On October 1st, 2009, Orlando’s newest luxury resort, Bonnet Creek will be opening it’s doors. The property will be featuring two new hotels,  the new Waldorf Astoria Orlando and the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek. The property will be just a stones throw away from Downtown Disney, Epcot and the Walk Disney World Resort. This is some very exciting news since this is the first newly built Waldorf Astoria since the original was built in New York.

Bonnet Creek is set on 482 beautiful, wooded acres and boasts plenty of amenities to keep you and/or your family occupied for days.  There’s a spa, jogging trails, restaurants, four swimming pools, bicycles, fitness centers, personal fitness trainers, shopping centers and most important of all (and the reason for this article 🙂 ) a Rees Jones designed championship 18-hole golf course & clubhouse!

For the entire month of September, To celebrate it’s grand opening, they’re doing nightly drawings for a free night stay at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek. All you have to do to enter is become a fan of their Bonnet Creek Facebook Fan page.

Back to the golf course, through some awesome twist of fate, I’ve been given the opportunity to attending the grand opening ceremony on October 1st and be one of the first people to play the new course!

Not too much is known about the course, but knowing it’s a Rees Jones design leaves me with little doubt that it’ll not only be challenging but will blend nicely with the natural contours of surrounding landscape. He’s designed over 100 golf courses, many of which have hosted golf’s Majors.

There’s a couple other Rees Jones courses in the area, Falcon’s Fire Golf Course and LPGA International.

Designed with a five-tee system for all playing abilities, yet quite challenging, the Waldorf Astoria Golf Club 18-hole Rees Jones-designed championship course winds through a large wetland preserve and measures 7113 yards with a Par 72, Slope 130, and 72.5 Rating from its Professional Tees. Holes are visually arresting from tee to green and require intelligent management of the game. Bunkers are carved to be reminiscent of the hazards designed on courses a century ago. Majestic stands of pine and cypress trees line the fairways. The style was dictated by the land’s existing contours, which Jones then enhanced, always mindful of the natural elements and environmental issues.

In addition to playing the new golf course on October 1st, I’ve also been given the privilege of the opportunity to interview Mr. Rees Jones regarding his latest and potentially greatest golf creation!

I’d like to share this opportunity with you, my most awesome readers, so if you’re interested, leave a comment on this post with any questions you might have for Mr. Jones regarding the Waldorf Astoria Golf Club. I’ll pick the best and most relevant ones and ask those questions during the interview. I’m planning on video taping the interview so I’ll have some awesome footage to post up.

Please spread the word and as always, thanks for reading!

-Dave

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.