I spent a couple weeks in Florida for the holidays and played the Panther Lake Course at Orange County National on Christmas Eve. I found a discounted tee time for $76 on what turned out to be a beautiful winter day. It was 75 degrees with only a few clouds in the sky and no wind. Perfect.

There are three courses here at Orange County National. Panther Lake and Crooked Cat are the two championship courses while the Tooth Course is a shorter 9-hole course. Today’s round was my second visit to Panther Lake and I’ve been impressed both times golfing here. I first played Panther Lake about fifteen years ago and after today’s round, I have no idea why I waited so long to play it again!

The 18-hole courses at Orange County National (and maybe the Tooth Course) are designed by David Harman, Isao Aoki and Phil Ritson. From what I can find on GolfPass, Harman has done some other work in Florida while Aoki and Ritson have a more limited portfolio. Panther Lake was the first course to open – in 1997 – while Crooked Cat opened a year later – in 1998. In case you want to read about Crooked Cat, I reviewed that course back in 2018.

Panther Lake is located on the south side of the property and named after a lake that is to the left of the 14th and 15th holes. I’ve always thought that Crooked Cat was the course to host the Q-School finals, but I’ve found a few articles indicating that Q-School has been on Panther Lake recently, so I’m not entirely sure. It doesn’t really matter though because Panther Lake is a great course.

If you want to play the pro tees then Panther Lake will top out at nearly 7,300 yards. I picked the orange tees which are 73.1/137/6806 and the course has a little bit of everything. There is plenty of water, nice bunkering, minor elevation changes and an overall fair layout. Even with all the building going on in the area, homes don’t crowd the course and visually it is quite good. The course has many mature trees with a wetlands look. The only thing missing, at least in my opinion, is a driveable par-4.

Panther Lake has five par-3’s, eight par-4’s and five par-5’s. While I don’t think there is a weak hole on the course, I enjoyed the par-3’s and par-5’s the most. The front nine has the 176 yard par-3 4th and the 535 yard par-5 7th. The 4th green lies across a hazard and the tee boxes are laid out in a horseshoe shape on the other side, which varies the angle into the green. The 7th is an interesting hole that requires local knowledge. The tee shot is straightforward but the layup needs to be played out to the right, away from a lake that cuts into the fairway.

The 570 yard par-5 14th and the 153 yard par-3 17th were my favorite holes on the back nine. The 14th is a downhill dogleg right, with a mostly blind layup shot. Just like on the 7th, make sure to hit the layup far enough to the right. The 17th is pretty par-3 across water with a deep, two-tiered green. The green is framed by a small hillside in the background.

The conditions were very good and for the price I paid I definitely got a deal. The tees and fairways were overseeded, although I think the ryegrass still needs another few weeks to grow in more. The greens were great as they were quick and pure. The rough was gnarly and tricky to play from.

I’d recommend Panther Lake in a heartbeat and personally would give it the edge over Crooked Cat. It feels like Panther Lake has a bit more character, but the difference between the two courses is very small. Bottom line, both courses at Orange County National are worth seeking out on your Orlando golf vacation.

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