After I finished up at Omni ChampionsGate Golf Club I rolled the dice to try to play Winter Park Golf Course! The forecast was for scattered thunderstorms and naturally it started to storm as soon as I booked my tee time!

With dark clouds looming I paid my $20 green fee and walked to the car to get my clubs. As it turned out I got lucky with the weather! The clouds opened while I was standing next to the car so I decided to wait out the rain and wind! It poured for about 20 minutes before things cleared up good enough for me to go play. I ended up with plenty of sun which caused this aesthetically-pleasing little course to shine.

For those that may not know, Winter Park Golf Course is probably one of the most highly regarded and highly discussed nine hole courses in the country! Other courses in the same category might be Sweetens Cove or Sewanee in Tennessee, the Cradle in Pinehurst or maybe Skyway Golf Course in New Jersey. I’ve also got a soft spot in my heart for Schoolhouse Nine here in Virginia.

I had been looking forward to checking out Winter Park Golf Course because of all the hype! Last year I was in Florida and did a boat ride with my family in Winter Park, so I’ve been itching to return to check out the course. Well, I’m happy to report that the course sure does live up to the hype!

Winter Park just oozes with charm, thanks to its unique setting and a nice re-design in 2016. What makes the course’s setting so neat is that it is smack dab in the middle of town! The course works its way between city blocks, a cemetery and butts up against some railroad tracks. I even had a couple SunRail commuter trains go through while I playing.

I walked (carrying my golf bag) and ended up crossing the roads six times during my loop around Winter Park. It was a nice walk as there were plenty of colorful flowers this time of year and a rainbow! However, make sure to pay extra attention when crossing the streets during your round.

I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous at times with the occasional audience of commuters waiting at a stop sign or pedestrians walking past! I waited for traffic to clear a couple of times before playing into the greens, out of an abundance of caution. That is the type of confidence I have in my game these days, ha!

While Winter Park (the course) dates back to 1914 its 2016 renovation put the course on the Orlando golf map. From what I’ve read the course was in disrepair until Riley Johns and Keith Rhebb renovated it in 2016.

I’m not exactly sure of everything that Johns and Rhebb did during their work, but they added some brilliant green complexes, fairly dramatic bunkering and seemed to increase that intangible “fun factor” that golf seems to be missing these days!

The greens are small, raised, have false fronts and are surrounded by chipping areas and bunkers. You can try the bump and run or the high lob, depending on what you are comfortable with!

What you’ll find at Winter Park is a short, par-35 course where there are all sorts of options. I played the black tees which are 2,480 yards with three par-3’s, four par-4’s and two par-5’s. The rating is 31.6 and the slope is 96.

Three of the four par-4’s are potentially driveable and the 3rd is a 430 yard par-5 that you’ll hope will be an easy birdie! You can hit drivers or layup and go low or high with the approaches – whatever you want to try. As I alluded to a couple paragraphs ago, most of the fun really starts when you miss a green! Plus, the doglegs will keep you honest.

I won’t say there is a signature hole at Winter Park, but the par-3 2nd and par-3 8th were my favorites. They are both about 145 yards and play alongside each other, just in opposite directions.

The conditions at Winter Park were nice. The turf still had that newer look to it and I’d guess the course plays firmer and faster without the buckets of rain that fell right before my round! There was some standing water but things seemed to drain well. The greens were receptive for me and rolled well. The fairways and tees were full, but the course appears to get a lot of play.

I loved every minute of my round at Winter Park and would encourage you to check the course out for yourself! It is a refreshing walk and an entertaining place to play. You can string a few birdies and pars together too, which always helps.

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