Best golf courses near Clermont, FL

Perhaps best known for its membership that includes numerous professional golfers, Isleworth is an exclusive private club in the Orlando area. Tiger Woods lived adjacent to the driving range and spent much of his practice time at Isleworth in the mid-2000s. The course was originally designed by Arnold Palmer in the mid-1980s, but Steve Smyers led a significant redesign in 2004 that lengthened the course and made it more challenging. The course traverses rolling terrain and has a challenging set of green complexes with plenty of movement. Trees line most holes, most notably at the long par-3 second, where overhanging limbs on both sides creates a claustrophobic corridor playing to a long narrow green. The 2014 Hero World Challenge was played at Isleworth, where Jordan Spieth lapped the field just months before his historic 2015 campaign.

Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons is a Tom Fazio design that has previously hosted the LPGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions. It’s a true out-and-back layout, where the front nine plays away from the clubhouse into the forest before turning back toward the resort. Many holes are lined with dense forest that surrounds the property, making you forget you’re just a couple miles from Disney World.

Legends Golf and Country Club has plenty of elevation changes, making it a welcome change from the flat topography of many Florida courses. Located in a housing community just west of Orlando, Legends underwent an extensive $2 million course renovation in 2021. With winter rates under $80, the revamped track offers great value.

Tiger Woods captured his second career PGA Tour title at the Magnolia course in 1996, edging Payne Stewart by one shot. He would add another win at Disney’s signature course in 1999. The Magnolia layout features wide fairways guarded by water, which lurks on 11 of the 18 holes. Though the fairways are generally wide, if you miss them, you may be blocked out by the magnolia trees that line many holes.

Disney’s Palm course was originally designed by Joe Lee in 1971 but was redesigned by the Arnold Palmer Group in 2013 to make the course more challenging. Though the fairways are relatively generous, there’s water in play on nine of the 18 holes. The course finishes strong at the 463-yard par-4 18th, where the approach plays over water, which wraps around the right side of the green.

The walking-only Tooth course at Orange County National is made up of exciting par 3s of varying length and a couple of short par 4s. The greens are small and have plenty of slope, making this a fun complement to the two regulation courses at Orange County National.