Orlando Day #3 - Reunion Resort - March 21, 2010

The last two days spoiled the heck out of us! Reunion Resort is a huge and gorgeous complex. Reunion has three courses designed by three golf legends. It’s sick! For our morning round we played the Jack Nicklaus course called Tradition. Reunion is such a big property that once we paid for our round at the clubhouse we were told to get back in our car and drive over to Tradition. It was probably about a mile’s drive…

As we arrived to a rubber-tiled parking lot covering dirt and a dirt path towards the first tee we really weren’t expecting much. As we passed a great practice facility with balls stacked in perfect triangles our expectations raised a bit but it wasn’t until we arrived at the first tee that we realized we were in for a treat. The layout was interesting and the fairway pristine. After two days of inconsistent and slow greens these perfectly manicured, undulating and fast greens were a bit of a shock but it was definitely a treat (even including my multiple 3-putts and even a 4-putt on my card).

Maybe it’s just that the course is much better than I am and this isn’t a course for a bogey golfer but I got my butt kicked. Let’s put it this way, there are so many bunkers on the course that instead of having rakes by the bunkers they instead are placed in the cart… Bunkers are everywhere and strategically placed in the way of where one wants to hit the ball. With a slope of 147 from the back tees it’s among the hardest courses I’ve ever even heard of, much less played.

There are two holes that especially stick out as being exceptional and memorable. Hole #3 is a long par 5 that one arrives at through a wooden bridge constructed through a densely wooded area.

The 16th hole is visually stunning par 3 that requires 150 yards of carry to a shallow and wide green. I said my prayers and hit a 6-iron to the right edge of the green. While I was excited to be on the green I was a good 60 feet from the pin that was located on the left side of the green. My first putt was solid and got me within 8 feet. As is both embarrassing and typical of my game, I missed the 8-footer and settled for another 3-putt (one of 7 holes where I had 3 or more putts… arrgghh!).

The weather throughout the morning was overcast with occasional sun and showers mixed in. We finished the 18 without too much rain but the forecast didn’t look good for the afternoon. Drew did the smart thing and chilled in the clubhouse but Luc and I put on our rain jackets and started towards the Tom Watson course called Independance. There was no one in front of us and we were excited to fly through a quick round. After the second hole a warning came through the GPS screen saying that bad weather was coming but we continued on. The rain got increasingly heavy but we didn’t hear any thunder until the 7th hole and even then it was way off in the distance. We looked at each other, shrugged and kept on… At the end of 9 the torrential rain stopped our round short.

Overall, we played 97 holes in three days on 5 different courses. Great trip even if we didn’t get all 6 rounds in!! For any golf obsessed northerners that want to start the season on a golf binge – Orlando is a great location and OCN and Reunion are must visit locations!! I hope to be back next year!!

Orlando Day #2 - Orange County National - March 20, 2010

Now this is living!! I completely understand why Golf World calls Orange County National a top facility in the country. Also, playing on the same courses as where the Q-school finals are to be held was a cool experience. This is on a very short list of the best golf days of my life.

We arrived right at our scheduled tee time of 7:42am. After a bit of rushing to check in and get out to the first tee we arrived so a majestic scene on the first tee box. As the bright sun was rising it cut into a thick pre-dawn fog. It reminded me of the scene at the 2008 Masters where Arnold Palmer hit the ceremonial first shot into the thick fog. (Minus the legend and gallery of fans of course...)

Orange County National provided the best customer service I’ve ever experienced in any industry. They pride themselves on being a great golf facility and the rare and recent Florida frost the greens were not up to their standards. This is a problem impacting a lot of the courses in the area but Orange County was determined to do something about it. After booking a tee time online, OCN calls within a few minutes and explain that the greens aren’t up to their standards. They immediately offered patrons a 20% discount and free lunch if you would still like to come and even offer to book a tee time elsewhere if you’d rather not. There aren't many businesses that would proactively do this and it is this type of service that will keep OCN as a top-ranked course for years to come.

Orange County National has two courses that each have their own distinct feel. Crooked Cat is an open and very forgiving almost links-style course. A few times throughout the round I hit shots that I thought were terrible but by the time I got up to the ball I realized they didn’t hurt me. The greens were not in great shape but especially on Crooked Cat really weren’t bad at all.

We ate both lunch and dinner at OCN’s Lodge and the food was both good and reasonably priced. Also, their golf-shop was more like a golf superstore with an outstanding collection of attire from every brand and even included a line of John Daley golf shorts... (the rest of the clothes were more normal looking).

On the back 18 we were stuck behind a group of ladies that were playing slowly throughout the round. We did our best to stay patient. We had one hiccup on the 10th hole when we accidentally hit into them thinking that they were gone. I guess they then complained to the ranger... Anyways, on the next hole he was waiting for us after we finished putting. As another display of exceptional service he asked us how the round was going, was very understanding when we explained that it was slow. Mentioned that the women in front said we hit into them even though they were waving but was never confrontational at all. He even offered to have us go ahead 3 holes and then come back to play those at the end.

At lunch Drew and I were already trying to figure out when we could make plans to come back and stay and play at OCN. This is a definite favorite all-time course for me, even without greens up to their standard. OCN is a must-visit for anyone interested in playing golf in the Orlando area.

Orlando Day #1 - Shingle Creek - March 19, 2010

Shingle Creek had an interesting layout and they took to great lengths to make sure that everything had a luxury feel. This included mandatory valet parking and bag drop, gps tracking on the carts that measures distances to the pin, towels for both players on the cart and even free apples at the turn. The conditions of the course were solid but not spectacular.

Unfortunately, the pace of play overshadowed a lot of those nice features. In regards to our travel everything worked out perfectly. Our plan landed on time at 9:34, I went to get the rental car while Drew and Luc got the clubs and we made it to the course by 10:30am. We were excited to get started on our first day of 36 holes. With our 10:52 tee time we had over 9 hours of daylight remaining – we thought that should be plenty on a high-end golf course. Shingle Creek sends out groups every 8 minutes and at least on this day, that proved to not be enough time. We waited on EVERY single hole all day long… Despite rushing as much as we could, we failed to finish the second 18.

While the pace was frustrating, it was easy to understand why so many golfers would choose Shingle Creek for their round. The practice facilities were impeccable, the layout interesting and the view of the beautiful resort from any holes made for great visuals. Shingle Creek is a nice course but at the high price point it just wasn't spectacular enough. It isn’t a must visit course but is definitely a facility I would happily play again even if wouldn't be top of the list.

Golf Rounds are Set - First bet has been made...

Our six rounds are set! On Friday we land at 9:34am and have our first tee time at 10:52am... hopefully JetBlue is on their game!

Friday we're at Shingle Creek - 10:52am and 3:24pm. The 10:52am is going to be tight but we have our plan set. I'll take off in a sprint for the rental car and Luc and Drew are hitting the baggage claim...

Saturday is Orange County National (home of the 2010 Q-school finals).
7:42am on Crooked Cat and 1:15pm on Panther Lake.

Sunday we're playing at Reunion Resort.
7:20am on Tradition, a Jack Nicklaus design.
At 12:10pm we're on Independence, designed by Tom Watson.

Also, the first bet has been made. I'm a 19.5 handicap and these will be my first rounds of 2010. My coworker bet me that I will shoot above a 570 for the 6 rounds... 95 average will be tough for me but since I probably am in need of help, I took the bet. Lunch on him if I shoot 570 or below and lunch on me if not... I shoulda demanded 2 for 1 odds...

mgm

Orlando here we come!!! 6 rounds, 108 holes in 3 days

Hi all,

Luc and I are back it. This time we're headed to Orlando for 3 days, and 108 holes of championship golf! No driving this time, 6am direct flight to Orlando on Friday morning.