Check flight prices to Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Orlando golf trips, if you avoid Disney, may be one the better golf buddy trips if you are a bit cost conscious and aren’t interested in paying top-resort level prices. You may not get top ranked golf courses, but you do get a plethora of options, most of which are reasonably (by vacation standards) priced with good playing conditions. With Orlando being a vacation destination, accommodations like hotels and vacation homes are seemingly endless. Here are a few ideas that work for a family vacation and a golf trip alike (and maybe, if you’re lucky, they are one in the same).

Accommodations

• A vacation home at Reunion Resort – I had a fantastic family vacation at Reunion Resort, home to three quality golf courses and a ton of vacation properties to choose from. Be careful, as some homes do not provide resort access, which is required to play the Reunion courses. Additionally, the location is kind of the center of golf for the area, with the Disney-area courses a short 15 minute or so drive, Reunion and ChampionsGate area courses all within a 5 minute drive, and some of the more southern courses closer than if you stayed in the Disney area. For reference, I stayed in this home, and it was *perfect* for us.
  
• Rosen Shingle Creek – massive hotel complex on Shingle Creek Golf Course, one of the decent public options in the area, and much more in the middle of things than Reunion, as this is essentially adjacent to SeaWorld, close to Universal, etc. We had a nice stay here and, even though I’m not in love with the golf course (more on that later), I liked the accommodations we received at a reasonable price.
  
• Rosen Centre Hotel – if you have any reason to be near the convention center, this is my recommendation. In the same area as Rosen Shingle Creek, normally relatively reasonably priced, and we had nice room.
  
• Whichever way you go, for easy access to multiple golf courses, I’d recommend the western Orlando-area for accommodations. Check out other Orlando area homes and hotels that are in the right area.

GOLF

For the actual golf rounds to be played, there are so many courses in the area. Inevitably I will leave one or two out, but here’s a general list of places I’d consider playing. I am also not going to bother mentioning the private courses in the area. Orlando is a the land of Disney and public golf; if you have the means to get private course invites, consider another vacation destination.

First, I’ll start with the professional golf rota:

• Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes – If you like playing “where the pros play,” this might be the top of your list and the top of your budget. This course has hosted the annual parent-child tournament on the PGA Tour for the last few years. For a mere $400/round, you can walk the same fairways as Tiger and Charlie Woods!

• Bay Hill Club & Lodge – Of course, this is where the pros really play, home of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour many years. Unfortunately, Bay Hill is only able to be played if you are a resort guest, so if this is the top of your list, you’ll have to stay at Bay Hill.

• Orange County National – Lastly, if you want to complete the professional golf Orlando rota, the upstart LIV tour held LIV Orlando at Orange County National on the Crooked Cat. I’ve played the Panther Lakes course and found it to be…acceptable. Expect around $100/round. Also, temper your expectations, because in my visit to OCN, I found the best part of the courses to be the excessively large driving range.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, lets talk about some of the better public courses that you should check out:

• ChampionsGate Golf Course – ChampionsGate GC has two Greg Norman designed golf courses with the International being a very tough test for a resort course. See my full review here. Expect about $200/round.

• Southern Dunes Golf & Country Club – While I haven’t played it personally as of this writing, it will be the next course I’ll play in Orlando. I have heard great things. Expect $140/round.

• Reunion Resort courses – As I’ve referenced, Reunion Resort courses are only open to Reunion guests, but if you are interested in these courses, there are rooms, villas, and plenty of vacation houses that will grant access. Expect $225/round on any of the Palmer, Watson, or Nicklaus courses, but the Watson course is likely the only course that I would play again for that price.

• Shingle Creek Golf Course – Shingle Creek is an Arnold Palmer Design Company design that is in great shape, but this course did not quite do it for me. See why here. But, it is still a decent vacation option if your group is playing multiple rounds. Expect $150/round.

• Grand Cypress – New Course / Evermore Resort – Links Course – Grand Cypress is in the midst of being overhauled, but Nicklaus designed a British links course in the middle of Orlando and it is actually pretty good. The first and eighteenth are replicas of those respective holes at St. Andrews Old Course. Expect about $150/round.

• Falcons Fire Golf Course – A Rees Jones design near Disney. Expect around $100/round

Admittedly, I have never played any of the “Disney” courses, but there are Disney branded golf courses as well as Disney adjacent golf courses like Waldorf Astoria and Tranquilo at Four Seasons. Expect to pay Disney-level, top-200 golf course type money for something that likely is not ranked in the state. There are also many, many other courses in the Orlando area, but these are the courses I’ve found to be reasonably worth the cost and close to my ideal accommodations.

The Ideal Golf Trip

If I could go to Orlando for the first time, and play four days, this would be my schedule if I had a reasonable budget:

Accommodations: Reunion Resort, resort home with full resort privileges

Golf Rounds:

• Day 1: 36 Holes at Reunion Resort, Watson Course (AM) & Palmer/Nicklaus (PM) – $400
• Day 2: 18 Holes at Southern Dunes Golf Resort – $140
• Day 3: 36 Holes at ChampionsGate Golf Course, International Course (AM) & National Course (PM) – $450
• Day 4: 18 Holes at Grand Cypress/Evermore New/Links Course – $150
• Total price approximately: $1,140 for 6 rounds in peak season, which is far better than $2,000+ for 3 rounds at other famous Florida/Florida-adjacent golf resorts.

For reduced budgets, go with 18 hole days on Reunion and ChampionsGate, and/or substitute one of the rounds for Falcons Fire or Orange County National. This would reduce the budget into the $750 area for four rounds. If you have an extra day or more budget, consider a night at Bay Hill to play where the PGA Tour plays the Arnold Palmer Invitational.