My main round of the day was at Rio Pinar Golf & Country Club, with some friends. I played here years ago and decided now was a good time for a return visit (after reading positive reviews). Everything I could find showed that Rio Pinar went through a rough patch but recently has turned around and again become a place to be proud of – as it was years ago.
Rio Pinar is a course with much history and that history stands out as one of the most interesting things about the course. Years ago Rio Pinar was private and hosted all sorts of professional play. The course opened in 1957 and was the home of a PGA Tour event (the Florida Citrus Open) from the 1960’s to the 1970’s. Then the LPGA Tour played their event at Rio Pinar after the PGA Tour left. Arnold Palmer won the PGA tournament in 1971 so to golf where he won is quite special.
Rio Pinar is located towards the eastern edge of Orlando, in an older residential neighborhood. Homes line the perimeter holes, but many mature trees create some separation between the course and the homes. The interior holes are also tree-lined so you shouldn’t get the feeling of golfing in someone’s backyard. Overall, the setting here is better than the average public course in Florida.
When it comes to the design, all the trees and a fun back nine are probably Rio Pinar’s standout features. The course reminds me of one that could be found on Hilton Head Island – where a premium is put on finding the fairways and trying to leave the best angle into the greens. Rio Pinar is an old-school course which rewards shotmaking and not ending up behind one of the many trees off the fairways. Once you hit a crooked shot or two and don’t pull off the recovery, the strokes add up quickly. Trust me! For reference I played the gold tees which are 72.2/127/6645.
The front nine is pretty ordinary, but the back mixes in water on five holes. That leads to many of those risk/reward shots we all like! A creek cuts through the property on the back nine and creates three very good golf holes – the 12th, 14th and 15th. The 12th is a mid-length par-3 (150 yards) where you’ll need to carry the creek and a pond that guards the green. The wind was swirling which made it tough to club and missing long isn’t good either, since the green slopes towards the water.
The 14th is a 390 yard par-4 where the creek creates a narrow driving area. The hole doglegs left and the creek angles the same way. So, unless you play here regularly, you’ll probably be puzzled about how much water you can carry! Then, the 15th is a reachable par-5 with the creek in front of the green. I managed to carry the water going for the green in two but was left with a tricky pitch over a greenside bunker. That creek isn’t wide, but it sure got in my head.
Regarding the maintenance, Rio Pinar was well kept. Things here had fallen over the years, but now everything is on the upswing. A single who joined us shared that he played here last year and the course was in terrible shape. Apparently the owners have nursed Rio Pinar back to health, cleaned up the many wooded areas and are working to update the facilities.
For the $55 green fee the conditions were solid. The grass was splotchy looking in spots as the dormant bermuda is waking up – I don’t think there was any overseeded areas of ryegrass. The course played firm and fast, but that is common in Florida this time of year. The fairways allowed for mostly good lies and the greens were smooth and fast. The sand in the bunkers was very soft while the tees looked to suffer from a lot of foot traffic.
Rio Pinar is a course headed in the right direction and if you love golf course history then you’ll want to try it out. The only thing I’d like to see changed is for some trees to be removed. I thought I drove it fine, but I ended up having to pitch out way too many times after a decent drive. If you are looking for a value course on your golf vacation then I’d recommend a round here.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):