. There can only be so much beauty and value in a golf trip right? Wrong. The Eagle Creek Golf Club has it all in large quantities.

Royal St. Cloud Golf Links Course

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27 holes, more than 7,000 yards, five sets of tees, and all the best of anything Orlando, Florida golfing – this sneak peek of what Royal St Cloud Golf Links Course has to bring in golf vacations are enough a reason to bring a tiara with the rest of the golf paraphernalia. Why, that’s some quality golfing worthy of the blue bloods! Well, it must really live up to its name, and to all the legendary golf courses it paid homage to in its many replica bunkers and holes on course.

The true links style layout has pot bunkers reminiscent in those of the European greats – Irish, Scottish, and even British (thus, the name for the nines). Some are even reminiscent of those in St Andrew’s. The rolling mounds, more sand dunes and treeless, wide fairways of the Royal St Cloud Golf Links Course make it an even more authentic links course, something that is mostly unheard of in Central Florida. The authentic part, at least. And the holes here are just as diverse from one another. Or from any other hole elsewhere. That’s one Florida golf trip that is unlike any Florida golf trip! And it doesn’t hurt that it’s beautiful too.

What’s more, there are no houses in sight! Na-da. Zilch. There is only the endless blowing of the Florida breeze and an array of 27 of the best holes in Florida bordered by world class bunkers that just brings the best features of the best links courses in the world. Now that is, without a doubt, one golf vacation destination that almost literally rolls out the red carpet. On this case, green carpet. Hear ye! Hear ye! Let the games begin at the Royal St Cloud Golf Links Course!

Eastwood Golf Club

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“Affordable, beautiful, and always a fun golf experience everytime.” This is probably the easiest description that would roll off of golfers’ tongues when asked about the Eastwood Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. The golf vacation destination is favored by guest and locals alike, loving the perfect balance of layout, play quality, scenery, and yes, budget savvy green fees hereabouts.

The Eastwood Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-72 layout that stretches to more than 7,100 yards from the longest tees. It enjoys its fair share of elevation changes in a rather flat Orlando terrain. This layout which sits on 190 acres of prime Central Florida land has approximately 66 bunkers gracing the game with their treacherous presence. The course is bordered by a lush helping of stunning lakes and other water features, making its way into 13 holes, 8 of which are in the front nine, the other 5 in the back nine. There are four sets of tees to choose from, making it a golf trip for everyone, skill-level regardless. It is challenging to the skilled without being so much as an intimidation to the learning golfer.

It is this quality of play that makes the Eastwood Golf Club an ultimate favorite for golf outings. Add to that the fact that it is reasonably priced, there are no questions as to whether a golf vacation hereabouts is underway or not. It will, without a doubt. Why, this course is in Golf Digest’s list of Top 100 Courses in the world! That is one plan that would roll off just as easily into action.

Sugarloaf Mountain Golf Club

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The Sugarloaf Mountain Golf Club in Minneola, 40 minutes outside Orlando, in Florida, is one really sweet treat without being too sickly sweet. It is like a low-calorie soda – you enjoy the best of it while dodging its worst end. Why, this golf vacation destination enjoys seclusion and exclusivity without being too far from the fun of downtown Orlando! And it’s a beautiful seclusion. Very beautiful, in fact.

With significantly dramatic elevation changes as much as 250 feet, the Sugarloaf Mountain Golf Club owes this unique golfing surface to the naturally hilly terrain of Minneola. This makes it a perfect, most welcome breather to the usual flat Florida golfing experience. This golf vacation favorite is a Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore creation – the duo’s first in the Sunshine State. The mountain course features a lot of bunkers and is accentuated by lush natural forests of oaks and other native vegetation. And the best part? This place is well-secluded that there is not a single house in sight! Yes, all 7,076 yards from the longest tees, par 72, is an undisturbed, unparalleled view of the mountainous part of Orlando.

Now that’s a truly memorable golf trip. This is a love affair between the golfer, the sport, and the best of nature – and nothing else. And all that is just a little more than a stone’s throw away from everything that makes Orlando one of the most celebrated vacation hotspots in the US. This is the sweet life, not some gone-too-soon sugar rush. The Sugarloaf Mountain Golf Club opened in 2008 and has six sets of tees for play.