TEE TIME

Strokes of Genius

The number says it all: Orlando is home to 176 golf courses, making it one of the best places in the country to get your golfi ng fi x. Just ask Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam why they call the city home. (It’s also headquarters of The Golf Channel and Golfweek Magazine.) No wonder some of golf’s greatest have designed courses at Orlando’s top resorts.

BY MICHAEL ROWE

(clockwise from bottom left) Ginn Reunion’s The Legacy (hole 9); Bay Hill (hole 17); ChampionsGate’s The National Course (hole
16); Grand Cypress’ New Course (hole 10)

GINN REUNION RESORT
www.reunionresort.com; 888-418-9611

If you follow golf on TV, you may have seen this beautifully landscaped resort as the site of the LPGA’s Ginn Open or the backdrop for The Golf Channel’s “Big Break.” The property contains three different courses designed by the greats: The Legacy Course by Arnold Palmer, The Independence Course by Tom Watson and The Tradition Course by Jack Nicklaus. Each is equally beautiful, with artistically placed landscaping on every hole. Don’t be intimidated—there’s a course for every skill level. “The members and guests fi nd the Palmer course the easiest, followed by the Watson. The Nicklaus course is considered the players’ course,” says assistant professional Kelly Sheehan. Each course requires a different strategy. Independence is laced with intimidating bunkers, while Tradition makes use of the natural terrain in a way that forces you to hit precise golf shots. If you would rather take a lesson than hit on your own, Sorenstam has started an on-site golf academy, and you can reserve a day with her personal swing coach for a price.

CHAMPIONSGATE GOLF CLUB
www.championsgategolf.com; 407-787-4653

Orlando may be home to gators, but, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, you’ll fi nd two distinctively different courses designed by the “Great White Shark,” also known as Greg Norman: The International and The National. The International—inspired by the courses Norman grew up playing in Australia—is truly a test with its windswept fairways. This Scottish links-style course requires a big drive, a low wind ball and an imaginative short game. Where The International is carved out of the sandy, barren terrain, The National was cut from the wooded part of the property. This course winds its way through scrub oaks, pine forests and bits of orange groves. The other big name at this resort is David Leadbetter, one of the most famous teachers in professional golf, so there’s a chance you could see Michelle Wie or Charles Howell III hitting balls right outside your room. When you’re done golfi ng for the day, stick around the clubhouse, where a bagpiper plays every evening.

ARNOLD PALMER’S BAY HILL CLUB & LODGE
www.bayhill.com; 888-422-9445

This little golfi ng oasis is everything you would expect from Arnold Palmer. The fi rst time he played Bay Hill, 43 years ago, he went home to his wife and said, “I’ve just played the best course in Florida, and I want to own it.” Back then, it was an ungroomed area with wildlife and a little shack of a pro shop. Now, it’s surrounded by affluent homes and a luxurious 70-room lodge, where you have to stay to play. Host of the PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational, this course has been reworked by Palmer himself to make sure the pros feel challenged—so when you play it, you may well feel humbled. Holes 16, 17 and 18 are some of the most heart-pounding fi nishing holes in golf.

GRAND CYPRESS GOLF RESORT
www.grandcypress.com; 877.330.7377

Your golfing day will start with a beautiful drive down a tree-lined road with views of Jack Nicklaus’ handiwork to your left and right. He’s the mastermind behind 45 golf holes at what was the fi rst real golf resort in Orlando. It’s still a must-play destination, with three different nine-hole courses (one of which is undergoing renovations and is slated to reopen next month) and an 18-hole Scottish links-style course. Every one of the nine-hole tracks is truly a shot-maker’s course, and the 18-hole New Course is the most fun in town. The name pays homage to the legendary Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, and it was designed with deep bunkers, large rolling greens and authentic Scottish vegetation. (In fact, the fi rst and 18th holes are exact replicas of the fi rst and 18th at St. Andrews.)

Putt-Putt Paradise

Want to spend some time with the family, but don’t want to lose your golfing edge? A round of miniature golf may be the answer.

Fantasia Gardens Fantasia Gardens
www.piratescove.net

These two courses, just steps from Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resort, offer fun for the whole family. While the kids putt their way through Mickey as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, tutu-clad hippos and dancing elephants, Mom and Dad can play the no-frills Fantasia Fairways, a miniature version of a real golf course.

Pirate’s Cove
www.piratescove.net

Touted as the original “adventure golf,” Pirate’s Cove has players following swashbucklers over bridges and through tunnels and waterfalls on extremely fast greens. Beware of the difficult shaped holes that could make you lose your swagger.

Hawaiian Rumble
www.hawaiianrumbleorlando.com

Who wouldn’t have fun with great music blaring and a loud, rumbling 50-foot volcano erupting every 15 minutes? Throw on your best Tommy Bahama shirt and putt away—you’ll want to keep saying aloha to this course.