DVC WDW golf questions

[mickey'smj]

Hello All,

We're going to WDW in January (19-24) and have several golfers along. What courses do you recommend? I note in Member Benefits that prices are high at this time.

Does it pay to get a DVC golf membership? Do we need to sign up for tee times now?

Suggestions and recommendations will be greatly appreciated. (I'm not the golfer, so I'm not quite sure what I need to be asking.)

Thanks,

MJ

 

[Simba's Mom]

Although I'm not a golfer, DH is-I think "golf" is his middle name. That's by far the main attraction of WDW for him. His favorite course (he's played Osprey, EP, LBV, and Oak Trail when DS was young) is Osprey, but he considers LBV the best value. For him, the DVC golf badge is definitely worth it. With tax, it costs a little over $90, and you get discounted rates (don't know them in January, but I'll bet DVC does) after 10:00. And if one person buys the badge, he can take 3 guests who also pay that rate. I know in June, DH pays $35 after 10:00. The badge is good for a year, and I'll bet DH will play about 7 rounds, and DS will pay the same rate going with DH about 4 times. I know there's a great site (www.wdwgolf.com, I think). If you're staying at OKW, you really should play LBV. It goes right through OKW, and then for days after playing there, you can see the holes you played-DH got a real kick out of that.
Feel free to ask any more questions-like I said, "golf" is DH's middle name. BTW, we used to live in central Massachusetts and one of the reasons we moved was so DH could golf all year round.

 

[PamOKW]

BTW, we used to live in central Massachusetts and one of the reasons we moved was so DH could golf all year round.

LOL! Texas must be a draw for ardent golfers. At one of the member update meetings long ago, the guides were telling about the plans for Vero and Boardwalk. I'll always remember this older Texas gentleman grunting, "If it doesn't have a golf course.....I'm not interested."

 

[drusba]

That is Disney's most expensive time of year for golf, with regular resort guest prices ranging from $130 to $170 (Palm, Magnolia, and Lake Buena Vista are usually the same price and the lowest priced of the group, Osprey Ridge is the highest followed by Eagle Pines). You can make tee times now if paying those prices. The DVC member can buy, first time he shows up at pro shop, a DVC golf card for about $91 (tax included) and it is good for a year. That then gets the member plus 3 guests a discount rate of $95 per round per player regardless of which course is chosen. That is good though only for rounds after 10 a.m. and you can make tee times only 14 days in advance or less. Thus, to justify buying the card you need to play enough rounds to make up for its price. There is also an AP and DC discount (I beleive it is now 20% for either) and those require no extra card to buy and are good for those rounds before 10. You can also rent clubs, $45 plus tax for steel shaft and $60 plus tax for graphite, usually Callaways or Titlest. Prime morning tee times before 10 tend to fill with early reservations and those can be difficult to get on short notice; also weekend times to noon can often be difficult on short notice ar some of the courses. Nevertheless, you can usually find times open many parts of the day even if you wait to call until the day before.

Osprey Ridge is by far the most impressive course there with the most memorable holes and two fantastic finishing holes. It along with the Palm (most water, narrowest fairways) are the most difficult of the group, followed by Eagle Pines (shortest but target golf), Magnolia (longest but wide fairways) and Lake Buena Vista. None is overly difficult or easy. A good golf site to check out that is dedicated to disney golf is http://www.wdwgolf.com/

 

[Simba's Mom]

DH has never been to a member meeting, but if he'd been at that one with the Texas golfer, he would have embarrassed me by jumping up an yelling "Right on!" I'm sure that that's part of the attraction for him with OKW, the beauty of being on the golf course. And let me say again, that although spring is the most expensive time of year to golf, he insists that LBV is the best value. If you're considering the DVC golf badge, and want to golf as soon as possible after 10:00, I'd recommend tee times in advance. And if I remember correctly one of the courses has a women's state tournament sometime in January and may be closed.

 

[Rob&Jan]

We will be there jan 5th to the 10th, I just booked Osprey Ridge and was able to get a 10:20 start time and Eagle Pines the next day at 11:20. Just thought I would give you an idea of the current availability in Jan.
Have a great trip.

 

[Grotto]

We were down at WDW in November and I bought the DVC golf card. I was able to make tee times 90 days in advance. We played the Magnolia once (10:04 am) and the Palm once (10:00 am). The card must be purchased by a DVC member, and the DVC member must play as part of the foursome. The discount is good for the entire foursome (member and up to 3 guests).

 

[R.J.'s Dad]

If you are looking for alternatives to the high prices at the WDW courses, I'd suggest going to the Orange County golf courses. There are two great courses about 10 min. north of the Magic Kingdom. The prices were great and the courses were excellent. I've also played at Champions Gate Golf Club. 15 min. drive from WDW. Prices were very reasonable and also in great condition. I'm pretty sure you can access orangecountygolf.com for more info. The Disney courses are great- Osprey and Eagle Pines being the best- but there are alternatives at a much better price. Hit em' straight!

 

[erick10520]

We just got back last week and played Lake Buena Vista and Osprey Ridge....both courses were in great shape except Osprey was a bit soggy from all the rain....Would definitely recommend Osprey Ridge/Eagle Pines (they are both next to each other), nice lounge area and great staff...have fun!!

 

[jmminarik]

Originally posted by drusba
The DVC member can buy, first time he shows up at pro shop, a DVC golf card for about $91 (tax included) and it is good for a year. That then gets the member plus 3 guests a discount rate of $95 per round per player regardless of which course is chosen. That is good though only for rounds after 10 a.m. and you can make tee times only 14 days in advance or less.

Hmm. My DVC Golf membership must be different. The price was $87ish + tax, but I can make ressies 90 days in advance, and my greens fees are $50/pp for up to three other people in my party after 10 AM. I do seem to recall a membership that was not DVC related that had something similar to what is described above though.

I did this last week for the trip with my in-laws. Total cost at LBV, including two collared shirts for my in-laws who didn't bring them, and one baseball cap came out to $404 + change for 4 people. Regular rates were $109 (or was it $119???), not including shirts and cap and sales tax. Even the most math impaired should see that joining can make alot of financial sense.

Having only golfed a total of 5 times in my life, all I can say about LBV is that after a couple of inches of rain, its pretty soggy. My BIL and FIL liked the layout of the course, though we wondered how many OKW and DI room windows got broken over the course of a year.

Hope this helps,
Joe

 

[Simba's Mom]

Actually, it's probably the same card. There are 3 different prices and set of rules about reserving, depending on what time of year. If I remember, Jan-April is most expensive and you can only reserve 14 days in advance. I know that in the summer, it's only $35 and you can reserve up to 90 days in advance (even though after 10:00am is more than a little hot), and I think the fall is $50. The difference in cost for the card is probably just tax.

 

[kem330]

To elaborate on Simba's mom post:
She is right there are 3 different seasons for the card. The price is $85 + tax, It is good until the end of the month, one year from date of purchase.
Tee times can be made 90 days in advance except Jan 15- April 19th when they may be made 48 hours in advance.
Seasons are:
Oct 1, 2002 - Jan 14, 2003: $50/person/round
Jan 15 - April 19, 2003: $95/person/round
April 20 - Sept 30, 2003: $35/person/round

 

[drusba]

Latest change for DVC discount is that you can now make tee times up to 14 days in advance for the peak mid-Jan through most of April times. The info I gave was for that time period when the poster is going. Thus, it is $95 a round then with DVC discount. Between last part of April and end of Sep it is only $35 a round with DVC discount (regular after 10 rates during most of that time are only $45 to $60) and you can make tee times up to 90 days in advance. For Oct to mid-Jan it is $50 a round (and regular rates run $90 to $130) and tee times can be made up to 90 days in advance then. The DVC golf card is $85 plus tax making it just about $91.

 

[jmminarik]

Cool. I guess I didn't pay too much attention to the 'other seasons' since we'll rarely ever go other than in December...except in 2003 when we're going in May as well.

Isn't there 'another' golf program card you can purchase without having to be DVC?

 

[Simba's Mom]

I don't know of any other golf card you can buy. As another poster said, it's $45-$60 after 10:00am without the card in May. If I remember correctly, the least expensive is LBV, most expensive is Osprey. With card it's $35 per round at all the courses. And May 2003 is also when DH and DS will be golfing there-the entire Memorial Day week if they can.

 

[AEN]

Are the golf cards good for any course discounts around Hilton Head.

 

[drusba]

The WDW DVC golf card is good only at WDW. At HH there are discounts available without buying any golf card. Also, there you can often find discount programs available to the general public that are better than DVC may be able to get.

As to the question on other golf cards you can buy at WDW, I am not aware of any others that you can buy just because you are a DVC member. They do have Florida resident annual cards and last year they had a summer card -- where you pay one price and golf as many times as you want all summer with some restrictions on time of day to play. There are also AP and DC discounts and possibly AAA.