On my last trip to Florida I finally managed to sidestep the lure of the theme parks and found time to play a few rounds of golf. Being based just south of Clermont I didn’t want to travel too far so concentrated my search on courses within a fifteen-mile radius.
February, I found out very quickly, was a very popular time to play and getting tee times on the dates I had set aside proved quite difficult. Legends just north of Lake Louisa was booked solid as was Eagle Ridge but after a few telephone calls I found a few local courses that could accommodate us, but for the purpose of this article I am going to concentrate on The Diamond Players Club just two miles east of Clermont.
One of the most fascinating features of this immaculately manicured course is the amazing changes in elevation. The highest point on the golf course is two hundred and sixty feet high and offers picturesque views of the surrounding countryside. The Diamond Players Club is described as Florida’s ‘Only Mountain Course’. Seven out of the eighteen holes feature water. A putting green, chipping green, bunker area and target greens along with qualified PGA golf teaching professionals provide a state-of-the-art practice facility which enables golfers to improve all areas of their game.
What immediately impressed me was the warmth of the welcome. Upon parking the car we were greeted with a smile by a member of the club who unloaded our clubs from the trunk and took them off to the first tee, giving us the opportunity to register and pay for our round. Then after a short briefing on the flag positions for the day a radio call was made to the starter that we were on our way.
On arrival we found our clubs neatly loaded on to the golf cart which also had containers of sand (to help replace divots) and water (to clean your clubs after you had visited the traps!!!) Each hole has five different tee positions and we thought that the lay of the land was very similar to the golf courses in Scotland, which coupled with very sandy soil gave the course a “link style” feel.
Throughout our round we found plentiful water stops as well as a number of strategically placed rest rooms. Food and drink were also available from the stewards who were constantly driving around the course.
At $69.00 this isn’t the cheapest course around, but for a really pleasurable golfing experience we felt it was excellent value for money and will be back again next time we are in Florida.
February, I found out very quickly, was a very popular time to play and getting tee times on the dates I had set aside proved quite difficult. Legends just north of Lake Louisa was booked solid as was Eagle Ridge but after a few telephone calls I found a few local courses that could accommodate us, but for the purpose of this article I am going to concentrate on The Diamond Players Club just two miles east of Clermont.
One of the most fascinating features of this immaculately manicured course is the amazing changes in elevation. The highest point on the golf course is two hundred and sixty feet high and offers picturesque views of the surrounding countryside. The Diamond Players Club is described as Florida’s ‘Only Mountain Course’. Seven out of the eighteen holes feature water. A putting green, chipping green, bunker area and target greens along with qualified PGA golf teaching professionals provide a state-of-the-art practice facility which enables golfers to improve all areas of their game.
What immediately impressed me was the warmth of the welcome. Upon parking the car we were greeted with a smile by a member of the club who unloaded our clubs from the trunk and took them off to the first tee, giving us the opportunity to register and pay for our round. Then after a short briefing on the flag positions for the day a radio call was made to the starter that we were on our way.
On arrival we found our clubs neatly loaded on to the golf cart which also had containers of sand (to help replace divots) and water (to clean your clubs after you had visited the traps!!!) Each hole has five different tee positions and we thought that the lay of the land was very similar to the golf courses in Scotland, which coupled with very sandy soil gave the course a “link style” feel.
Throughout our round we found plentiful water stops as well as a number of strategically placed rest rooms. Food and drink were also available from the stewards who were constantly driving around the course.
At $69.00 this isn’t the cheapest course around, but for a really pleasurable golfing experience we felt it was excellent value for money and will be back again next time we are in Florida.