Points:
1. Annual card is $50 plus tax. Difficult to buy as a gift because you buy it at one of the pro shops when you first show up to play a round. In fact to assure to get a year out of it you do not want to buy it before then. It is actually good for a little longer than a year because it uses a last day of the month end date -- for example, if you buy it Jan 2, it is good until Jan 31 of the next year.
2. Good for rounds after 10 a.m. Cardholder (meaning it must be in his name) can play with discount plus up to three of his guests playing in same group.
3. With card, round is $35 per person in summer (May to Sep) when regular rounds after 10 cost $45 to $60 (depending on course), $50 in Fall to mid-Jan when regular cost is $85 to $120, and $89 mid-Jan to April when regular cost is $135 to $160. I tend to use it for those Fall and prime time periods but use the 30% AP discount in summer to play earlier rounds (7 a.m.) because the heat after 10 is brutal. You can reserve rounds up to 90 days in advance except during that prime season when it is only 14. Even so, you generally can get time close to what you want even at 14 days out, except weekends and holidays can be somewhat more of a problem because local residents play then. If you are a single who reserves a time, they automatically hook you up with others.
4. Though there is a discount for OakTrail it generally does not cost much to play there even for regular price. It is a 9-hole executive course (mostly par 3's) that is generally not in as good as shape as the others, is walking only (pull cart), and is usually heavily occupied by kids and beginners. I do not recommend it for the serious golfer unless you can play only 9 holes.
5. The best Disney course by far is Osprey Ridge (and also the one with the highest regular price). An excellent Fazio designed course. Has the most memorable holes and two of the prettiest finishing holes you will find anywhere. Has water in many places but not really that much more than others. My second favorite is the Palm (which actually has the lowest regular price along with Lake Buena Vista), an older style course with lots of palm trees and narrower fairways than the rest, and also has quite a bit of water. It is actually more difficult than the Osprey, However, none of the courses is overly difficult or overly easy. Next for me is Eagle Pines (Osprey's sister course and the second most expensive). A Pete Dye design (and probably the easiest Dye course I have seen as his are usually overly difficult) that is the shortest of the group but is target golf with lots of trouble around the greens. Magnolia (Palm's sister course) is the longest with the most over 400 yard par fours and a couple in the 450 range but has the widest fairways and the signature Mickey shaped sand trap on its sixth hole. Lake Buena Vista (LBV) is the easiest of the five, good but not as impressive as any of the other four, and meanders through the area where OKW, SSR, and Port Orleans are. LBV does not drain fast and, as a result, has more cart-path only days in the year than any of the others so you want to avoid it after a heavy rain if you can. The annual pro tournament in October is played on the Palm and Magnolia, although 2007 may be its last year.
6. The courses are generally kept in very good shape. You can rent shoes and clubs, but rental price is high ($45 for steel shafted clubs and $60 for graphite). Be sure to carry an ample quantity of balls unless you are a single digit handicap. Alligators are more likely to be seen on Eagle Pines than any other course. All the 18-hole courses except LBV now have computer yardage devices that tell you how far you are away from a pin. Cart with ample food and beverage supplies comes around about every five holes. Disney provides free cab service (but tip is extra) between a Disney hotel and course and back again. Pro shops are amptly stocked and I find the men's wear there to be better in choice and quality than what you find elsewhere in WDW.
