Orlando Golf - Course, Resort and Package Information
As early as the second hole, the course meanders along a network of waterways, and after the fifth, takes you quietly into the "park." Bridges connect many of the holes
. Stop briefly on any one of them and you'll half expect to see a canoeist paddling upstream or down.
Architect, Joe Lee, designed the 6,957-yard Palm, with its elevated tees and greens, in 1971. The key ingredient, of
course, was the Florida palm and he made good use of nearly every variety for aesthetic and strategic purposes.
The bunkers, many of which are deep-faced, are more penal than target. And it's not uncommon to find several greens heavily surrounded. As for water, it comes
into play on half of the holes.
The Palm requires a little more shot making and precision, according to Kevin Weickel, Disney's Head Professional and Tournament Director of the National Car
Rental Golf Classic.
"The woods and water seem to come into play," Weickel says. "But our course is very friendly. You won't find many greens bigger. They're relatively flat and there
are not a lot of undulations. Our fairways are fairly generous, usually 40- yards wide if not wider in some places. The thing that bites the golfer on the Palm (and Magnolia) is length."
"Golf Digest" rated the Palm in the top 25 resort courses and "Golf Florida" ranked it in the top 100 in the state. To date, the Palm, in connection with one or more
of its sister courses, continues to host a bevy of corporate, PGA and Senior PGA Tour events.
Most notably is the National Car Rental Golf Classic at Walt Disney World first established in 1971 and played every October. The defending champion is Duffy
Waldorf with prior champions including two-time winner Tiger Woods, John Huston and David Duval.
Golf is serious on the Palm and any resemblance to the world's most famous mouse is slight. There are, for instance, colorful "Mickey Mouse" tee box markers.
And, tucked into the woods is the occasional marble marker used as a "goof" offering golf instruction.
Like the parks, there are lines, too – cart lines. But they're usually only near the driving range and number one tee box. The rangers do a pretty good job and
target the pace of play at four hours, 15 minutes to four hours, 30.
"Mickey" is so noticeably absent on the course that you'll feel forced into personifying some holes into certain Disney characters, like holes 13 through 15.
Surely, they could be Cinderella's stepfamily dressed in their finest greenery on the way to princess's ball at the signature hole number 16.
These three holes, unlike all the others, open into a wide plane, are relatively flat, and share a corset of ponds interlacing one with the other. Can they be cruel?
Oh yes, but in truth, they're merely a practice round for the Palm's finishing hole.
At 454-yards, this "Cruella" of a par 4 has been ranked as one of the toughest 50 holes on the PGA Tour nine times since 1983. In 1986, it reached as high as
fourth. With a small, forward tilting, thumbprint green, it is further complicated by a creek cutting completely across the fairway at the 130-yard mark.
"It's long, too," says Weickel. "And in October, when the wind is in your face, the pros are forced to use a long iron into the green making it even more difficult."
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