Best golf courses near Davenport, FL

Featuring two Greg Norman designed championship courses as well as a lit nine-hole par-3 track, ChampionsGate is the perfect choice for an action-packed Orlando golf experience. The National course—the easier of the two layouts at the resort—plays through 200 acres of woodlands, wetlands and former orange groves. Though water comes into play on a few holes, there are few forced carries, making the course playable for the higher handicap.

Featuring two Greg Norman designed championship courses as well as a lit nine-hole par-3 track, ChampionsGate is the perfect choice for an action-packed Orlando golf experience. The challenging International course features large greens (made even bigger by a recent restoration) and numerous grassy dunes, giving the layout a links feel.

Three stellar golf courses—designed by Nicklaus, Palmer and Watson—can be found at this full-service Orlando-area resort, making it the only destination with three courses designed by these three legends. A manageable drive to the airport makes this an easy trip to plan. The Watson Course utilizes strategic bunkering and hilly terrain as its defense. With hardly any water in play on the course, bunkers line the fairways, which are generally wide.

Southern Dunes grew out of an unfortunate event in 1989, when a 350 acre citrus grove was lost to a severe freeze. Instead of replanting the grove, the group of owners decide to build a golf course on the land. Today, Southern Dunes offers a refreshing design that differs from many typical Florida layouts, where flat fairways are heavily guarded by water. Instead, Southern Dunes plays over rolling terrain with elevation changes of up to 100 feet. Though water is in play on a few holes, tall-lipped bunkers are the primary defense, and many guard the fairways and greens.

Opened in 1996, Celebration Golf Club was a design collaboration between the father-son duo of Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Robert Trent Jones Jr. The course features generous fairways that dogleg around numerous lakes and bunkers on the front nine. On the back side, there are a few more tree-lined holes, though the fairways are still wide. The course is conveniently located just a few minutes from Disney World.

Conveniently located next to Disney World, Waldorf Astoria is a challenging Rees Jones-designed layout. Unlike many resort courses which are forgiving off the tee, Waldorf Astoria’s landing areas are demanding, with water, trees and native brush lining many fairways. Jones incorporated design features from the Golden Age of architecture, notably at par-3 seventh, where the Biarritz green has a significant dip in the middle.

For those willing to drive a bit (Providence Golf Club is about 30 miles southwest of downtown Orlando and 15 miles from Disney World), you'll find great value with winter rates under $100. The course is quite flat but has a lot of design variety, with holes moving in each direction and water coming into play on more than half the holes. Many greens have a fair amount of undulation, emphasizing proper shot placement on approaches.

Disney’s Lake Buena Vista course was used alongside the Palm and Magnolia layouts when Tiger Woods won his second career PGA Tour event there in 1996. A certified Audubon Cooperative Wildlife Sanctuary, Lake Buena Vista presents a scenic test, winding through pine forests, palmettos and lakes. In addition to co-hosting the PGA Tour event, the course hosted the USGA’s 1995 Women’s State Team Championship.