Orlando Golf Scene

Ocala might be best known as Florida’s horse country, but tucked away in this quiet town is a golf course that ranks among the thoroughbreds of golf experiences.

In the heart of Ocala’s On Top of the World Communities lies Candler Hills Golf Club, one of the newest but most acclaimed golf courses in the Sunshine State.

Though only four years old, the course has already played host to some of the state’s top events, including the North Florida PGA Senior Open, the Ocala Open and the Florida State Women’s Golf Association Tournament. And each and every time, the course has played to rave reviews for its challenging design, immaculate conditions and painstaking attention to detail.

Located just over six miles west of I-75 on a small portion of Circle Square Ranch, Candler Hills has a western feel to it that will remind golfers more of Palm Springs than its actual Florida zip code. Upon arrival, golfers will immediately notice the wide-open nature of the course and the native grasses and large coquina boulders that lend both atmosphere and challenge.

Since its earliest days, Royal St. Cloud Golf Links has paid homage to the grand history of golf, dating back to its European roots. Today, the authentic American links course is building upon its own storied history by changing the course of its future.

Located a mere 25 minutes from the gates to Disney in quaint, small-town St. Cloud, Royal St. Cloud Golf Links has long been a favorite of local and visiting golfers, providing an experience few other Florida layouts can offer. And with the recent opening of a new clubhouse and the November 2008 opening of nine new holes, Royal St. Cloud Golf Links has never offered more to visiting and local golfers alike. In fact, $6.7 million has been spent in recent and current course and club improvements at Royal St. Cloud Golf Links. A claim no other course in Orlando can currently make.

At Royal St. Cloud Golf Links, golfers discover a course that takes them thousands of miles from the traditional Florida landscape to a Scottish-inspired layout complete with stacked-sod and wood-faced bunkers and charming stone bridges. A traditional links-style layout, Royal St. Cloud Golf Links challenges golfers with tight and fast greens and strategically-placed fairway and greenside bunkers.

That sound you can hear coming from the pristine natural environment just off US 192 between Lake Nona and Melbourne on the Atlantic Coast is not just a single tone. The dictionary might describe it as a ³simultaneous combination of sounds that¹s pleasing to the senses,² coming from a community where everyone sees the psychological, emotional and health benefits of living in balance with pets, wildlife and the ecology of the area. The Lentz family agreed with that definition, and a mother who shared the name ³Harmony², and a lifestyle was born in 2003.

The idea of a community built on a foundation of environmental stewardship might have been ahead of its time, but is catching on quickly.

The town of Harmony is set among 11,000 acres of meadows, southern pines, wetlands and lakes that, even when fully developed, will remain 70% protected open space.

The four-man scramble is one of the most enjoyable formats for team competition in golf. After all, finding one decent shot out of four is a welcome proposition to many golfers. Beginning this spring, golf clubs across the country will be able to compete in The Great American Scramble and vie for the coveted title of National Champions in Las Vegas.

After the longstanding Buick/Oldsmobile Scramble shut down in 2005, golfers were left without a national scramble competition. PGA Professional Wayne Stone decided to change that. Stone created an event aimed at bringing excitement, camaraderie and team-building experiences back to golfers through the scramble format.

Stone, who is the director of Golf at Windermere Country Club in Windermere, Fla., decided there was enough interest to create a national scramble just by gauging the response of his members to the loss of the Buick event. Encouraged by the feedback, Stone set out to create the national tournament that was currently missing from the golf world.

Two Diverse Challenges Right Down the Street

One plays hide-and-seek with century-old oaks, the other teases you with tie-wall bulkheaded greens bordered by water. One invites you to play all day for one low price, the other welcomes you into golf’s great history.

Yet, Kissimmee Bay Country Club and Remington Golf Club are located less than a mile apart, both centrally located just 15 minutes down the Florida Turnpike from downtown Orlando, 20 minutes from Disney World and just 10 minutes from the airport. Both courses are located on the west bank of Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee and pride themselves on doing the little things right (like taking the care to walk-mow their greens) and the bigger things better (like completely overseeding in the winter to keep the rough lush and green all year round). 

“I thought I must write to thank you and your staff once again for the excellent treatment I, my family and friends received from you all on our recent visit back to Florida from England. Your hospitality, friendliness and professionalism really is a credit to you all at Remington and Kissimmee Bay. The courses and greens were in excellent condition and we all thoroughly enjoyed playing them again.”
– B. Wilson

One sure way to improve the quality of your next Florida golf vacation is to call Tee Times USA. The Florida-based company will make sure you play courses that truly fit your needs and budget. Known as the Florida golf vacation specialist, Tee Times USA offers a free advance tee time booking service as well as a fine array of all-inclusive golf vacations. You’ll have your choice of more than 300 Florida golf courses and hundreds of resorts, hotels, condominiums and villas. Discover what tens of thousands of Florida golf vacationers already know: Tee Times USA’s deals can’t be beat because the company deals in volume.

The landscape in Florida is littered with golf courses, making it difficult to discern the distinguishable characteristics that set one apart from another.

So it bears repeating if a Florida course is recognized, especially as a highly-anticipated newcomer to the scene.

Juliette Falls Golf and Spa Community located in the beautiful Ocala countryside, has already earned a sterling reputation despite only being in operation for a few months.

In the January 2008 issue of Golf Magazine the dramatic, new, semi-private golf club designed by John Sanford was selected among the “Top 10 New Courses You Can Play.”

“Golf Magazine’s recognition of Juliette Falls as one of the Top 10 New Courses You Can Play is a fitting testimony to this wonderful site and the time and effort give to it by magnificent architect John Sanford,” said Tom Cioffi, Director of Operations for Juliette Falls.

Picture this: The breezes are blowing across Central Florida (aren’t they always?), but unlike other courses in the area, Eagle Creek is firm and fast, with Scottish-style revetted bunkers between you and the pin 40 yards away. You shape a bump and-run shot within three feet and drain the putt to get into your buddy’s wallet. You’ve just experienced something you’ll fi nd nowhere else in the Orlando area, the true Scottish golf experience of Eagle Creek Golf Club, located just southeast of Orlando International Airport.

From the moment you arrive inside the gates at Eagle Creek and are greeted by the Union Jack flying alongside Old Glory, you know you’re in for a unique round. By the time you leave, you’ll likely have not only used every club in your bag, but something even more important, your imagination. For Eagle Creek offers a challenge nobody else in Central Florida can, or will. By not overseeding the summer Bermuda with winter rye, Eagle Creek gives you a taste of Scottish-links golf, with dry, hard and fast fairways and firm greens. At Eagle Creek, brown is beautiful.

Yes, there is a bear story behind Black Bear Golf Club northeast of Eustis in Lake County. Folks there vividly remember a decent sized black bear wandering by the clubhouse around Thanksgiving some years back, leaving a few paw prints, and a few mouths gaping as he “played through” down the ninth hole and back toward the Ocala National Forest just north of the course.

Of course, the legend of the bear grows every season, a fitting analogy for the stature of this golf course that at one time might have been considered far removed from the other great Orlando-area courses, but is getting impressively closer, both in location and quality-of-play, with each passing season. The host of seven straight USGA Public Links Qualifiers, Black Bear’s great design, fabulous finish, and a location that’s just 15 minutes off Route 429 are making it a destination course for hundreds of players every week.

There are only 17 golf courses in the country boasting a 5-Star rating from Golf Digest’s Places to Play. None of them are in Florida. For now. Celebration Golf Club, in the renowned Disney master-planned community of Celebration, is one of the few in the Sunshine State who can claim 4-1/2 stars, but they now believe they’ve got the elements in place to achieve that 5th star. As this club with so many unique features, beginning with its rare design collaboration of Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and his son RTJ, Jr., begins its second decade, Celebration has made a renewed commitment to its already award-winning experience in an effort to join the nation’s elite golf courses.