Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge: Central Florida’s Premier Golf Experience

Orange County National (OCN) has quickly become Central Florida’s Premier Golf Experience. The resort’s two 18-hole courses are rated among the Top-50 Conditioned Courses in North America by Golf Digest, and the facility contains the Best Practice Range in America, according to The Golfer Magazine. OCN is also home to world-renowned golf instructor Phil Ritson and the Phil Ritson Golf Institute, a 50-room lodge, a 33,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 7,000-square-foot pro shop, a full-service restaurant and bar, and a nine-hole executive-length course.

The Panther Lake course – voted to Golf Magazine’s list of the “Top 10 You Can Play” in the U.S. in March 1998 and more recently awarded 4 ½ Stars by Golf Digest’s “Places to Play” for 2000 – was designed to showcase the native beauty of Florida’s landscape. The 7,295-yard masterpiece is the first course ever to feature 18 signature holes, incorporating rolling hills and 60-foot elevation changes as it winds through natural oak hammocks, pine forests, scenic wetlands and freshwater lakes. In addition to its natural beauty, Panther Lake offers numerous strategic options to give players of all skills a stiff challenge.

Joining Panther Lake is its sister course, Crooked Cat. Awarded 4 ½ Stars in Golf Digest’s “Places to Play” for 2000, the 7,277-yard course has a distinct “links” flavor with its open, flowing design. This course features few trees, wide and terraced fairways, and native redtop heather grass in the rough to give it a Scottish feel. Although slightly different from its sister course, Crooked Cat is just as dangerous and beautiful. With large sloping greens, steep grass and sand bunkers, and 50-foot elevation changes, the course offers a true test to all golfers.

Just minutes from Disney, the Lodge at Orange County National provides golfers with comfortably appointed rooms and the first-class amenities of a private club. All stay-and-play packages include arrival through departure, golf each day with cart, discounted second rounds, unlimited range balls, unlimited walking on the nine-hole executive course, a daily continental breakfast, club storage, personal locker, and personalized bag tag. For more information, call 467/905-2276.