Golf

[kylie]

For the 1st time in Florida I will have Golf partners

Is it required to book Tee times on Disneys courses

 

[UKDEB]

Paul, yes, I think you probably do. Click here for the rates and tee times. AP discounts are available.

 

[vernon]

Paul, the Disney courses are first rate, but they can be expensive.
If possible try to go for "twilight rate" on the Disney courses, if you can book the first hour of "twilight rate" you shouldn't have any problems getting the round in with "proper" daylight. If you can manage to snag one of the teetimes that is immediately after the cheaper rate starts it's worth getting up to the starter 15-20 minutes before your time ( ie if twilight starts at 3.00 and you have a 3.05 time get there about 2.40-2.45) . Invariably there is NO ONE in front of you ( not many people in the "know" would book a time after 2.30 if they know the cheaper rates start in 30 minutes), You can literally race round with no one in front of you, and it's unlikely anyone's gonna catch you up either. It's a great way to get a relaxed ( and cheap ) round. The only other way, I know of, to get a good price on a Disney course is if any of you are DVC members, the DVC membership can get reduced greenfees for up to 4 people playing together ( ie DVC member and 3 "guests").

PS in anyone's around June 9th to 20th I may be looking for partners and I'll probably get the DVC golf membership this year .

If you have a car you're going to get courses of equal quality, but much less $$$ if you don't mind travelling a little. Basic rule of thumb the further from Disney you're prepared to travel the better deal you'll get. If I use the Disney costs as an example, If you're looking at a Disney cost of $140 a round, if you travel up to 15 minutes from Disney you'll get a similar course for about $100, if you travel up to 30 minutes the cost is going to be in the $70-75 range, if you travel up to an hour it's likely to be less than $50. Obviously the cheapest rates ( for the non tourist areas) are going to be midweek as the locals are mostly at work . If you're VERY flexible and don't mind "winging it" I've found the best rates are available by using a company who specialise in "last minute" bookings. I think they are called "playstandbygolf" could be "last minute teetimes/golf". I've found them in the yellow pages under golf and also in the free magazines you can pick up in the golf stores/outlets. The leaflets are also useful for directions and phone numbers to pro shops. With the above company it helps if you have a couple of courses that fit the bill of where you'd like to play. This is more of a guide to them, as they work by taking the unsold teetimes ( for the following day) from the proshops when the proshops close and sell them on at a discount. This works for the proshops as they know they have little chance of selling those teetimes on the day of play. You can call the night before you wish to play or even in the morning of the day you wish to play and they will obtain a course of the standard you wish to play for a great price.
Here are a couple of off site courses that I really like and even if they are not available, mentioning them to the person working for the stand by golf company will help him greatly in knowing the type of course you're looking for. IMHO each of these is a match for any of the Disney courses, in their own way. The scenery and wildlife ( gators,birds, deer (if you're lucky) and snakes ) alone make Deer Island's course worth the drive.
http://www.falconsfire.com/ (10 minutes from Disney )
http://www.ocngolf.com (20 minutes from Disney)
http://www.southerndunes.com (30 minutes from Disney)
http://www.deerislandgolf.com/ ( about an hours drive)


Another FANTASTIC service is one run by Phil Jaffe at http://www.progolfguides.com . If you are a keen golfer and would like to get some real "on course" tuition this is a great way to go. You can have a playing round lesson with a PGA teaching pro. IMHO the price is really very reasonable when you consider he'll arrange collection from your hotel, clubs, you get to play a round ( up to 3 of you) with a PGA teaching pro and if time(weather and daylight) he'll run through some tips and drills on the range with you. I found it a great help to see how a pro actually chooses his shots and %age plays actually going round a course. It also gives him the chance to see how you actually play and hit the ball when you've got a lake, OB or a flag in front of you as opposed to how you hit it in the Driving range ( not always the same swing or result LOL)

 

[kylie]

Vernon,

Sorry for not thanking you for your help earlier. I booked a round last night at LBV.

Unfortnatly with moving house 8 weeks ago Golf comes very far down the list having only played three times this year. And this was reflected when I played castle hume last W/e.

We plan just to hire clubs from Disney rather than carry them through 4 Airports. My long suffering wife might not take it to well if I spent the best part of my vacation on golf courses while she amuses the children! So only one round for me.

 

[vernon]

Paul, if you're only going to play one round ( and haven't played the Disney courses before) I would look to play one of the other courses. LBV is OK, but it does wind through the OKW DVC resort so you're in and out ( in my case usually in ) of the buildings, it's relatively tight and shorter than the other courses. In terms of scenary Osprey Ridge and Eagle Pines are much prettier courses ( and better golf holes as well). IMHO they are the best two courses on Disney, although it's Palm, Magnolia and LBV that are used for the Walt Disney Classic pro-am tournement. In my order of preference I would rate the courses 1) Osprey, 2) Eagle Pines 3) Magnolia, 4) Palm ( not much between 3 and 4 ) and a fair way 5th LBV.

 

[kylie]

left to me I would have selected one of the others. My golf partner requested LBV or rather "a non Championship one"

 

[vernon]

Paul, LBV is a championship course ( all 5 of the Disney 18 hole are) it's been the third course used for the Disney classic for at least the last 10 years.

I'm guessing that your partner is worried about playing a course that's too demanding for them. They shouldn't worry the courses are not really that much more difficult than many of the courses you'll play here, it's more to do with the quality of the course i.e. the standard of the greens, fairways, teeboxes and facilities of the courses. I'll try to give you my thoughts on each of the courses so you can pick the one that suits you best.

LBV, the second shortest of the WDW courses, but significantly tighter, as you weave in and out of the buildings of OKW if you're a little wayward at times it can leave you with impossible "recovery" shots. It does have some attractive second shots over water to the greens on the par 4s and has a signature par three with an island green. What it lacks in length it makes up for with small and well defended greens. It's a good course if you're short (length of golf shots )but accurate. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wa...olf/courseindex?id=SAGolfLakeBuenaVistaCourse

Eagle Pines,The shortest of the WDW courses but not to be taken on if you have trouble getting the ball away from the tee or a habit of "topping the tee shot" as many of the holes have a scrubbly almost bunkeresque ( it's like a very hard sand bunker covered with pine needles, which is where the pines part or Eagle Pines comes from) arrangement to clear before you reach the fairways. Many of the holes you have to clear 150-175 yards of these pine areas just to reach the fairway. Get in one of these and it could take you a couple more shots just to reach the fairway. The up side is that it does have relatively forgiving landing areas and if you hit the ball a decent distance, but lack consistant accuracy this may be a good choice. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wa...olf/courseindex?id=SAGolfEaglePinesGolfCourse

Osprey Ridge, my favourite course and a joy to play. Beautifully laid out and the chance to spot some great wildlife. By no means is this an easy course, but it is reasonably forgiving ( more so than EP and LBV IMHO) if you hit a bad shot now and then. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wa...s/golf/courseindex?id=SAGolfOspreyRidgeCourse

Magnolia is the longest of the courses, but does give you plenty to aim at. There is a fair amount of water on the course, but if you aim to avoid the water there is usually plenty of margin for error. If you don't hit the ball a long way (more than 170-180), pars are almost impossible and bogeys are a good score. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wa...ties/golf/courseindex?id=SAGolfMagnoliaCourse

Palm , this is a very pretty course ( most of them are LOL) and probably deserves it's reputation as the toughest of the Disney courses, you need to be reasonably long off the tees and reasonably straight to give you a chance of hitting pars here. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wa...tivities/golf/courseindex?id=SAGolfPalmCourse

I hope my ideas on those courses help you to decide on a course that suits you playing partners ability the best. At the end of the day, if no one's counting the shots too seriously then it should be about enjoying yourself on a beautiful course and remembering the good holes.
For a high handicapper who can hit the ball a semi decent distance but mixes in a few moody teeshots I would suggest the following order of preference. OR, Magnolia, Palm, EP then LBV.
I would only pick LBV as first choice if they are very straight, but just hit the ball 150-175 yards off the tee. IMHO a high handicapper will find LBV frustrating as they could get into a lot of problems, resulting in only having the option of a sideways chip back onto the fairway to give them a shot at the green. Most of the other courses give you a little more room to hit slightly off line, but still feel it was a "good shot" and more importantly let you go for the green with your second.

 

[kylie]

Thanks Vernon, you certainly have a grasp of the courses. I am aprehensive due to my lack of playing time however there is always the fall back position of playing each hole with my seven iron (3 x 7 = in or near the green without the need for recovery shots Thats the theory )

 

[vernon]

Paul, it's worth remembering the 9 hole Oak Hill Trail that's at Disney as well. This is a walking course, the others you have to have a golf buggy, you can play 18 if you want. There is a discount on a "replay" if you finish you 9 holes and fancy another 9. It's marketed as a "family" course where people can bring their kids that do have some idea how to golf, but aren't ready ( or dads not keen on shelling out $100 for a round for themLOL) for a full 18. It does at times get more held up than the 18 hole courses, mostly because people are walking but also because you do get some people who aren't regular golfers, but it's not a bad little course, has some tricky greens and generally people are good at waving following groups through.
If you're planning a couple of rounds, I would use this course as a warm up round to get used to the conditions,grass and greens as they are likely to be different from those that you play on here. You can easily hit some range balls, use the practice greens ( it shares facilities with Palm and Magnolia) play 9 holes and back to the hotel in 3-4 hours, maybe while the rest of your party have an afternoon at the pool or shopping?.