The Best Golf Courses in Orlando
No American city packs more resort golf into one drive than Orlando. A PGA Tour host you can stay and play, two Jack Nicklaus designs, a Tom Fazio and a Rees Jones, and a Greg Norman, all inside forty minutes of the parks. Our eight, ranked, with verdicts and how to get on each one.
How we picked them
Orlando is the most efficient golf trip in the United States. You can base in one resort corridor and play a PGA Tour venue, a links tribute to St Andrews and a clutch of championship parkland courses without ever sitting in traffic for long. We weighed the quality of the golf first, then conditioning, the strength of the resort behind it and how realistic it is for a visiting group to actually get on. Pure private clubs that take no outside play were left off, because this list is built for trips you can book.
Every fact here, the designers, the dates, the pars and the host events, was checked at the time of writing. Green fees in Orlando swing hard with the season, peaking from October to April and falling through the humid summer, so treat any figure as a guide and always confirm directly before booking. The verdicts are ours. If you want any of these built into a costed itinerary, that is exactly what our concierge does.
The ranking
- 1
Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club, Championship Course
Bay Hill, OrlandoParkland · stay and playThe most storied golf in the city and our clear number one. Dick Wilson laid out the original course in 1961, and Arnold Palmer bought the place, made it his home and reshaped it over decades. The par 72 of roughly 7,380 yards has hosted the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational every March since 1979, with the brutal water carry at the par 4 18th as its signature. It is a private club, but guests of the Bay Hill Lodge can book the Championship Course, which is how most visitors play it. Demanding, immaculate and dripping with history.
- 2
Grand Cypress Golf Club, New Course
Lake Buena Vista, OrlandoLinks tribute · resortJack Nicklaus's homage to the Old Course at St Andrews, a par 72 of double greens, stone walls, deep pot bunkers and a Swilcan style burn, reborn as the centrepiece of the Evermore Resort. It plays firm and open in a way no other Florida course attempts, rewarding the runner over the carry. Add the original Nicklaus North, South and East nines next door and Grand Cypress is the most complete Nicklaus golf experience in the state, and an easy, polished resort base for a trip.
- 3
Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort Orlando
Golden Oak, OrlandoParkland · resortA Tom Fazio design, formerly Osprey Ridge, now the private feeling club for the Four Seasons inside the Walt Disney World gates. Fazio routed it through wetland, pine and oak with raised tees and greens that give the flat Florida ground genuine movement. Beautifully conditioned and rarely crowded, with a 16 acre practice park, it is the most refined resort round in Orlando and the natural pick for a group staying in real comfort.
- 4
Waldorf Astoria Golf Club
Bonnet Creek, OrlandoParkland · resortRees Jones routed this par 72 through cypress, wetland and natural Florida woodland on the Bonnet Creek estate beside Disney. It is a classic, fair championship test, generous off the tee but exacting into firm, well defended greens, and the conditioning is among the best in the city. Paired with the Waldorf Astoria and Hilton hotels next door, it makes one of the strongest single stay and play packages in Orlando.
- 5
Reunion Resort, Watson Course
Reunion, KissimmeeParkland · resortReunion is the only resort in the world with courses by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson on one property. The Watson, the pick of the three, climbs over some of the highest ground in the area with bold elevation change, water and waste bunkering rare for Florida. With all three legends to play from a single base, plus a full villa resort, Reunion is purpose built for a buddies trip that wants variety without moving hotels.
- 6
Shingle Creek Golf Club
Universal area, OrlandoParkland · resortReimagined by the Arnold Palmer Design Company in 2016, Shingle Creek is a par 72 of about 7,200 yards laid along the headwaters of the Everglades, with interlinked creeks and wetland framing wide, playable fairways. It is the most convenient serious course in the city, attached to the huge Rosen Shingle Creek convention resort and minutes from the main attractions, which makes it the obvious choice for a group mixing golf with the parks.
- 7
Panther Lake at Orange County National
Winter Garden, OrlandoParkland · daily feeThe best pure public golf in Orlando. Designed by Phil Ritson, Dave Harman and Isao Aoki, Panther Lake is a par 72 of roughly 7,350 yards with real elevation, water and a superb closing stretch, long a final stage venue for PGA Tour Q School. With its sister Crooked Cat course, a 42 acre practice facility and an on site lodge, Orange County National is the best value, golf first base in the city for players who care more about the course than the resort.
- 8
ChampionsGate Golf Club, National Course
ChampionsGate, DavenportParkland · resortGreg Norman designed both courses at ChampionsGate, home to the Omni Orlando Resort and once the headquarters of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. The National is the firmer, more strategic of the pair, a par 72 of about 7,200 yards routed through woodland, wetland and former orange groves with classic American parkland shaping. A reliable, well run resort round on the southwest side, handy for the Disney corridor and group stays.
Designers, dates and host history verified June 2026. Bay Hill is private but bookable through the on site lodge; the rest are resort or daily fee courses open to visitors. Green fees move sharply with the season, so always confirm access and fees directly before booking.
Plan an Orlando golf trip
Tell us which of these you want to play and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head, tee times, lodge stays and all, and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
Orlando golf questions
What is the best golf course in Orlando?
Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club is our number one, the par 72 host of the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational every March and the most storied layout in the city. Behind it sit a deep field of resort courses by Nicklaus, Fazio, Rees Jones and Greg Norman, which is what makes Orlando one of the best golf trip cities in America.
Can you play Bay Hill as a visitor?
Bay Hill is a private club, but it operates as a stay and play resort. Guests of the on site Bay Hill Lodge can book tee times on the Championship Course, which is the standard route for visitors. Most other top Orlando courses, including Grand Cypress, the Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, Shingle Creek and ChampionsGate, are open to resort guests or the public. Always confirm access and green fees directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in Orlando?
October to April is peak season, with warm, dry days and the lowest humidity, which is also when green fees are highest. Summer is hot and humid with daily afternoon thunderstorms, so play early, but rates fall sharply and twilight deals are common. Always confirm seasonal fees directly before booking.
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