Last week I wrote about Black Diamond Ranch’s Quarry Course, one of the best golf courses I’ve ever had the pleasure to play. During that trip we also played Black Diamond’s other masterpiece, the Ranch Course.

The Ranch Course  is another of Tom Fazio’s design that was completed in 1997. Reminiscent of George Arthur Crump’s Pine Valley, Black Diamond’s other masterpiece puts an emphasis on strategy and is designed to utilize every club in the bag.

18 holes of golf on the 6,921 yard Par 72 Ranch Course pits you against numerous sand traps, waste bunkers, rolling meadows, pristine lakes, two-tiered and three-tiered greens and dramatic elevation changes over 100 feet that will keep your mind running at 100% analyzing and planning your next shot.

The course was crafted to gently blend into it’s natural surroundings, epitomizing what one would expect from a Florida golf course, and then some. The front nine is pure golf — no tricks, no blind shots, no hidden greens. Whereas the back nine finishes with three holes the man himself, Tom Fazio calls, “the three best finishing holes I’ve ever designed.” Coming from a man who has crafted over 150 golf courses world wide, that’s certainly saying something.

Whereas the Quarry Course tends to be “America’s” favorite course, the Ranch course is considered the “members” favorite. I’ll take it a step further and say that it’s also some of the owners favorite. We played with Escalante Golf‘s David Matheson, and he said “the Quarry is great, but I think I prefer playing the Ranch Course.”

To walk away from Black Diamond’s Ranch course with a decent score you’ll need good distance control and your precision irons in the bag. Most approach shots leave little to no room for error and you’ll feel like you’re trying to thread a needle to make it to the green whilst avoiding the guardian bunkers.

It’s funny, reading Black Diamonds Course Tour, many of the hole descriptions of the Ranch Course finish up by saying “Par is a good score” or “Par should be attainable.” For me, Par is ALWAYS a good score, but these sayings are pretty accurate as my +2 golf partner John Duval can attest to.

If you manage to make it to the green avoiding most of the hazards along the way, you’ve got some tricky greens to contend with. Especially the two and three-tiered monsters.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed playing Black Diamond Ranch, both the Quarry and Ranch Course. They are both superb and challenging tracks that are in fantastic shape.

If you’re interested in touring the facility and taking a crack at the completely private Black Diamond Ranch golf courses, they have some 3 day and two night stay-and-play packages available that include a round of golf at each course. I recommend, if you take advantage of this, that you play the Ranch course first.

If you’re interested, I’ve posted up all of the pictures from The Ranch course on the our Facebook Fanpage.

Want some more reading? Check out our full list of Golf Course Reviews.

A couple weeks back, I headed out to Lecanto, Florida and had one of the best golf experiences of my life. I was afforded the opportunity to play two of the three courses out at Black Diamond Ranch, a private golf community built around an old limestone quarry.

Black Diamond Ranch was founded in 1987 by Stan Olsen, who after nearly 25 years at the helm, decided to retire. In March of this year, the club was acquired by Escalante Golf, a boutique owner and operator of luxury golf properties in California, Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Indiana.

Black Diamond Ranch features three Tom Fazio designed golf courses, The Quarry, The Ranch and The Highlands. The highly-acclaimed courses are set amongst limestone cliffs, lakes, live oak trees, dogwoods, myrtles and magnolias along Florida’s Nature Coast.

The Quarry Course

The Quarry Course opened in 1987 and is the signature course of Black Diamond Ranch. Measuring a beefy 7,159 yards, with a course rating of 75.0 and a 137 slope, surviving this Par 72 course requires every bit of your A and most of your B game.

Golf on The Quarry course takes you through dramatic elevation changes, classic bunkering, and fairways framed with thousands of beautiful live oaks, dogwoods, myrtles, and magnolias. It’s some of the best “Florida” golf you can find and that’s only the front nine.

The back nine features all that and more. Golf writer Dan Jenkins calls the 13th-17th holes “the best five consecutive holes of golf anywhere in the world.”

The 13th is a 183-yard Par-3 over an 80-foot chasm with a green that is protected by bunkers. The view from the back tees is truly breath taking. We weren’t playing from the tips, but on this hole we made an exception. We had to clamber up about 20 steps to get to the tee box and we were collectively struck dumb viewing the hole stretch out before us.

The 14th, in my opinion was the most daunting hole on the course. It’s a 529-yard Par-5 flanked by a 50-foot cliff on the left that runs the length of the hole. From the tee box to the green, the hole is a 1/2 moon and with your tee shot, you can try to cut the corner of the cliff to shorten the remainder of the hole. Me, I decided to take the scenic route and save some ammo.. Your approach shot is a semi-blind shot coming from well above the green, leave it short and you’ll be hitting out of a tough valley trying to put some stopping power on the ball so you don’t roll off the back small 30-foot green.

The 15th is a very cool hole with an elevated tee shot. The fairway looks much smaller than it actually is and it can get in your head as there’s water on the left and a Florida mountain on your right.. If you manage to land in the Fairway, it’s smooth sailing the rest of the hole.

The 16th hole is a 435-yard Par-4 that ate me for breakfast.. Your tee shot is to an elevated fairway and from where I was standing it looked like I was trying to hit to the summit of Mt. Everest. Even my TaylorMade R11 wasn’t up to the task and I lost a lot of good men that day.. Should you, by the grace of the golf gods, make it in the fairway from the tee box, you have to brave another shot over a chasm to have a chance at a good score… The green is long and slopes towards doom. We saw a yet to be identified snake sunning on the green as we approached, if he is a golf ball eating snake, he feasted well that day.

You finish out the quarry holes on the 218-yard Par-3 17th hole, that, compared to the others, seems like a walk in the park. Instead of hitting over the abyss of doom, it’s only about a 40-foot drop to the bottom and you’re hitting to the green from an elevated tee-box. Whatever weapon you choose, you must make it to the green else risk rolling into grass bunkers that protect it.

I don’t typically do a hole-by-hole type of course review, but in the case of Black Diamond Ranch’s The Quarry Course, I felt it was the only way I could relate the experience..

It is the epitome of “risk-reward.” Many of the holes offer you tantalizing opportunities that leave you begging for mercy when the shots go awry. The course will severely punish you for errant shots. We’re talking steep lipped fairway bunkers with overhanging branches type punishment.  The Quarry course is absolutely beautiful in it’s design and maintenance,  even the “non-quarry” holes!

The Quarry has received numerous accolades over the years, such as Golf Digest’s “Best in State,” “Game Changer,” and for 20 years running “America’s 100 Greatest Courses.” Other accolades include, Golfweek’s “Best U.S. Residential Courses” and “Best Modern Courses in the U.S” and GOLF’s “Top 100 Courses in the U.S.”

Black Diamond Ranch is a private golf community, but if you’re looking to play, and indeed you should be, they’re offering some stay and play packages so you can spend some time in golf utopia.

I had planned on including The Highlands in this course review, but we’re already at 900 words, so I’ll be writing a follow up post covering that one.

If you’re interested, I’ve posted up all of the pictures from The Quarry course on the our Facebook Fanpage.

Have a custom club fitting question? Visit our Ask the Fitter page, post your question and you’ll be entered to win a free custom club fitting from the TaylorMade Performance Lab!

Our friends over at GolfOrlandoFlorida.com recently released their best golf courses in Orlando 2011. They surveyed various golfers and golf course operators and the golf courses rankings are based on course conditions, course design, customer service, cost, and playability.

They also gave out two awards of excellence for best Orlando resort golf course, which went to Shingle Creek Golf Club and best Orlando public course which went to Orange County National Golf Course.

Although Shingle Creek is an amazing course, I have to disagree with the ranking. I would’ve given Grand Cypress Golf Club the best resort course award. They offer you such a variety out there, with the three different 9-hole tracks and the 18-hole St. Andrews replica “New Course.”

Some other courses on the list were..

Southern Dunes Golf Club, a 1993 Steve Smyers championship design that has also made numerous appearances in many best of Orlando and Florida golf course lists.

Champions Gate Golf Club, a Greg Norman design that has two 18-hole layouts, the National and International courses.

The National is a classic American parkland course that winds through 200 acres of secluded woodlands, wetlands, and former orange groves.

The International follows a classical pattern of two out-and-back loops of nine holes, has the look and feel of a links-style layout in the British Isles – except for the addition of water hazards. The International was designed, constructed and seeded to offer a hard, fast playing surface similar to those found on true links courses.

Grand Cypress Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus designed, 45 hole championship golf course. The 27-hole North/South/East Course provides the ultimate test of accuracy while the 18-hole New Course provides a Scottish links masterpiece.

Harmony Golf Preserve, my personal favorite, is the only Johnny Miller designed golf course in Orlando. Built on a 260 acre wildlife preserve Harmony features a fantastic design in a peaceful setting. With a 76.1 course rating and a 136 slope, Harmony is one of the most challenging Orlando Golf Courses. It’s also one of the longest, measuring 7417 yards from the tips.

Click here to see the complete list.

Have a custom club fitting question? Visit our Ask the Fitter page, post your question and you’ll be entered to win a free custom club fitting from the TaylorMade Performance Lab!

Errol Estate Country Club is located in Apopka, FL, also known as northwest Orlando. It’s a Joe Lee design that opened in 1973 and features three nine hole courses; Grove, Lake and Highland.

It was originally a private golf club with 18 holes, but two years later, Mr. Lee came back to build a 3rd nine hole. Somewhere along the lines it was downgraded to a semi-private course and just last year, they stopped selling memberships and have begun striving to revitalize the course and bringing in some new blood.

Each nine hole has completely different character, style and challenges and affords the player the opportunity to play three different golf courses depending on the type of they’re interested in.

The overall course design falls somewhere in between modern and classic. Any combination of the courses will pit the player against hilly terrain, low-profile bunkers, traditionally placed water, couple of blind tee shots and slightly sloped greens. Lee did a great job of melding the course into the natural contours of the local environment.

For the Errol Estates golf course review, we played the Grove & Lake combination.

Lake Course

The Lake course is 3,406 yards and is the longest of the three, also, as the name might imply, has the most water. The fairways are wide and there’s a good amount of wind to contend with.

The first hole is definitely a memorable one. It’s a 568 yard par-5 that plays from an elevated tee box, providing you an astonishing view of the entire hole. Beware, those of you whose tee shots, like mine, trend to the left side of the hole. There’s the first of many water hazards lurking there and trust me, it’s not as out-of-play as it might seem.

Throughout the rest of the course, you’ll wind your way through pine and oak trees and if you’re lucky, you’ll avoid the worst of the strategically placed vegetation. Although it’s the longest of the courses out at Errol Estates, it’s also the easiest.

You’ll finish the course opposite the way you started, playing an uphill 426 yard par-4 with a tee shot over a small strip of water. It’s not really an issue clearing the water, unless it gets inside of your head. This tee shot requires accuracy as the fairway is bordered by encroaching trees and bunkers.

Grove Course

The Grove Course is the toughest nine measuring 3,339 yards and in my opinion the most enjoyable of the thee.

You’ll face narrow undulating fairways and strategically placed clusters of trees and hills. Accuracy is vital to survive this track, and you’ll enjoy every painful moment of it.

My favorite is the 488 yard par-5 fourth hole. It’s a super tight hole that goes to the left and any straight shots longer than 200 yards will land you in a wetland oak grove. If you survive the tee shot, you’ve gotta clear a small stream that cuts across the hole on your way to the elevated tri-bunker green.

The first hole is pretty fun as well, it’s a downhill double dogleg (left than right) with trees on the left, water on the right and some strategically place bunkers that can ruin a good starting hole.

Number three is a fun, windy beautiful par-3 hole tucked away in stand of oak trees.

The wind is a huge factor that can exponentially increase the difficulty of this course. It’s noticeable on almost every hole with #1, #2, #6 and #8 being the most adversely affected.

Highland Course

The shortest of the Errol Estates courses, Highland measures 3,329 from the tips. Named for it’s various elevation peaks and valleys. Like the other two, the first hole is an elevated tee shot, but unlike the other two, so it the finishing 9th.

I’ve played this particular course twice in the past and the most memorable moment for me is standing on that 9th tee box taking in the panoramic view. It’s like you’ve been teleported to some golf course in the Dominican Republic. It’s a beautiful downhill shot, with water on the left and a bunch of housing that looks like Spanish villas. It’s a very enjoyable hole. Even a substandard drive will get you close to 300 yards and if you pure it.. (whistle) LOOK OUT BELOW!!

You’ll encounter terrain on the Highland course that one doesn’t expect from an Orlando golf course. Plenty of uphill and downhill plays with no water to contend with. It’s a great opportunity to post a lower than usual score.

The 8th hole, however, is reputed to be the most frustrating hole on the course. It’s a 445 yard par-4 triple D (double dogleg downhill) hole. You’ll also have pit your formidable golf skill against more encroaching trees, bunkers and marshland.

Overall

I played Errol Estates country club for the first time during the 2nd Annual Future Stars Foundation Pro-Am.  It was played on the Lake/Highland combo. I tried to view the round with the “course reviewers” eye, but I was too busy trying to keep up with Carling Coffing and her birdy dances.

At the time, though, there was a lot of rubbish strewn about on the course. By rubbish, I mean piles of cut trees, rakes leaves, and other foliage, which was quite an eyesore and super frustrating as one of our playing partners landed his approach shot in one. It wasn’t in that great of shape either.. not nearly what you’d expect when you’re forking out $200 bucks to play..

I’m happy to report, however, that the new management and new initiatives have made a positive impact. Instead of playing a course that was maintained just enough to “get by,” now your swinging your sticks off of turf that is on its way to former glory. The clubhouse could definitely use some work though, it’s aged, but not in a good way. I suppose it could be viewed as “comfortable” but it doesn’t exactly convey a sense of prosperity.

Errol Estates has one of the most inconveniently located driving ranges I’ve ever had the misfortune of encountering. It took me quite a bit of time to find it, even AFTER I was given directions. I’ll give you a hint, it’s on the other side of the parking lot across from the clubhouse.

The course was in good shape, nothing to brag about, but also nothing to complain about. It’s well worth the price of admission, I think the tee times are between $30-$50 during peak times.

Overall, I really enjoyed Errol Estates. I’m a big fan of the “build your own golf course” motif. Each course is distinctive and provides it’s own set of challenges for you to contend with. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced golf course that’s in good shape and has some character, check them out, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

For all you locals or Orlando frequenters, what is your opinion of Errol Estates?

If you liked this one, feel free to check out my other Orlando golf course reviews and if you’re looking to play, here’s a selection of discounted Orlando tee times.

Falcon’s Fire Golf Club, located in Kissimmee, Fla., is a Rees Jones designed championship golf course located just minutes away from the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando International Airport, and the Orange County Convention Center. Stretching nearly 7,000 yards from the back tees, it offers both local residents and out of town guests a challenging yet playable layout with four set of tees.

Falcon’s Fire Golf club originally opened it’s doors to the public in 1993 and in January 2010, completed significant renovations intended to maintain it’s place amongst the best Orlando golf courses. These included new greens, which were resurfaced with TifEagle Bermuda grass, creating a high quality putting surface, providing golfers with faster, smoother putting conditions. In addition, other changes include reshaping the bunkers, an improved irrigation and drainage system and entire golf course overseeding.

In October 2010, to complete it’s face lift, Falcon’s Fire partnered with Tom Hoch to completely renovate the clubhouse. Hoch is a pioneer in revenue-based design and turn-key architecture solutions and used his formidable skills to inject life into the 10,700 square foot clubhouse. New furniture, fixtures and equipment were added to the clubhouse and outside, a quaint gazebo was built to accommodate those golfers looking to begin a lifetime together surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of the greatest sport of all time. The entire project was completed in three months.

Falcon’s Fire Golf Club, in my opinion epitomizes the Rees Jones design philosophy. The course is fun, reasonably challenging and offers plenty of play options on each hole. Mr. Jones is big on risk/reward shots and Falcon’s Fire gives you plenty of these.

Take hole 13, for example. It’s called “Bunker Hill,” dogleg right, water on the right, a straight shot from the tee box is the smart play, but a driver is too much club. You can clear the water with a decent drive, but this hole – well the entire course for that matter, is plagued by a 20-25 mph wind, typically right to left, that’ll ruin your day if you put even the slightest unintentional side spin on that ball. Let’s say you survive the first poke, you still have to contend with a tricky green adjacent to a lake on two sides that tends to slope towards the water and can really upset your day.

Something I really like about Falcon’s Fire is the fact that they’ve named all 18 holes. It gives the course character and I think, helps you visualize what type of hole you’re about to play. Well, that is, if they’re aptly named. Not to mention, when reviewing the course, it’s much more enjoyable to say “Double Dip” (#16) made me shed a tear as I whopped John Duval in the Lefty Challenge, rather than the 16th hole.. Know what I mean?

The greens are in fantastic shape and the undulations that were sharpened after the 2010 renovation are still in tact and can be merciless. “Falcon’s Lair” is a very good example of the type of pain these greens can dish out. It’s a two-tiered green that rolls fast and hard. Three putts aren’t an uncommon occurrence out here for me.

As you can see by the image to the right, they’ve done a fantastic job on their website of giving you a hole by hole visual tour of the course. This was a very impressive feature to me, I don’t think nearly enough golf courses give their websites the time and effort they should.

I like the overall layout of the course. There’s not much water on the front nine, it’s pretty wide open and the first few holes aren’t terribly difficult and number four, “go for broke” is one of my favorites. It’s a reachable par five with a split fairway, that’s a feature to don’t see very often `round these parts.`

The back nine, is the total opposite, water on most of the holes, crazy cross winds, elevated greens and some tricky layouts. There’s a lot of danger here but man it’s a blast.

So, as you might’ve guessed by my golf course review, Falcon’s Fire is a great track and all the time and effort they’ve put into the course has made a positive impact. I played the course back in August 2008 before the renovations and right after a good rain and the course was pretty soggy, to the point where we enacted a lift-clean-&-place rule for those that made it to the fairway, only to have their ball sunk one inch into the ground. The new drainage seems to have done the trick in correcting that.

The golf carts all come equipped with GPS navigation and give you the option of ordering your mid or post round meal at the Falcon’s Nest. The restaurant offers a variety of options including soups, salads, sandwiches and seafood entrees as well as daily specials. In the restaurant, you’re afforded a nice view of the signature finishing hole “Falcon’s Fire.”   The staff is efficient and courteous and they offer complementary valet parking at the bag drop.

They’ve hosted our annual Battle of the Golf Blogs golf tournament for two years now and we’ve no plans on changing the venue.

The price is on par with many of the resort courses in the area and there’s always a deal or two to be found on Golfnow.com for those looking to play for a discount.

If you liked this one, feel free to check out my other Orlando golf course reviews and if you’re looking to play, here’s a selection of discounted Orlando tee times.

Just in time for the weekend, today’s Groupon Orlando Deal is a 53% discount off of your tee time and range balls out at Hawks Landing Golf Club.

There’s no limitations to when you can play, only that you need to book the round in advance, which.. 95% of the time you do anyway.

The rate is usually $95 and today it’s only $45. If you enjoyed the round and want to go back out, same day replays are only $20 bucks.

You can purchase up to two per person and the deal lasts until Sunday.

Designed by golf architect Robert Cupp Jr., Hawk’s Landing Golf Club blends Florida’s natural beauty with a pristine course layout. Loosen up before your first power-drive on the club’s practice range and putting greens. Then, expect to use every club in your bag as you navigate the 6,600-yard course, as well as both your irises as you gaze upon luminous azaleas, tropical vegetation, and Florida wildlife. In addition to the GPS-ready cart and balls included with this Groupon, golfers also receive complimentary access to the women’s and men’s locker rooms. Afterward, stop by the club’s fully stocked golf shop to find equipment to transform quadruple bogeys into persistent, high-five-deserving birdies.

I’ve never played Hawks Landing, but I’ve heard it’s a fun and challenging course.

While you’re here, feel free to check out my Orlando golf course reviews and if you’re looking to play, here’s a selection of discount Orlando tee times.

I’ve lived in Orlando for many years and until recently I had never heard of Mission Inn. A friend of mine who recently began an affiliation with the club invited me out to tour the facility and write a golf course review on one of their two courses, El Campeon.

The facility is located about 45 minutes northwest of central Orlando in Howey in the Hills and while it’s not technically an Orlando golf course review, it’s close enough to be classified as such. Besides, who would read a review entitled “Howey in the Hills Review?”

Let me begin by saying the experience at Mission Inn Resort & Club is well worth the drive. Getting there is an adventure in itself. The drive takes you through a variety of rundown, ramshackle and bedraggled areas and at the end, the club shines like the last beacon of hope in a dying world.

I arrived on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, driving through very impressive Spanish architecture on my way to El Campeon. The first thing I notice upon my arrival was a massive putting green that was impeccably maintained. While spending some time working with the short stick, I was told about the course, who’s modern appearance belied it’s extensive history.

The origins of Mission Inn date back to the early 1900′s, when the Florida citrus industry was in its infancy. The course was originally created in 1917 by George O’Neil, who was a master of the game and had staked out his place among golf’s upper echelon for his abilities in architecture. The course he created boasted rare tee to green elevations of 85 feet, towering forests and sparkling, spring-fed lakes.

In 1924, the area was expanding so rapidly that Charles E. Clarke of the famous Troon Golf Course in Scotland was commissioned to further enhance the El Campeon golf course. Five years later, the stock market crash of 1929 lead to the Great Depression. That coupled with one of the worst freezes in Florida history, put an end to El Campeon’s owner, Mr. William J. Howey’s citrus empire.

Forty years later, in 1964, successful businessman, Nick Beucher of Wilmette, Illinois responded to a Wall Street Journal ad and acquired the Floridian Country Club, which consisted of an 18 hole golf course and a 1950s clubhouse, in Howey-in-the-Hills. He spent the first few years renovating and expanding the clubhouse, as well as completely restructuring the badly neglected 18-hole golf course.

In 1969, the decision was made to create a captivating, Spanish Colonial golf resort complete with overnight accommodations. So, building began on a hotel and the name was changed to Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort.

In 1992, a second championship golf course, Las Colinas was built. Designed by former PGA Tour player, Gary Koch, Las Colinas features wide open fairways and gentle rolling hills creating an inland links design.

Over the years, members of Nick’s family have joined the business and continue to actively operate the resort. The resort you witness today is a direct reflection of the vision and tireless effort of Nick Beucher, his six children and their dedicated staff.

El Campeon is the third oldest golf course in the state and boasts an impressive 7003 yards from the tips. The scenery is impressive and at times breath taking. I experienced this for the first time on the fourth hole, your tee shot is over a lake to an uphill sloping fairway that’ll leave you feeling small and insignificant.

With a course rating of 74.2 and a slope of 136, be sure to bring an ice pack to sooth the ache caused by the beating you’re about to receive. It’s a traditional golf course that rewards smart, accurate play. It’s not a course that randomly punishes good shots. What I mean is, if you aim for the center of the fairway, it doesn’t throw a random sand bunker out there for any other reason than to make it tougher than it already is.

It doesn’t need to..

With it’s 85-foot elevation changes, El Campeon requires demanding tee shots and many of your approaches are to double and triple-tiered greens.

There’s plenty of challenges to the course, island greens, sloping fairways, inconvenient lakes and rivers, trees that seem to reach out and grab your ball, soft sand and of course, one very mean double dogleg 538 yard Par-5. This beast is called “Devil’s Delight” and it’s the signature hole on El Campeon.

It begins as a harmless dogleg right that quickly shifts to a dogleg left, with the devil himself taking the shape of an ancient oak tree that blocks your approach shot, which,by the way, is over a canal about 10 feet wide to a protected green guarded by a beach side bunker.

I played this hole incredibly well until my landed in the shadow of the “El Diablo” oak, sitting two with about 90 yards to the green, I flubbed my pitch and my ball went for a swim. The rest, is… too painful.

The course was a blast to play and overall, in great shape. The one exception to this was the greens. The greens I experienced during the golf course review left a little bit to be desired. It was apparent on more than one hole that they had seen better days.

This was about two months back, however and I’ve heard that it’s since been corrected, I can’t confirm this, as I haven’t played the golf course since the review.

Mission Inn El Campeon golf course is ranked in the top 10 of Florida’s 1500 courses. In addition, the conference and golf facilities have been the recipient of such national honors as the Gold Key Award, Gold Tee Award, Planners’ Choice Award, Pinnacle Award and Greens of Distinction. They’ve also been mentioned in several Golf Digest “Best Places to Play” in North America, as recent as 2008/2009, and ranked by Zagat as one of “America’s Top Golf Courses in 2003”.

If you’re in the market for a challenging, change of pace, I strongly encourage you to make the trip to Mission Inn El Campeon. If you go, please give my regards to El Diablo.

-Dave

If you liked this one, feel free to check out my other Orlando golf course reviews and if you’re looking to play, here’s a selection of discounted Orlando tee times.

Hunter’s Creek Golf Club is running a really great deal for Memorial Day weekend.

For the remainder of May, you can play unlimited golf and lunch for $29.00 per person. Lunch consists of either a deli sandwich or hot dog and chips.

To top it off, they’re offering $1.00 domestic beer in the clubhouse AND on the course.

I’ve played Hunter’s Creek many times, it’s about five minutes from my house and although it’s not the prettiest course or in the best shape, it’s a real nice, challenging layout that gives you plenty of make or break opportunities.

Here’s some Orlando golf course reviews for your perusal and if you’re looking to play, here’s a selection of discounted Orlando tee times.

The fine folks over at Winter Park Country Club have a sweet offer for all of those attending the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Free Golf!

See Below.

Coming to the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando? How bout a FREE round of Golf?

Here the Deal:

1) Bring your Show Badge & Drivers Licence (To match against Badge)

2) E-mail me at BrendonElliott@pga.com to get on the list (SIGN UP BY 1/25/2010)

Get a FREE Round of Golf (9 Holes & Pull Cart)

*Central Florida’s Best Kept Golf Secret…

*Walking, 9 Hole, Regulation, Par 35

*Second Oldest Club in Central Florida (Est. 1914)

*NEW Proshop, Green-Side Patio Area, Snack Bar!

If you haven’t play Winter Park Country Club, you’re in for a real surprise. It’s a fun nine hole course that’s deceptively difficult. The good news about the course is there’s no water anywhere. The bad news is that it’s a narrow trek and if you’re not a straight hitter than you could easily find yourself in some trouble.

It a course that’s definitely worth the price!

Also.. after your round, you should stick around for the WPCC Lecture Series on January 27th. It starts at 6:30pm and this special PGA Merchandise Show Edition features one of golfs most renowned instructors Jim McLean. The emcee for the even is the voice of golf himself, Mr. Peter Kessler. I’ve been to a couple of these lecture series and I have yet to be disappointed.

Feel free to check some Orlando golf course reviews and if you’re looking to play, here’s a selection of discounted Orlando tee times.

If you’re looking for a good round of golf this weekend consider trying out Mystic Dunes Golf Club. GolfNow.com has some pretty cheap rates presently for the course.

I’ve played Mystic Dunes quite a few times and wrote a review on the course for FloridaGolf.com.

Check it out.

Orlando Golf Course Review – Mystic Dunes Golf Club

It’s a fun course that has some of the craziest putting surfaces you’ll find anywhere in Orlando as well as some crazy whiskey barrel “give me a gun” bunkers.

The facilities are great and the staff are friendly, courteous and knowledgeable, not to mention, last time I was out there, they had some pretty stellar beer specials… can’t beat that after a good or bad round!

If you’ve played there, I’d like to hear your opinion of the course.

-Dave

If you liked this one, feel free to check out my other Orlando golf course reviews and if you’re looking to play, here’s a selection of discounted Orlando tee times.