Course Review: Celebration Golf Club – February 17, 2024
I played Celebration Golf Club in Celebration, Florida in Mid-February. Celebration use to be owned by the Disney Corporation and the town of Celebration was a Disney master community.
I find the homes and surrounding area stunning and everything is in exceptional condition.
Disney developed the course in 1996 and was designed by Robert Trent Jones Senior and Junior. The course is nicely laid out and the staff is very welcoming.
In the three times I have played the course, I found the pro shop staff exceptionally nice to work with.
Like Many courses in Florida, Florida residents enjoy discounted greens fees vs. out of state players. One of my guests is a Florida resident. I checked in first to square up the fees and they took my word that one of our foursomes was actually a Florida resident.
When you arrive at the course, everything is well laid out and close to each other. It is a short walk to the pro shop from the bag drop off and to the driving range and to the first tee.
I was excited and anxious because I had not picked up a club in about 7 weeks. I went to the range and found my swing in much shorter time than I expected.
The range consists of island greens at various lengths surrounded by water.
After a good warm up, I went to the first tee and blocked my first tee shot but had a birdie putt. I played better than I had expected with a winter layoff, and I really enjoy the layout. The course has various tee boxes for all abilities.
I found the course to be in great shape and my only complaint is the mess on the 11th green.
My issue was that the maintenance crew did not move over when we were hitting our approach shots.
On the next hole, a member of the crew was mowing the 12th green while we were playing the hole. This stuff should not happen on a course that charges almost $800 a foursome.
Within that $800 is a complimentary lunch with a limited menu that is actually very good.
We enjoyed the lunch, recounted the day and, other than a poorly trained maintenance staff, it was an all-around good experience.
When I return to the greater Orlando area, I will skip this course and play another nearby course in its place in the rotation and likely revisit Celebration the following year.