Looking for a break from the theme parks around Orlando? Whether you want to stay close or you’re willing to drive a bit, there are several courses available that appear on the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top public-access layouts in Florida.
But it’s not as easy as pulling up our state-by-state rankings, which lists Florida courses that might be a full day’s drive away from Central Florida. We wanted to focus on the eight top-ranked courses that, while they might require golfers spend up to 90 minutes in the car, are within reasonable driving distance.
For the purpose of this exercise, we limited driving time to within 90 minutes of Disney World. Why 90 minutes? Because it can take a while to get anywhere around Orlando, especially if you’re stuck on Interstate 4, so 90 minutes seemed like a reasonable amount of time in a car to reach great golf.
And why Walt Disney World Resort? Because chances are if you’re visiting Orlando, you will be bunking up not far from that entertainment giant’s theme parks or Universal Orlando nearby.
We used Google Maps for its drive times, keying in Walt Disney World Resort at a time with no significant traffic slowdowns. Take all drive times around Orlando and Central Florida with a grain of salt, of course, as backups frequently happen.
None of this is to say there aren’t plenty of other worthy places to play around Orlando. As a nearby resident, this author will attest to the simple pleasures to be found at Winter Park Golf Course – frequently called WP9 – just north of downtown Orlando. The short nine-holer is one of the most fun two hours you’re likely to spend on a golf course.
Included with this list is a general map of where to find all these courses. Each one on the list below is represented with a number on the map – keep scrolling to see the numbers.
Included with each course is its position in Florida on the Golfweek’s Best public-access list. For any course that appears on our other popular rankings lists, those positions are included as well.
A little background: The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
The courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required.
(Google Earth/Golfweek)
Crooked Cat at Orange County National in Florida (Courtesy of Orange County National)
Where: Winter Garden, Fla.
State ranking 2023: Tied for No. 22 public-access course in Florida; also tied for No. 193 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of top 200 resort courses in the U.S.
Designers: David Hartman, Phil Ritson
Distance: About 12 minutes of driving north of Disney World
Panther Lake at Orange County National in Florida (Courtesy of Orange County National)
Where: Winter Garden, Fla.
State ranking 2023: No. 20 public-access course in Florida; also tied for No. 183 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of top 200 resort courses in the U.S.
Designers: David Hartman, Phil Ritson
Distance: About 12 minutes of driving north of Disney World
Juliette Falls in Florida (Courtesy of Juliette Falls)
Where: Dunnellon, Fla.
State ranking 2023: Tied for No.15 public-access course in Florida
Designer: John Sanford
Distance: About 90 minutes of driving northwest of Disney World
Where: Haines City, Fla.
State ranking 2023: Tied for No. 15 public-access course in Florida
Designer: Steve Smyers
Distance: About 30 minutes of driving south of Disney World
No. 18 at Bay Hill in Florida during the Arnold Palmer Invitational (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Where: Orlando, Fla.
State ranking 2023: No. 5 public-access course in Florida; tied for No. 53 resort course in the U.S.; tied for No. 70 public-access course in the U.S.; tied for No. 191 modern course in the U.S.
Designers: Dick Wilson, Arnold Palmer
Distance: About 15 minutes of driving north of Disney World
The Black at Streamsong Resort (Courtesy of Streamsong/Evan Schiller)
Where: Bowling Green
State ranking 2023: No. 4 public-access course in Florida; No. 20 resort course in the U.S.; No. 25 public-access course in the U.S.; tied for No. 56 modern course in the U.S.
Designers: Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner
Distance: About an hour and 20 minutes of driving southwest of Disney World
Streamsong Blue in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong/Laurence Lambrecht)
Where: Bowling Green
State ranking 2023: No. 3 public-access course in Florida; No. 19 resort course in the U.S.; No. 24 public-access course in the U.S.; tied for No. 53 modern course in the U.S.
Designer: Tom Doak
Distance: About an hour and 20 minutes of driving southwest of Disney World
Streamsong Red in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong/Evan Schiller)
Where: Bowling Green
State ranking 2023: No. 2 public-access course in Florida; No. 16 resort course in the U.S.; No. 19 public-access course in the U.S.; tied for No. 37 modern course in the U.S.
Designers: Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw
Distance: About an hour and 20 minutes of driving southwest of Disney World
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