Deciding on the single best golf course in Orlando is like trying to pick the best club in your bag - the answer completely depends on the shot you’re trying to hit. Asking a scratch golfer and a 20-handicap what they want out of a round will get you two very different answers. This guide will skip the debate and give you the real-deal breakdown - the best Orlando courses categorized by the kind of experience you're looking for, from the pro-level challenge to the perfect resort round.
As a coach, I've walked hundreds of different fairways. While lush green grass and a nice clubhouse are great, they don't define greatness. "The Best" comes down to a few core elements. Before we highlight the specific courses, let me give you a coach's framework for thinking about what separates the good from the unforgettable.
With that in mind, let's find the best Orlando course for you.
If you judge a course by its championship pedigree, Bay Hill is Orlando's undisputed heavyweight champion. This isn't just a tough golf course, it's a piece of living history. Hosting the Arnold Palmer Invitational every March on the PGA Tour, every step you take is on hallowed ground. Can you hit the same daring tee shot Tiger Woods did to win at 18? Can you find the green on the par-3 17th with water beckoning from tee to green?
Bay Hill is what's known as a "Championship Course," and it brings all that implies. The layout is powerful, no-nonsense Florida golf. It’s what you see on TV: well-defined fairways bordered by thick rough, large, fast greens, and plenty of water hazards that come into play on nearly half the holes. The closing stretch - featuring the risk-reward par-5 16th, the daunting 17th, and the iconic, boomerang-shaped 18th around a massive lake - is one of the most famous and climactic in all of professional golf.
Bay Hill is for the serious golfer who wants to test their game against a true PGA Tour setup. Low-handicap players will relish the challenge from the back tees, while mid-handicappers will find it manageable from the middle tees as long as they play smart. More importantly, it's for someone who appreciates the history of the game and wants to a taste of what the pros feel every spring.
Resist the urge to be a hero on every hole. Arnold Palmer designed his course to reward gutsy shots, but he punished poor ones even more. Your goal shouldn’t be to shoot your all-time low score here. Your goal is to manage your game, avoid the big numbers, and play thoughtfully. Lay up when you’re in trouble - especially on holes like the 6th and 18th. Making par at Bay Hill feels like a birdie anywhere else.
While technically just outside the immediate Orlando area (about an hour's drive south), no conversation about Florida's best golf is complete without including Streamsong Resort. To put it simply, Streamsong isn't traditional Florida golf. It's a surreal, magnificent landscape of towering sand dunes, giant waste areas, and firm, running fairways that feel more like you've been transported to a links course in Ireland.
The resort features three distinct and critically acclaimed courses:
Streamsong is for the golf purist. It’s for the player who values golf course architecture above all else and appreciates a walking-only experience with a caddie. If you love the strategic, problem-solving side of golf and enjoy playing shots along the ground as much as through the air, this is your mecca. It’s less about palm trees and more about a rugged, pure golf encounter.
This is the perfect place to improve your golf imagination. At Streamsong, the straightest line is rarely the best. Learn to use the slopes. Look for the "bowls" in the greens where you can feed a ball down to the pin. Think about using a 7-iron to chip instead of a sand wedge, or playing a low running draw into a firm fairway to gain an extra 40 yards of roll. The course gives you options, your job is to see them.
Great golf doesn't have to come with a private club price tag. For an accessible, affordable, yet truly top-tier experience, look no further than Orange County National Golf Center & Lodge (OCN). This place is a golfer’s paradise. It’s home to two 18-hole championship courses (Panther Lake and Crooked Cat), a 9-hole short course, one of the biggest driving ranges on the planet, and is the long-time host of the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School Finals.
Panther Lake is the more demanding of the two, with more tree-lined fairways, significant elevation changes (rare for Florida), and native wetlands. Crooked Cat is more of a links-style layout with wide, rolling fairways, vast greens, and fewer trees, but its openness invites the wind to create a different kind of challenge.
The conditions here are consistently excellent - especially for a facility that sees so much public play - and the value is possibly the best in all of Central Florida. You get a Tour-caliber experience without the sticker shock.
This is for absolutely everyone. Low-handicappers will find a fierce test from the tips, especially on Panther Lake. High-handicappers will appreciate the playable nature of Crooked Cat's wider corridors. It's the perfect spot for a buddies' trip, a local who wants regular access to championship conditions, or a visitor who wants to spend a day totally immersed in golf.
Arrive early and take advantage of the insane practice facilities. The circular driving range lets you practice hitting shots in every possible wind direction, and the massive putting and chipping greens are as pure as the ones on the course. Too many golfers rush to the first tee. At OCN, the warmup is part of the experience. Use it to dial in your speeds and get a feel for how the ball will react that day.
Sometimes golf is part of a bigger picture: a family vacation, a couples getaway, or a corporate retreat. In that context, "the best" means a flawless course combined with top-notch service and luxurious amenities. In Orlando, that title goes to the experience at Grande Lakes, shared by The Ritz-Carlton Orlando and JW Marriott Orlando.
The Greg Norman-designed course snakes through the property’s beautiful, natural landscape of pines, palmettos, and protected wetlands. It's an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, so you feel a sense of serene isolation, even though you’re in the heart of the city's tourism hub. Norman’s design is challenging, with wide fairways that invite you to hit driver but small, heavily-bunkered greens that demand precision on your approach. The conditions are, as you’d expect from a Ritz-Carlton property, immaculate.
This is for the golfer who is looking for more than just a round of golf. It’s for the player who values exceptional service, pristine aesthetics, and the convenience of walking from a luxury hotel room straight to the practice tee. It's the ideal choice when non-golfers are part of the trip, as they can enjoy the world-class pool, spa, and dining while you play.
Focus on your approach shots. Norman wants to give you room off the tee, but he tightens the screws as you get closer to the hole. The greens are often raised and fall off sharply into punishing collection areas and bunkers. The difference between a great score and a frustrating day here is your ability to hit a specific yardage and find the putting surface.
As you can see, Orlando offers an incredible buffet of golf, with a "best" course for every type of player and every kind of trip. Whether your priority is walking in the footsteps of legends at Bay Hill, embracing pure design at Streamsong, getting great value at OCN, or indulging in luxury at Grande Lakes, you can find a world-class experience a short drive away.
No matter which amazing course you pick, you'll still face shots that make you pause and decisions that can make or break a hole. We built my app, Caddie AI, precisely for those moments. You can ask for a smart strategy on a tricky par-5, get a club recommendation based on the conditions, or even snap a photo of a tough lie in the rough for instant advice on how to play it. It’s like having an expert coach and caddie in your pocket, helping you remove the guesswork so you can step into every shot with a clear, committed mind.
Thinking about hosting a golf tournament fundraiser is the first swing, executing it successfully is what gets the ball in the hole. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, from laying the initial groundwork months in advance to watching your happy golfers tee off. We’ll cover everything from securing sponsors and setting your budget to planning the on-course fun that makes an event unforgettable.
A golf handicap does more than just give you bragging rights (or a reason to demand strokes from your friends) - it’s the game’s great equalizer and the single best way to track your improvement. This guide breaks down what a handicap is, how the supportive math behind a handicap index a is, and exactly how you can get one for yourself. We’ll look at everything from Course Rating to Adjusted Gross Score, helping you feel confident both on the course and in the clubhouse.
The compression of a Pinnacle Rush golf ball is one of its most defining features, engineered specifically to help a huge swath of golfers get more distance and enjoyment from their game. We'll break down exactly what its low compression means, who it's for, and how you can use that knowledge to shoot lower scores.
Figuring out which spikes go into your new (or old) pair of Puma golf shoes can feel like a puzzle, but it’s much simpler than you think. The key isn't the brand of the shoe, but the type of receptacle system they use. This guide will walk you through exactly how to identify your Puma's spike system, choose the perfect replacements for your game, and change them out like a pro.
The Golf Genius app is one of the best tools for managing and participating in competitive golf events, but figuring it out for the first time can feel like reading a new set of greens. This guide cuts through the confusion and shows you exactly how to use the app as a player. We’ll cover everything from logging into your tournament and entering scores to checking the live leaderboard so you can enjoy the competition without any tech headaches.
Walking onto the first tee with sweaty palms, worried you’ll be a good partner to paly wtih...or even asked back again ...We’ve all been there - trust me! The real trick of feeling confortable... is about how you handle you’re ready to plsy. THIS guide explains the simple rules of the rode to show you hnow t play golf while staying calm relaxed and focused... an having much morse fun while you,',re aat it? You'll also play with confidence a dn make fiendsa while you're at i
Just ask a question or share a photo and Caddie gives personalized guidance for every shot - anytime, anywhere.
