There are over 50 courses within a short drive of the Davenport & Champions Gate area. We've played most of them, so we're in a good place to make some recommendations.

We've divided the courses by summer price range. You can expect to pay twice this in the winter. More on this later.

$30 - $50 Range

The winner here is Providence. Its a fantastic course with a mix of holes of moderate difficulty. For some weird reason, it doesn't seem to get as busy as some of the other courses. The surrounding houses that line some of the fairways don't get in the way, and the wildlife is so abundent that parts of the back nine feel like a Florida safari. We love this place.

The runner-up in this category is Legends in Clermont with an honorable mention to Highlands Reserve. We like Legends because of the elevation changes, which are unusual for a course in this area. We like Highlands Reserve because its a relatively easy course that won't frustrate.

$50 - $70 Range

The winner in this category is Orange County National. It's a fabulous facility, with two full sized 18-hole courses and a 9 hole course which is great for young children (who play free). The two main couses are consistently good, fairly difficult, and are used occasionally for PGA tour qualification. There is an enormous practice facility, where the who's who of teaching professionals hang out and where your likely to catch a glimpse of the odd tour professional under instruction.

Runner-up courses in this category are Celebration and the National course at Champions Gate. The National used to be our favorite until they dug up the the magnificent 18th hole and put condos on it, but there are still 17 good holes left. The front 9 is fiendishly difficult, but the back 9 is easier and you can post a good score if you haven't already gone home after the first 9 calamity. Celebration is another great facility with all the trimmings you would associate with a Disney course. Its relatively easy course with large greens, so its great if your on vacation an don't want to go home miserable.

Summer Weather

There's a reason the courses here are half price in the summer. The heat is unbearable, and it takes a special psysiology to survive it. Most humans dehydrate faster than they hydrate, so drinking a gallon of water will only gain you an extra half hour in the sun. To beat the heat, get out first thing in the morning just as the sun rises, and try to finish your round before 11am. Alternatively, when the breeze blows from the west, we get an early afternoon thunderstorm, which cools the air and then its usually cloudy for the rest of the day. When this happens, its cooler (but still humid), everybody has gone home, and the course is empty so you can get a round in before dusk.

Winter Pricing

Apparently, every retiree in the USA living above the Mason-Dixon line flees to Florida in the winter to avoid the frigid north. The golf courses know this, and adjust their pricing accordingly. Grees fees in winter are typically double what they are in summer, and tee times are rarer than unicorns. The only solution is to play at twilight. Its cheaper and less busy, and one day the world will come to its senses and stop adjusting the clock by an hour so that golfing nuts like us can get an extra hour.

Bunkers

Florida is wet. On many of the local courses we've played, the bunkers consist of 1/2 inch of fluffy sand on top, with hard pack damp sand underneath. When you're playing a shot from green side bunker in this condition, the sand wedge will bounce off the hard pack, not get underneath the ball, and and you'll end up thinning the shot or not getting out. Your not allowed to ground the club, but you are allowed to shift your feet and check the condition of the bunker. If the bunker feels hard and your feet don't sink, your going to need to take more sand. Think of taking a mug of sand and moving it along with the ball to the hole. That way, you'll be on the putting surface for your next shot and not in the same bunker.

Mosquitos

In the morning before 10am and at twilight, mosquitos are on the hunt. A bottle or can of 25% deet based spray is a mandatory piece of equipment.

Lost Balls

Florida has poisonous snakes and spiders, and blood-sucking insects that lay their eggs in your skin. If you hit your ball into long grass, take a drop and move on, otherwise you may find more than your ball.

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