Windermere Country Club

The Windermere Country Club was hardly ever golf vacation material. Not so much because of its quality – on the contrary, this is one very excellent course. But this was one course that was only good for the residents of the exclusive gated community it is part of and the few fortunate friends they invite over for a round. It was this way for a long time, until much lately, the golf heavens have finally heard the prayers of its people.

Before the course opened for public play, the Windermere Country Club had to go through a series of improvements to better serve a bigger market. The management began this development by improving the greens and the landscaping, the surrounding areas, and the practice range. And from there, Orlando has never been a happier or more exciting place for golf outings. The Ward Northrup design measures over 6,500 yards from the longest tees, par 72, with some of the most exciting roundup of Florida’s staple golf features. The course features 13 holes on water and 63 beautifully shaped, large bunkers that makes any golf trip essentially fun and challenging. On top of that, beautiful and majestic pines and oaks line the fairways and dot the greens, taking the challenge up one notch higher.

And since it has opened itself to the public, it has naturally made itself more enjoyable for more people. The Windermere Country Club has multiple sets of tees that will delight all skill levels with fair but fun challenge. Now it has become more than just an exquisite golf course. It is now one of Orlando’s most favorite golf vacation destinations.

Remington Golf Club

The design team of Clifton, Ezell, Clifton have made quite an impression in the Orlando golfing scene. Their Orlando portfolio includes quite a lot of best sellers, including Kissimmee Bay Golf Club, Stoneybrook East Golf Club, King’s Ridge Golf Club, and the Remington Golf Club. The last one holds a close semblance to the Kissimmee Bay, and are amongst the most recognized golf vacation destinations both as a CEC creation and a go-to place for golfers visiting Orlando.

Remington Golf Club is an 18-hole course that stretches to a whooping 7,111 yards from the longest tees, par-72. It is conveniently located just a short ten-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport, making it a great option for golf vacations. Golfers need not go far to experience what brand of excellence in golfing this 4-star rated golf course has to offer them. Like most every Florida course, water is abundant here. These water features are paired with generous landing areas and undulating fairways, not to mention verdant greens with an abundance of native vegetation.

The course comes with 5 sets of tees, making golf trips here even more inviting and accommodating for all types of golfers. Even more so, it has a unique water driving range and huge practice areas for that perfect warmup to an even better round. Clifton, Ezell, Clifton have clearly sealed their legacy in the Central Florida golfing scene. Remington Golf Club is, without a doubt, at par with all the other excellent courses crafted by this trio.

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.

Timacuan Golf and Country Club

The closest thing the Timacuan Golf and Country Club can be likened to is Grandma’s quilt. It is a patchwork of sorts – different elements, different sources, all working finely together to create one of the most talked about and respected golf vacation destinations in Florida.

At a close look, the Timacuan Golf and Country Club looks like a corkboard filled with things that are neither in the element of one and the other. That is the result of the accidental joint creation of such big names in golf course design as Ron Garl and Bobby Weed. Although, they didn’t work at the same time. The original layout was a Garl, but drainage problems arose after some time that they had to seek help from Bobby Weed to fix them. Weed did not do more than fix what needs it, thus it was a “patchwork” of his and Garl’s design. Nature was not to be left out too! The golf vacation favorite is located in Lake Mary, Fl., and enjoys a sumptuous helping of the stunning lake.

And as distinct as it already is, the nines of the Timacuan Golf and Country Club are so varied as well it feels like being in two places at one time. But from a bird’s eyeview of the course – and from the perspective of the golfer playing it – this is one beautiful mess. The golf trip favorite located north of Orlando measures 6,915 yards from the longest tees, par 72.

Metrowest Golf Club

The Metrowest Golf Club in Orlando, Florida could easily be the Audrey Hepburn of today’s array of golf vacation destinations. When all the others are getting rough and edgy, this golf course is effortless, fluid, graceful. While the others are in contention for beauty and scenery, no one could question that this is one golf course that has perfected grace.

Ironically, this course is the handiwork of the top pioneer of today’s rough and edgy designs, the legendary Robert Trent Jones Sr. He created a true breather of a course – a break from his usual designs, and an break from the cookie-cutter designs. The course measures more than 7,000 yards from the longest tees and plays for a par of 72. Five sets of tees are available for golfers of all skill levels. The Metrowest Golf Club flows, almost literally, with its layout of dramatic but smooth elevation changes of up to 100 feet. The holes wind around mature forests, spring-fed lakes, and wide fairways. Large, undulating greens along with shaped bunkers define the attitude of this course – a more than perfect complimenting element. And they all combine to create a golf vacation whose greatness is just incomparable.

In this modern age of golfing, where roughness and grace cannot seem to exist in the same world, the Metrowest Golf Club proves otherwise. There seems to be no natural and effortless and quiet calmness to any course that has a view of the city’s skyline except here. Whilst Orlando’s downtown area and its many, many amenities are but a stone’s throw away, guests are assured that they will get a great, peaceful golf trip here. Like a true lady, her beauty stands out even when caught in a pile of urban mess.

Legends Golf and Country Club

Rarely do golfers see a course that has not seen too much earth movement. Mainstream golf vacation destinations have seen too much interference on natural terrain because not a few golf course architects desire for their creations to replicate some of the popular ones. Those rare ones are, well, rare, and are indeed a breath of fresh air. Such is the Legends Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Florida.

Course architect Lloyd Clifton was excellent enough in recognizing the potential of the natural terrain; he was even more excellent when he highlighted it and created one very fine golf facility on top of it. The naturally rolling terrain of the locality suited the course well, or the other way around, and made it seem as if the course was crafted by Mother Nature herself. The absence of wetlands perpetually present in most if not all Florida golf courses was also something to marvel at the Legends Golf and Country Club. The golf vacation favorite measures a good 6,911 yards from the longest tees and plays for a par of 72.

Whilst this is no St Andrew’s or Augusta National in level of difficulty, the Legends Golf and Country Club is no child’s play either. It requires as much thought and skill as any other great golf course, but is only more rewarding and more forgiving. It is also very generous in scenery. A golf trip here will always be a different experience from most others found anywhere in the country. This is that one golf course that will showcase nature at its best, and human genius working continuously to keep it at that.

Treetops Resort – Traditions Course

The Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan, aside from its reputation of ranking amongst the best golf vacation destinations in America, has a reputation for being aptly named. Its courses speak for themselves – the Masterpiece, the Premier, the Signature. They are as much a masterpiece, a premier, and yes, more literally, a signature course respectively. The Traditions Course is no different.

Designer Rick Smith indeed has brought the game a little further back to history with his work on the Traditions Course. The course features a links-style layout complete with wooded pins and pennant flags. It has a slightly rolling hill terrain but is very suitable for walking and the greens are smaller and are actually less undulating that its sibling courses in the resort. The uphill shots add a little more flavor to the game. From the longest tees, this golf vacation favorite measures 6, 467 yards and plays for a par of 70.

At the Traditions Course, the golfers will be allowed to choose whether to play on full 18 or just play a 9-hole game. The front nine goes back to the starter house, giving golfers the freedom to end their round right there, or move on to a more challenging game towards the 18th. The features here are virtually the same with those in its sibling courses, only more forgiving. Rolling terrain, wooded areas, undulating greens – almost the same but not quite; but equally challenging, fun and memorable no less. The course not only brings a traditional flair in its features; it brings back the good ol’ happy days of golf trips of yesteryears.

Treetops Resort – Masterpiece Course

A masterpiece not by its name alone – this is the Masterpiece Course at the Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan. It is not only easily remembered for its being an excellent golf vacation destination. This course is known to be the master designer Robert Trent Jones Sr’s last creation in Michigan. He did absolutely well – a perfect punctuation for his equally excellent creations in Michigan.

The Masterpiece Course is the first of the 4 championship courses in the resort facility and it set the bar high for the resort’s courses, as well as all of Michigan’s. This Jones Sr masterpiece measures 7,060 yards from the longest tees and plays for a par of 71. Its location, at the headwaters of the Pigeon River, gives the terrain a lot of variety. It is laden with a combination of natural valleys, plains and ravines and the legendary designer showed it that much respect that he didn’t so much intervene but instead worked on keeping it. The result is, obviously, one golf course with the most dramatic elevation changes possible. And the views overlooking the Pigeon River Valley are just as dramatic to make for anybody’s most memorable golf vacations ever.

It really should not be surprising that this golf trip favorite is a favorite of golf publications’ awards and recognitions as well. This, after all, is a pioneer in excellence of sorts in this part of the country. The Masterpiece Course may be Jones’ last in Michigan, but it ranked – AND STILL RANKS – among the first ones to have been built on excellence that made others follow suit.

Bayside Resort Golf Club

When Jack Nicklaus brought his genius to the Delaware area, it was as if he planned for himself to play the role of a spotlight and the Delaware beauty was to be the star. But Nicklaus, being himself, he will always be a golf course designer. So his layout did not merely make a good picture frame where nature’s splendor was to be gazed upon; Nicklaus created one of the best golf vacation destinations this side of the country that is set upon the best of nature in Delaware: Bayside Resort Golf Club.

The 18-hole, par 72 championship golf spectacle has stunning views of well preserved natural marshlands, thick woodlands, meadows, and a most incomparable view of the Assawoman Bay Coastline. And that alone is enough to get the golfers’ heartbeats fluctuating. It is simply stunning beyond comprehension. Needless to say, this feature becomes more a distraction in the course of the game – and that alone is a legitimate challenge. But knowing Nicklaus, the challenge cannot simply stop there. Nicklaus’ signature features of pot bunkers and well-placed holes combine with the pines and natural water hazards in the property to bring the challenge at the Bayside Resort Golf Club a notch or two higher. At more than 7,000-yards of that caliber of golf, every golfer here is in for something huge should they take a turn for their golf trip headed hereabouts.

In addition to that, the Bayside Resort Golf Club also features an excellent practice facility that will help ensure that Nicklaus is not the only genius in the game to come around. Nicklaus has planned and executed this creation so well that in every golf vacation here, happy and contented golfers are the highlight.

Deer Run Golf Club

The Deer Run Golf Club would have been Mr Congeniality in the Golf Course’s battle for the Best Golf Course in the World. Why, this course is very friendly from just about any angle. And it is not just the layout. This golf vacation destination never fails to put a smile on every visiting golfer, and it is a quality that is one for the books.

 As far as quality and excellence in layout is concerned, the Deer Run Golf Club is not in contention for America’s Top 100. It does not even have the flamboyant ‘signatures’ of the sport’s legends. But it holds a dear place in the hearts of every golfer who comes to spend golf vacations here. The amenities here as well as in the manner that they are served are just perfect examples of WARM and yes, FRIENDLY. But this has never equated to a lame layout. Designed by the Whole-in-One team of designers, this par-70 course measures a little over 6,100 yards and can be played from four different sets of tees. The team has built a challenging course that plays fast, making shot accuracy and A-grade club selection necessary. Large shaped bunkers guard the greens as well, makes for some second thought before each shot. The holes are set at varied lengths making it surprising at the least, dynamic at best.

Acres of stunning lakes contribute to the scenic quality of the Deer Run Golf Club. And the putting greens and other practice facilities make it even more excellent. Nothing makes golfing a more comfortable activity than this. It is so cozy it is every golfer’s bestfriend in the east – the kind that’s definitely worth going on a golf trip to.