Golf

Sunny weather practically year-round makes Central Florida a golfer's haven, and there are about 150 golf courses and 17 golf academies within a 45-minute drive of Orlando International Airport. Most of Florida is extremely flat, but many of the courses listed here have man-made hills that make them more challenging. Many resort hotels let nonguests use their golf facilities. Some country clubs are affiliated with particular hotels, and their guests can play at preferred rates. If you're staying near a course you'd like to use, call and inquire. Because hotels have become so attuned to the popularity of golf, many that don't have golf courses nearby might still have golf privileges or discounts at courses around town. Check with your hotel about what it offers before you set out on your own.

In general, even public courses have dress codes -- most courses would just as soon see you stark naked as wearing a tank top, for instance -- so call to find out the specifics at each, and be sure to reserve tee times in advance. The yardages quoted are those from the blue tees. Greens fees usually vary by season, but the highest and lowest figures are provided, and virtually all include mandatory cart rental, except for the few 9-hole walking courses.

Golfpac (483 Montgomery Pl., Altamonte Springs, 32714. 407/260-2288 or 800/327-0878. www.golfpactravel.com) packages golf vacations and prearranges tee times at more than 78 courses around Orlando. Rates vary based on hotel and course, and at least 60 to 90 days' advance notice is recommended to set up a vacation.

Walt Disney World

Where else would you find a sand trap shaped like the head of a well-known mouse? Walt Disney World has 99 holes of golf on five championship courses -- all on the PGA Tour route -- plus a 9-hole walking course. Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge are the newcomers, flanking the Bonnet Creek Golf Club just east of Fort Wilderness. WDW's original courses, the Palm and the Magnolia, flank the Shades of Green Resort to the west and the Lake Buena Vista course near Downtown Disney's Marketplace. All courses are full-service facilities, and include a driving range, pro shop, locker room, snack bar-restaurant, and PGA-staffed teaching and training program. Disney provides a special perk to any guest at a WDW hotel who checks in specifically to play golf: free cab fare for you and your clubs between the hotel and the course you play. (It saves you from having to lug your clubs onto a hotel shuttle bus.) Ask at the front desk when you check into the hotel or call 407/939-7529.

Greens Fees

There are lots of variables here, with prices ranging from $20 for a youngster 17 or under to play 9 holes at Oak Trail walking course, to an adult nonhotel guest paying $165 to play 18 holes at one of Disney's newer courses in peak season. Disney guests get a price break, with rates ranging from $79 for a Disney hotel guest playing Monday through Thursday at the Lake Buena Vista course to $155 for a day visitor playing the Osprey Ridge course. All have a twilight discount rate, $30-$80 for the 18-hole courses, which goes into effect at 2 PM from October 31 to January 14 and at 3 PM from April 1 to October 26. The 9-hole, par-36 Oak Trail course is best for those on a budget, with a year-round rate of $20 for golfers 17 and under and $38 golfers 18 and older, and can be played for a twilight rate of $15 for adults and $10 for youngsters under 17 after 3 PM between May 14 and September 27. Rates at all courses except Oak Trail include an electric golf cart. No electric carts are allowed at Oak Trail, and a pull cart for your bag is $6. If you've got the stamina and desire to play the same course twice in the same day, you can do so for half price the second time around, but you can't reserve that option in advance, and this "Re-Play Option," as Disney calls it, is subject to availability. Note that golf rates change frequently, so double-check them when you reserve.

Tee Times & Reservations

Tee times are available daily from 6:45 AM until dark. You can book them up to 90 days in advance if you're staying at a WDW-owned hotel, 30 days ahead if you're staying elsewhere from May through December, and four days in advance from January through April. For tee times and private lessons at any course, call Walt Disney World Golf & Recreation Reservations (407/939-7529).

Golf Instruction

One-on-one instruction from PGA-accredited professionals is available at any Disney course. Prices for private lessons vary: 45-minute lessons cost $75 for adults and $50 for youngsters 17 and under. Call the Walt Disney World Golf & Recreation Reservations to book a lesson.

Courses

Eagle Pines, one of the newer Walt Disney World courses, was designed by golf-course architect Pete Dye. The dish-shape fairways and vast sand beds are lined with pines and punctuated by challenging bunkers. Golf Digest gave this course four-and-a-half stars. Bonnet Creek Golf Club. 18 holes, 6,772 yards, par 72, USGA rating 72.3.

The Lake Buena Vista course winds among Downtown Disney-area town houses and villas. Greens are narrow, and hitting straight is important because errant balls risk ending up in someone's bedroom. Be prepared for the famous island green on the 7th. Lake Buena Vista Dr. 18 holes, 6,819 yards, par 72, USGA rating 72.7.

The Magnolia, played by the pros in the Disney-Oldsmobile Golf Classic, is long but forgiving, with extra-wide fairways. More than 1,500 magnolia trees line the course. Shades of Green, 1950 W. Magnolia-Palm Dr. 18 holes, 7,190 yards, par 72, USGA rating 73.9.

Oak Trail is a 9-hole, par-36 walking course, designed to be fun for the entire family. It was designed by Ron Garl and is noted for its small, undulating greens. Shades of Green, 1950 W. Magnolia-Palm Dr. 9 holes, 2,913 yards, par 36.

Osprey Ridge, sculpted from some of the still-forested portions of the huge WDW acreage, was transformed into a relaxing tour in the hands of designer Tom Fazio. However, tees and greens as much as 20 feet above the fairways keep competitive players from getting too comfortable. The course was rated four-and-a-half stars by Golf Digest. Rental clubs require photo ID and a major credit card for refundable deposit of $500 per set. Bonnet Creek Golf Club, 3451 Golf View Dr. 18 holes, 7,101 yards, par 72, USGA rating 73.9.

The Palm, one of WDW's original courses, has been confounding the pros as part of the annual Disney-Oldsmobile Golf Classic for years. It's not as long as the Magnolia, or as wide, but it has 9 water holes and 94 bunkers. Shades of Green, 1950 W. Magnolia-Palm Dr. 18 holes, 6,957 yards, par 72, USGA rating 73.

Orlando Area

Greens fees at most non-Disney courses fluctuate with the season. A twilight discount applies after 2 PM in busy seasons and after 3 PM during the rest of the year; the discount is usually half off the normal rate. Because golf is so incredibly popular around Orlando, courses raise their rates regularly.

Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge golf courses are open only to those who have been invited by a member or who book lodging at the club's 65-room hotel. But with double-occupancy rates for rooms overlooking the course running as low as $469 in summer, including a round of golf, many consider staying at the club an interesting prospect. The course is the site of the annual Bay Hill Invitational, and its par-72, 18th hole is considered one of the toughest on the PGA tour. 9000 Bay Hill Rd., Orlando. 407/876-2429 or 888/422-9445. www.bayhill.com. 18 holes, 7,207 yards, par 72, USGA rating 75.1; 9 holes, 3,409 yards, par 36. Greens fees included in room rates. Restaurant, private lessons, club rental.

Barnett Park Golf Practice Facility, besides having an attractive course, has a great asset: it's free. All a golfer has to do is show up to use the net-enclosed driving range (with 10 pads), the three chipping holes with grass and sand surroundings, and the 9-hole putting green. As a special bonus, children ages 7-13 can spend time with a pro at no charge from 3 to 4:30 PM on Wednesday. 4801 W. Colonial Dr., Orlando. 407/836-6248. Free.

The Celebration Golf Club course -- in addition to its great pedigree (it was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Sr.) -- has the same thing going for it that the Disney-created town of Celebration, Florida, has: it's just 1 mi off the U.S. 192 tourist strip and a 10-minute drive from Walt Disney World, yet it is lovely and wooded, and as serene and bucolic as any spot in Florida. In addition to the 18-hole course, driving range, and 3-hole junior course, the club includes a quaint, tin-roof clubhouse with a pro shop and restaurant, flanked by a tall, wooden windmill that is a local landmark. The club has golf packages, which include lodging at the nearby Celebration Hotel. 701 Golf Park Dr., Celebration. 407/566-4653. www.celebrationgolf.com. 18 holes, 6,783 yards, par 72, USGA rating 73. Greens fees $55-$150, depending on time of year, time of day you play, whether you're a Florida resident, and whether you're a Celebration resident; daily discount rates begin at 2 PM. Restaurant, pro shop, private lessons, club rental.

Champions Gate Golf Club, which has the David Leadbetter Golf Academy on its property, has courses designed by Greg Norman. The club is less than 10 mi from Walt Disney World at Exit 24 on I-4. The two courses have distinct styles; the 7,406-yard International has the feel of the best British Isles courses, whereas the 7,048-yard National course is designed in the style of the better domestic courses, with a number of par-3 holes with unusual bunkers. 1400 Masters Blvd., Champions Gate. 407/787-3330; 888/558-9301 Champions Gate; 888/633-5323 Ext. 23 Leadbetter Academy. www.championsgategolf.com. International: 18 holes, 7,406 yards, par 72, USGA rating 73.7; National: 18 holes, 7,048 yards, par 72, USGA rating 72.0. Greens fees $65-$187, depending on time of year and time of day you play. Golf lessons at Leadbetter Academy are $225 per hr and $1,750 per day for private lessons; group lessons are $325 for 3 hrs; a 3-day minischool is $900; a 3-day complete school is $3,000. Pro shop, golf school, private lessons, club rental.

Falcon's Fire Golf Club, designed by golf-course architect Rees Jones, has strategically placed fairway bunkers that demand accuracy off the tee. This club is just off the Irlo Bronson Highway and is one of the most convenient to the hotels in the so-called "Maingate" area. 3200 Seralago Blvd., Kissimmee. 407/239-5445. www.falconsfire.com. 18 holes, 6,901 yards, par 72, USGA rating 73.8. Greens fees $79-$145, $50 after 2 PM, $40 after 4 PM. Tee times 8-60 days in advance. Restaurants, private and group lessons, club rental, lockers, driving range, putting green.

Faldo Golf Institute by Marriott is the team effort of world-famous golf pro Nick Faldo and Marriott Corp. An extensive-curriculum golf school and 9-hole golf course occupy the grounds of the corporation's biggest time-share complex, Marriott's Grande Vista. Here you can do anything from taking a one-hour, $150 lesson with a Faldo-trained pro (although not with the great Faldo himself, of course) to immersing yourself in a three-day extravaganza ($895-$1,400) in which you learn more about golf technique than most nonfanatics would care to know. Private instruction starts at $125 per hour. Among the high-tech teaching methods at the school is the Faldo Swing Studio, in which instructors tape you doing your initial, unrefined swing; analyze the tape; and then teach you how to reform your physical skills the Faldo Way. The course, designed by Ron Garl, is geared to make you use every club in your bag -- and perhaps a few you may elect to buy in the pro shop. As with virtually everything else in Florida, prices go up in peak seasonal months, but there's always a group discount at the Faldo Institute, even for groups as small as two people. Marriott Grande Vista, 12001 Avenida Verde, Orlando, 32821. 407/903-6295 or 888/800-4325 Ext. 6295. www.gofaldo.com. 9 holes, 2,400 yards, par 32.

Grand Cypress Golf Club, fashioned after a Scottish glen, is comprised of four nines: the North, South, East, and New courses. The North and South courses have fairways constructed on different levels, giving them added definition. The New Course was inspired by the Old Course at St. Andrews, and has deep bunkers, double greens, a snaking burn, and even an old stone bridge. 1 N. Jacaranda, Orlando, 32836. 407/239-1909 or 800/835-7377. www.grandcypress.com. North: 9 holes, 3,521 yards, par 36; South: 9 holes, 3,472 yards, par 36; East: 9 holes, 3,434 yards, par 36; New: 9 holes, 6,773 yards, par 72. USGA rating 72. Greens fees $120-$190. Tee times 7:30 am-6 pm. Restaurant, club rental, shoe rental, locker room, driving range, putting green, free valet parking.

Hawk's Landing, originally designed by Joe Lee, was extensively upgraded with a Robert E. Cupp III design in 2000. The course includes 16 water holes, lots of sand, and exotic landscaping. Orlando World Center Marriott, 8701 World Center Dr., Orlando, 32821. 407/238-8660 or 800/567-2623. www.golfhawkslanding.com. 18 holes, 6,810 yards, par 72, USGA rating 73.2. Greens fees $89-$129. Tee times 7 days in advance for public, 90 days in advance for World Center guests. Restaurants, private and group lessons, club and shoe rental.

The Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, about five minutes from Walt Disney World's main entrance, has three very similar 9-hole courses: the Orange, Lake, and Cypress. Distances aren't long, but fairways are very narrow, and there's a great deal of water, making the courses difficult. A fourth course, the 18-hole Legends, was designed by Arnold Palmer. Standard practice is to play two of the three 9-hole courses in combination for a single round of golf, or play Legends. 8505 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy., Kissimmee, 34747. 407/239-0000 or 800/877-6522. www.orangelake.com. Lake/Orange: 18 holes, 6,531 yards, par 72, USGA rating 72.2; The Reserve: 18 holes, 6,670 yards, par 72, USGA rating 72.6; Cypress/Lake: 18 holes, 6,571 yards, par 72, USGA rating 72.3; Legends: 18 holes, 7,074 yards, par 72, USGA rating 74.3. Greens fees $22-$65 for guests of the resort; $25-$70 nonguests. Tee times 2 days in advance. Restaurant, private and group lessons, club rental, driving range, putting green.

Rosen's Shingle Creek Golf Club, designed by David Harman, lies alongside a lovely creek, the headwaters of the Everglades. The course is challenging yet playable, with dense stands of oak and pine trees and interconnected waterways. The golf carts even have GPS yardage systems. Universal Studios and the Orange County Convention Center are within a few minutes' drive. 9939 Universal Blvd., Orlando, 32819. 407/996-9933 or 866/996-9933. www.shinglecreekgolf.com. 18 holes, 7,205 yards, par 72, USGA rating 69.8. Greens fees $79-$134, $75 after 2 PM. Tee times 7-sunset. Restaurant, club rental, shoe rental, driving range, putting green.