Panther Lake is situated at the Orange County National Golf Centre and Lodge at 16301 Phil Ritson Way, Winter Garden, Florida Tel (407) 656 2626.
Having played the sister course Crooked Cat several times previously, on my recent trip to Florida I had decided to make playing this course a must do visit in January. A number of my friends who played this course last Autumn rated it highly. The PGA Tour use the course regularly for the Q School finals.
Having reviewed the web site ocngolf. com we saw advertising for special rates and planned our round for a mid-week 07:30 tee off to get a $50 off “Hot Rate” deal. This reduced the $119 to $69 a real bargain which is quite useful when the £ has slipped against the $.
The course was maintained to a very high standard and beautifully landscaped. The cost for cart hire was included in the green fee and was state of the art with Satellite Navigation giving you yardage readouts to the pin and it also tracked the pace of the round.
At the First tee we were met by the starter and paired with a couple from Georgia who had driven down the day before. The round started with a straightforward par 4 and unusually for this course no water. Water is a feature on 13 holes so it is a good idea to bring a few spare balls!
The second hole a 487 yard par 5 is much more challenging with an approach over water to get to the green. A daunting tee shot over water greets you on the third hole as it does on the fourth.
The next real feature hole is the 7th a 518 yard par 5. Tee off over water again on to a plateaux and then hit round a large water feature unless you have the power and accuracy to play across. Don’t put the ball out to the right on the par 4 ninth or you will be in water again.
Holes 10 to 13 say good-bye to water so the course designer threw in a few extra bunkers to make life interesting particularly around the greens. The 14th is a long dogleg right par 5 with the 15th another par 3 with a tee shot over water to the green.
The 16th is a relatively straight par 4 but the green is very well protected by bunkers, so the aerial route is again required. The 17th is back to another tee off over water par 3. The final hole is a 480-yard Par 5. Avoid the water on the left and you have a good chance of a finishing with a Birdie.
Overall we had a very enjoyable round and can strongly recommend this course. We cant wait to go back next year.
Having played the sister course Crooked Cat several times previously, on my recent trip to Florida I had decided to make playing this course a must do visit in January. A number of my friends who played this course last Autumn rated it highly. The PGA Tour use the course regularly for the Q School finals.
Having reviewed the web site ocngolf. com we saw advertising for special rates and planned our round for a mid-week 07:30 tee off to get a $50 off “Hot Rate” deal. This reduced the $119 to $69 a real bargain which is quite useful when the £ has slipped against the $.
The course was maintained to a very high standard and beautifully landscaped. The cost for cart hire was included in the green fee and was state of the art with Satellite Navigation giving you yardage readouts to the pin and it also tracked the pace of the round.
At the First tee we were met by the starter and paired with a couple from Georgia who had driven down the day before. The round started with a straightforward par 4 and unusually for this course no water. Water is a feature on 13 holes so it is a good idea to bring a few spare balls!
The second hole a 487 yard par 5 is much more challenging with an approach over water to get to the green. A daunting tee shot over water greets you on the third hole as it does on the fourth.
The next real feature hole is the 7th a 518 yard par 5. Tee off over water again on to a plateaux and then hit round a large water feature unless you have the power and accuracy to play across. Don’t put the ball out to the right on the par 4 ninth or you will be in water again.
Holes 10 to 13 say good-bye to water so the course designer threw in a few extra bunkers to make life interesting particularly around the greens. The 14th is a long dogleg right par 5 with the 15th another par 3 with a tee shot over water to the green.
The 16th is a relatively straight par 4 but the green is very well protected by bunkers, so the aerial route is again required. The 17th is back to another tee off over water par 3. The final hole is a 480-yard Par 5. Avoid the water on the left and you have a good chance of a finishing with a Birdie.
Overall we had a very enjoyable round and can strongly recommend this course. We cant wait to go back next year.