I was looking to golf somewhere on Saturday since it was supposed to be warm and sunny. This week has been chilly by Florida standards, with a couple mornings in the thirties. Sadly, I suspect I won’t get any sympathy from the rest of the country though.

Anyway, I figured it was about time to check out Deer Island Country Club. Besides the top-shelf courses in Orlando, Deer Island is always one I’d heard a ton about. It seems whenever I’ve joined a group of locals to golf in The Villages (where my parents live) Deer Island is mentioned. And, the comments that follow are quite controversial!

What makes Deer Island so polarizing is all the water that is in play! The course is unique because it is located in a small island community. Deer Island separates two of the area’s many lakes (Lake Dora and Lake Beauclair) and a couple of the holes run along Lake Dora. A sliced shot on the 3rd and 4th holes will end up in the lake! But, even if you avoid the lake on those holes, water lurks on just about every other hole.

And I’m not exaggerating when I say that water is in play on every hole. If you are a high handicapper then make sure to bring plenty of golf balls because you’ll need them. So, there is your warning – Deer Island can be quite harsh to the stray golf shot.

However, all that water leads to a solid collection of holes at Deer Island. The par-3’s are the course’s signature holes but there are other risk/reward holes as well. The 3rd is one of those signature holes as it is next to Lake Dora and on a clear day you have a nice view across the lake.

The par-3 13th (184 yards from the blue tees) is the most exciting hole at Deer Island because of a green that is mostly surrounded by water. The 13th plays like an island green because if you miss short, left or right then you’ll be dropping in the drop zone. My only wish for the 13th is that it was a short par-3, as I think a shorter yardage would turn a good hole into a great one.

Joe Lee designed Deer Island and even with all the water I found the course to be fairly playable. Normally there was an open side on each hole for a miss and the forced carries weren’t too bad, at least considering all the trouble. You’ll also find small greens and a large number (too many) of bunkers. For reference I played the blue tees which are 71.8/132/6670.

I paid about $40 for my round at Deer Island and this time of year in Florida you won’t do better for the price. The ryegrass in the fairways was in the early stages of growing while the rough was a bit further along. Still, the ball sat up in the fairways. The greens were pure and had some speed. The bunkers were the only blemish as the sand was thick and clumpy.

I expected not to like Deer Island’s design, but after playing here I found it to be a well done residential course, a great value and a course I’d recommend playing. I’m not sure I’d push it to hidden gem status, but it is probably close. If you are looking for a full day of golf then Deer Island would pair nicely with RedTail Golf Club on the same day!

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):