Hoping to set up a Forum Topic here for Golfing at Disney! Like to hear about experiences, tips, people you have met, warnings, and maybe even find fellow WDWFGU travels to book tee times with. You can meet some great people on these courses. Disney has some great golf and I am sure I am not alone when it comes to booking golf as part of a trip. Be great to hear from you.
hey Mcheal,
I don't play but my other half and daughter play. Joe has played all of the Disney courses now and has played several off property. he always schedules at least one round while we are there.
Blondie has played Oak Trail (they have another tee time for October there) They have it set up for junior players and the score card is also set up for them too. It is a walking only course.
They have the sunrise 9 booked for Oct. This is what they did last T'giving and enjoyed it. A drink, breakfast sandwich, 9 holes and another drink at the end all for $35.00 You have to tee off between 7-8:30. You can play Oak Trail or the back 9 of Buena Vista or Magnolia.
Joe loves to play so if we are ever there together I am sure he would love a partner!
"I do not like the cone of shame."
"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."
"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."
hey Mcheal,
I don't play but my other half and daughter play. Joe has played all of the Disney courses now and has played several off property. he always schedules at least one round while we are there.
Blondie has played Oak Trail (they have another tee time for October there) They have it set up for junior players and the score card is also set up for them too. It is a walking only course.
They have the sunrise 9 booked for Oct. This is what they did last T'giving and enjoyed it. A drink, breakfast sandwich, 9 holes and another drink at the end all for $35.00 You have to tee off between 7-8:30. You can play Oak Trail or the back 9 of Buena Vista or Magnolia.
Joe loves to play so if we are ever there together I am sure he would love a partner!
Fantastic! I will take a look at the next trips we have compared to your times and see if a date flanges up. Have done the morning 9. It is a great deal. I am usually a bit more selfish and look to get a full 18 in, but mornings are the best!
Great idea! One of the reasons we became DVC members 17 years ago was the slogan, "99 Holes of Golf". We figured once the kids were older, we would be spending more time at the resorts and I would be playing golf- lots of golf. The kids are grown, we spend plenty of time at the resorts, but 99 holes are no more.
Sharing info on the courses, conditions, staff, programs, along with rumors and propaganda would be great. Always good to know in advance when someone hears of renovation plans, greens aeration, and impact of drought or rainy periods.
Golf is always part of our trips. I book tee times at the T minus 90 day point.
Personally, my favorite course is Lake Buena Vista. I like the layout, find the conditions are consistently good, and the LBV staff is great. I grieve the loss of Osprey Ridge. I would rotate between the two courses. When the kids were coming along to Disney, I would play Oak Trails since that only took a couple hours and would give me most of the day to spend with them.
Wouldn't mind playing with others from this group. My Disney days are generally a mid-morning tee-off, meeting my wife for some down time at Big River enjoying a Rocket Red Ale or two, then finding music someplace in the Bubble to listen to in the evening.
PMan the Duffer, I sure miss the Eagle and Osprey as well. And now that Arnold Palmer golf is managing the courses I feel like there is less Disney influence with service and personality. But I love the courses. Have been playing them for 30 years. Always paired up with good folks which makes the experience so much better.
I believe all the renovations are done, which should make for some good fall golf. As for advice. If you stay at a resort in the bubble most resorts will get you a taxi ride to the course for free (including tip!) Simply go down to the bell stand and ask for a ride to the course. The call the cab and give you a voucher. Same thing going back. One of the remaining nice features. I do miss the roving drink carts and the early morning "guest picking the 18th pin placement". Hopefully they will develop some more traditions.
We are traveling down from Sept 13- 17 and again Oct 26 -31 and golf will be on agenda. If any other golfers are looking to play at that time throw down a note. Maybe a tee time will work out.
"Hit them straight and not too often!"
The courses Joe has played off property include
BayHill
Isleworth
Tranquilo this one is technically on property but not a "Disney course"
Celebration
Grand Cypress
Waldorf Astoria
And even though it was a bit of a drive, Streamsong which he loved.
He has been paired up with some very interesting people along the way. A lot of times he goes really early and plays alone. Sometimes I just ride along with him for the peace and quite. Plus I like to drive the cart 
One day I will pick it back up and play again.
Unfortunatly we will miss you by just a couple of days in October but will keep an eye out for when you are there again!
"I do not like the cone of shame."
"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."
"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."
The courses Joe has played off property include
BayHill
Isleworth
Tranquilo this one is technically on property but not a "Disney course"
Celebration
Grand Cypress
Waldorf Astoria
And even though it was a bit of a drive, Streamsong which he loved.
He has been paired up with some very interesting people along the way. A lot of times he goes really early and plays alone. Sometimes I just ride along with him for the peace and quite. Plus I like to drive the cart One day I will pick it back up and play again.
Unfortunatly we will miss you by just a couple of days in October but will keep an eye out for when you are there again!
That is a very impressive list of outside the dome courses. He has very good taste! I am with you on the very early morning play, it is fantastic! And have been paired with a number of "riders" and enjoyed their company very much. Will keep an eye on your trips as well.
I agree. Once the golf operations were outsourced, customer service dropped. Not long after the change, I saw a cast member at the Mag/Palm check-in desk embarrass a guest who was wearing a tee shirt. "What do you wear to dinner?" was his comment. He should have been prepared for that situation. Give the guy a special price on a collared shirt or have one there to give away in those situations? Service, in my opinion, has gotten better the past few years. I think it's top notch at LBV.
We have been incredibly lucky and have been taking three long weekends and then a week long vacation at Disney the past few years. My wife does the points magic to fit in cheap point weekends and we watch Southwest for cheap fares. Southwest rocks and I can bring my clubs along. They count as a free bag. I have been getting 20 rounds a year in at LBV. We will be taking a long weekend arriving Sept 21 and departing late on Sept 25. That's it for us this year. Next trip planned in March.
I play as a single and continue to be surprised by the folks I get paired with. The vast majority of people are DVC members and a lot are cast members. The occasional Disney executive is out there, too. The Disney exec last year was very interested in my opinion of things. When I mentioned my fear of losing another golf course to a new resort, he told me to make sure I send an email to our DVC rep and Disney stating that concern. He said there's more than enough room for new resorts without snagging another golf course. He also mentioned that Disney sells the DVC rooms as fast as they build them.
Here's a question. At some point in the past year, "Watch Your Head" stickers were place on the roof of the carts. Any idea what happened for those to be added?
Finally, here's a photo that I'll look at if I need a mental happy place to visit...
That is a great happy place picture. I do miss the trees on the left side. Gave the hole a completely different feel. The "watch your head" stickers were put there because too many people were catching their foreheads on the roof of the cart getting in and out. The carts are no different than any other cart but it being Disney, people will jump on a law suit in a heartbeat. The warning sticker helps with the defense should some one knock themselves.
JMed wrote:The courses Joe has played off property include
BayHill
Isleworth
Tranquilo this one is technically on property but not a "Disney course"
Celebration
Grand Cypress
Waldorf Astoria
And even though it was a bit of a drive, Streamsong which he loved.
He has been paired up with some very interesting people along the way. A lot of times he goes really early and plays alone. Sometimes I just ride along with him for the peace and quite. Plus I like to drive the cart One day I will pick it back up and play again.
Unfortunatly we will miss you by just a couple of days in October but will keep an eye out for when you are there again!
That is a very impressive list of outside the dome courses. He has very good taste! I am with you on the very early morning play, it is fantastic! And have been paired with a number of "riders" and enjoyed their company very much. Will keep an eye on your trips as well.
We are members of a private course in Georgia (Currahee) and also members of ClubCorp, he gets good deals with the Clubcorp and we take advantage of it all over.
"I do not like the cone of shame."
"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."
"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."
That's right! The trees are gone on the left side of the first hole at LBV. I was told at one point why they were removed, but don't recall the reason. All it does now is provide a most excellent view of the new parking garages! Isn't the current first hole the former 10th hole?
Really glad this topic was started. Always glad to talk some Disney Golf.
Finally, one more LBV photo from #11. It lost its humor until I solved my slice...
I think I have actually hit that sign. There use to be a similar sign deep in the wood at Osprey. And on Eagle there was a sprinkler head that had the message, "you are kidding right?" instead of a yardage. It was like 400 yards out.
Anybody else know of any sarcastic WDW Golf signs?
