Close to the theme parks but in another world, Grande Lakes Orlando, which includes the Grande Lakes Ritz Carlton Golf Club, is an upscale destination resort. Orlando in the winter and spring is an excellent destination for golf, pool, and sun.
Sharing the Grande Lakes Orlando property is the J.W. Marriott, the Ritz Carlton, and the Grande Lakes Ritz Carlton Golf Club. Guests of either hotel can use either pool, the Golf Club and most of the amenities of either hotel complex.
The J.W. Marriott pool complex at Grande Lakes Orlando is extensive and caters to the more active & family-oriented guest. You can be sure to find a lazy river. In contrast, the pool at the Ritz Carlton at Grande Lakes Orlando is quiet and more genteel.
Ritz Carlton Golf Club
The Grande Lakes Ritz Carlton Golf Club is available to guests of both hotels, the Members Club, and the public. Directly across the lagoon from the J.W. Marriott pool area, the Club provides easy access to play and practice while the family or other non-golfers in your party are at the pool.
Because it’s a resort layout, the 18-hole Greg Norman course at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club comprises wide fairways, limited rough and large greens. The fairways were ideal, and the greens were firm. Winding through Orlando’s woodlands and lagoons, nine holes have water as a hazard.
The Caddie Concierge program at the Grande Lakes Ritz Carlton Golf Club provides caddies to assist the group other than carrying the clubs for $30/player. The weekly golf membership provides seven consecutive days of unlimited golf, cart and practice facility use. Depending on the time of the year the price varies from $350 to $650.
The practice area is spacious with excellent turf. The practice greens were almost identical to the course greens. A mid-size short game area in close to the hotel is convenient for practice sessions.
The golf is fantastic. The Grande Lakes Ritz Carlton Golf Club Orlando hosts the PNC Father/Son Challenge on the Senior PGA Champions Tour. With a choice between the Marriott or the Ritz-Carlton resort hotels, it’s a great destination for families who also need premier golf.
If You Go:
Course Info – Grande Lakes Ritz Carlton Golf Club is a semi-private golf resort with a single eighteen-hole championship golf course.
Location – Twenty minutes west of the Orlando International Airport. Fifteen minutes northeast of the Disney World Resort.
Lodging – J.W. Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels at Grande Lakes.
By Chuck Fox, Owner, Quintessential Golf, Resident since 2012
Quintessential Golf (https://www.quintessentialgolf.com)
A source of golf travel inspiration, Quintessential Golf online magazine spotlights the most spectacular, enduring and scenic courses, resorts and golf adventures. Written from a players point-of-view, articles include magnificent high-resolution course images. Brought to you by Chuck Fox, single-digit golfer, writer and photographer based in Danville, California, he is fulfilling his passion and dream to play, photograph and share the romance and beauty of golf throughout North America.