Disney Golf Course Recommendations?

[mustinjourney]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to be going to WDW for 5 nights in late october on a solo trip -- and I was hoping to get in 36 holes. I'll be staying at BCV for the 5 nights. Got a few questions -- and as always -- any advice you can add would be appreciated.

First -- are there any issues in bringing your own clubs via magic express? Would I be better off not yellow tagging them and picking them up myself?

I've never golfed at Disney -- but from what I can tell, you get a free shuttle from your hotel to the course, and it looks like they'll store your clubs and transfer them to another course if you'd like. If I'm only playing twice -- not sure if this will be that useful for me, since I'd likely head back to the room and shower/change before hitting the parks.

Is that accurate? Other than convenience of not handling the clubs myself, are there any advantages to having them store the clubs?

Regarding the actual courses themselves (only on property -- I don't like leaving the WDW bubble)...Any recommendations on which of the three courses I should play?

How busy are the courses typically? Are certain times of the day busier than others?

There is currently a $35 deal for DVC members to get a hot breakfast and play the back 9 at LBV or Magnolia (or play Oak Trail), so long as you tee off between 7 to 8:30 am. Seems like a decent deal, considering a full round of 18 is around $72 -- so this is less than half and includes some sort of "hot" breakfast.

If you were to play a full 18, how would you set up your day? Do you golf in the AM and do resorts/parks in afternoon evening or vice versa? Any preferences either way? Do many of you golf on arrival day? I'll probably not get to the hotel until around 1 or 2 pm if I take the DME -- and in October, getting a full 18 might be difficult after 3 pm. Has anyone tried this?

Any other thoughts? Which of the three main courses are your favorite? How is the Oak Trail course? It looks to be quite short -- more akin to a nice juniors course?

 

[mdelano4]

Can't help you with traveling with clubs. Although I have flown with them may times, the only times I have taken them to WDW was in my car.

As far as the courses go, I have played LBV, Magnolia and Palm. Oak Trail doesn't interest me because I can stay home and walk a 9 hole course. Palm and Magnolia are very nice courses. They are difficult if you don't keep the ball straight because the grass in the rough is almost impossible to hit out of. LBV is a lesser course, but very enjoyable for a mid to high handicapper. I didn't find it as well maintained as the others, but it would not stop me from playing it again. As for the time of day, I prefer early morning golf, always. If I can get off at the first tee time, I am happy. That said, I will play most anytime. If you are a fast player and the course is not crowded, you should be able to finish a 3PM round in October. If the pace is slow, that might be a little more difficult.

 

[mustinjourney]

Can't help you with traveling with clubs. Although I have flown with them may times, the only times I have taken them to WDW was in my car.

As far as the courses go, I have played LBV, Magnolia and Palm. Oak Trail doesn't interest me because I can stay home and walk a 9 hole course. Palm and Magnolia are very nice courses. They are difficult if you don't keep the ball straight because the grass in the rough is almost impossible to hit out of. LBV is a lesser course, but very enjoyable for a mid to high handicapper. I didn't find it as well maintained as the others, but it would not stop me from playing it again. As for the time of day, I prefer early morning golf, always. If I can get off at the first tee time, I am happy. That said, I will play most anytime. If you are a fast player and the course is not crowded, you should be able to finish a 3PM round in October. If the pace is slow, that might be a little more difficult.

Thanks for the info. I think the AM would probably be better -- just knowing myself, it takes a while for my body to warm up in the morning. My back always feels really stiff...which is why I tend not to play early morning rounds.
Regarding the october 3:00 start -- I am a very fast golfer, I'm just worried there might be too much traffic in front of me. With cart and open course, I play 9 holes in about 50-55 minutes.

I prefer courses in the 7000 yard range that have decent landing areas off the tee.

Handicap between 6 and 8 right now -- all depends on how the driver is working. If it's working -- I'll shoot 78-84. If it's not, well, I've had a couple 95s in the last two months.

 

[BillPA]

I assume they will place you with other, at least a party of 3, maybe 4. So speed will not be your friend. Enjoy.

 

[drusba]

If you are a single and get a time, they automatically place you with others. Also, though you can supposedly book a tee time up to 90 days in advance, that does not actually apply to single players getting tee times online. They have four slots per tee time, and for all those morning tee times, a single usually cannot book a time until at least a two-some has signed up for the time.

Of the three 18-hole courses, Palm is the most difficult with narrower fairways and many hazards, Magnolia is the longest (with a number of over 400 yard par 4's), and Lake Buena Vista the easiest, although none is overly easy or difficult. Personal favorite of the three is the Palm but all three are fine. If you want length and a usually wide fairway for the landing of your drives, you are a candidate for Magnolia.

Several years ago the courses were taken over by the Arnold Palmer Golf Management Co. which was actually fine and an improvement for a few years. However, the organization is apparently run by MBA suits who have never played golf because a few years ago, they made two changes to the courses that are just awful for regular golfers. First, they did away with the drink cart making the rounds. Instead, they now just have a stationary place to buy drinks and other items between the ninth and tenth hole. Second, they adopted what you mention above, allowing golfers to play only nine holes on the back nine if you tee off by 8:30. That decision has literally destroyed anyone's ability to play a quick 18-hole round in the morning. You can often get fairly quick players who sign up for the early morning times to do 18. However, large numbers of those who do only the back nine are slow golfers, many just beginners, and many follow the practice of taking both carts to every ball, stop to take pictures, and when they get on the green nobody putts. The result has been that you can start as a foursome at 7 a..m. to do 18, finish the front nine in well under 2 hours and then often take close to three hours to do the back nine because you are stacked up behind all those slow golfers doing the nine hole discount deals.

In other words, don't expect to do a fast round in the morning. Afternoon rounds that begin when the price goes down (usually 3 p.m.), are also usually not quick.

 

[mort1331]

What days are you heading down. I am looking at a solo trip early part and want to golf as well. Prob staying at SSR. Now I am a mid 80s but not slow.

 

[mustinjourney]

Oct 22-27.

I typically shoot mid to low 80s so that will be great. My handicap dropped significantly last year bc I had 5 or 6 sub 80 rounds, but I definitely don't typically break 80. Handicap is also starting to climb.

 

[mustinjourney]

If you are a single and get a time, they automatically place you with others. Also, though you can supposedly book a tee time up to 90 days in advance, that does not actually apply to single players getting tee times online. They have four slots per tee time, and for all those morning tee times, a single usually cannot book a time until at least a two-some has signed up for the time.

Of the three 18-hole courses, Palm is the most difficult with narrower fairways and many hazards, Magnolia is the longest (with a number of over 400 yard par 4's), and Lake Buena Vista the easiest, although none is overly easy or difficult. Personal favorite of the three is the Palm but all three are fine. If you want length and a usually wide fairway for the landing of your drives, you are a candidate for Magnolia.

Several years ago the courses were taken over by the Arnold Palmer Golf Management Co. which was actually fine and an improvement for a few years. However, the organization is apparently run by MBA suits who have never played golf because a few years ago, they made two changes to the courses that are just awful for regular golfers. First, they did away with the drink cart making the rounds. Instead, they now just have a stationary place to buy drinks and other items between the ninth and tenth hole. Second, they adopted what you mention above, allowing golfers to play only nine holes on the back nine if you tee off by 8:30. That decision has literally destroyed anyone's ability to play a quick 18-hole round in the morning. You can often get fairly quick players who sign up for the early morning times to do 18. However, large numbers of those who do only the back nine are slow golfers, many just beginners, and many follow the practice of taking both carts to every ball, stop to take pictures, and when they get on the green nobody putts. The result has been that you can start as a foursome at 7 a..m. to do 18, finish the front nine in well under 2 hours and then often take close to three hours to do the back nine because you are stacked up behind all those slow golfers doing the nine hole discount deals.

In other words, don't expect to do a fast round in the morning. Afternoon rounds that begin when the price goes down (usually 3 p.m.), are also usually not quick.

Thank you for the detailed info. I'll probably play magnolia and palm courses then.

The MBA suits do have a way of screwing up the customer service aspect. They also tend to cut costs, which leads to higher staff turnover, which also leads to worse customer service. And course conditions typically suffer as well.

 

[BillPA]

The MBA suits do have a way of screwing up the customer service aspect. They also tend to cut costs, which leads to higher staff turnover, which also leads to worse customer service. And course conditions typically suffer as well.

The customer service sort of died when ABC took over. All they care about is how much bonus can one make this year. Poor old Walt must be spinning in his grave, if he could see what happened to his "baby".

 

[MPS516]

Love Magnolia and also like Palm a lot. Have played all Disney Courses and enjoy how well manicured Magnolia and Palm always are. I have never had a rush round but mostly not upset by extremely slow play, only a couple times. I play a long ball so probably has something to do with my Magnolia preference, I also prefer the greens here, you can go right at the pins. I have spoken with the pro shop when being a single and they have paired me with groups that were not beginners or 12 handicappers, made for a better day.

 

[mustinjourney]

Love Magnolia and also like Palm a lot. Have played all Disney Courses and enjoy how well manicured Magnolia and Palm always are. I have never had a rush round but mostly not upset by extremely slow play, only a couple times. I play a long ball so probably has something to do with my Magnolia preference, I also prefer the greens here, you can go right at the pins. I have spoken with the pro shop when being a single and they have paired me with groups that were not beginners or 12 handicappers, made for a better day.

Do i need to book the full 90 days out -- or do you think it would be fairly easy to just play it by ear while I'm there during the week? This would be late October.

 

[MPS516]

I have never had trouble hooking up a day or two in advance. If I know what days I have open between appointments I will normally call down in advance and have them place me when a reservation needs filling. I also think on line it will indicate how many slots are available at a specific tee time.

 

[smga1]

I would suggest using shipsticks.com for your clubs. They can ship them from your house or country club to Disney.
They are a great company we use at our work. They do ground, 2 day, 3 day ship. Use the quote on home page to see how much it will cost.

 

[mustinjourney]

I would suggest using shipsticks.com for your clubs. They can ship them from your house or country club to Disney.
They are a great company we use at our work. They do ground, 2 day, 3 day ship. Use the quote on home page to see how much it will cost.

I like the idea of shipping them -- but at $55 each way, I don't see enough of an advantage. Assuming the magical express works as it is supposed to, that would almost be just as easy.