TRAVEL: The Ultimate Guide to Planning Golf in Disney World

No Title

Recently I took my family on a trip to Disney. I wanted to play golf but I only had one day to do it. I take you from the resort, to the course. From club rentals to my round this video should answer any questions. If not, check out the full review below.

Walt Disney World is the known as the happiest place on earth. Families spend months or even years planning a trip to the house of the mouse. Warm weather 12 months of the year makes it easy for someone to travel there whenever it makes the most sense for them. Besides the parks (Epcot is my personal favorite), Shows, Food and hundreds of activities there is no shortage of things to do. One activity that I have always wanted to do is play golf at a Disney property. But with a full schedule and a family of four’s luggage to bring from Chicago to Orlando, I wondered how I could make time for this bucket list experience. Lucky for me, and any golfer who wants to log a round while on their vacation, Disney has this covered.

Planning Your Round

When my wife and I started planning our trip I made two things known upfront. I needed a Jack Jack cookie Num Num, and I was going to play 18 holes of golf during our trip. Setting aside a day to your round sounds simple and obvious but its important. Everything in Disney fills up fast. You can make reservations for restaurants 180 days in advance and fast passes 60 days before your trip when you are staying on property. Setting aside the exact day you plan on playing early will make it easier to make all your other plans. With that demand known the next step was to pick a course. I went to golfwdw.com to find the course I wanted to play. Disney has four courses to choose from.

Disney’s Palm, Disney’s Magnolia, Disney’s Lake Buena Vista and Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course. Finding a course that meets your skill level and your travel plans is easy if you know what you are looking for. Three of the four courses are 18 holes. The Oak Trail is a 9 hole, walking only course. The Oak Trail is perfect if you are bringing a junior player out to the course or if you have a limited time to play your round. After reading through Disney’s course descriptions, I settled on the Magnolia for this trip. I wanted to play 18 holes and I wanted something challenging. I also wanted to hit out of a Mickey shaped bunker so picking the course with 97 sand traps, the Magnolia fit my needs for this trip. The cost for a round of golf varies depending on the course you chose, number of holes and time of year you are playing. Other factors include if you are staying on property and the time of day you plan on playing. Florida is hot in the summer so those early morning tee times are a little more expensive and harder to get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Esilver© (@esilver) on Mar 28, 2015 at 3:04pm PDT

Date and course picked out the next logical thing to get in order is a Tee time. These can be made in advance on the golfwdw.com website or by calling (407) WDW-GOLF. That is if you have two or more players in your group. If you are playing as a single you cannot make a tee time until three days before you plan on playing. When you are single, you WILL be paired up with another group. If your group is just two or three total players, the chances of getting paired with other golfers is high. It’s important to know that Disney Golf takes pace of play very seriously.

Therefore, you are unlikely to have a single or twosome playing in front of another twosome. Disney will pair the groups together in the interest of keeping pace of play up. You will need to have a credit card ready when you book your tee time. If you decide at the last minute you would like to play, or your schedule clears up, you can go to the resorts concierge for assistance booking your round as well. You will receive an email confirming your scheduled tee time. The dress code is your standard golf course dress code. A collared shirt is required. No denim shorts or pants. The Cast Member will go over this at the time of booking as well.

Getting Your Clubs to the Course (Or Rentals)

Now that you have your date and course planned out now comes the question of logistics. Not for you to get there but for your clubs. You a few options when it comes to getting the equipment you need to play golf to the first tee.

Option 1– Bring your clubs with you on your flight. If you have a good travel bag that will keep your sticks safe while you travel from home, to Orlando this is a classic option. This also depends on your airline. If you’re traveling with an airline that charges you per bag, you might want to think of an alternative. Especially if you are only planning on playing one round.

Option 2– Use Ship Sticks and have your clubs sent directly to the course. Disney has partnered with ShipSticks.com so you can have your precious babies sent to the Course of your choosing at a reduced rate. Per the golfwdw.com website you can have them sent using ground services at a rage as low as $39.99. I would suggest double checking directly with Ship Sticks in advance, so you can make sure you make the proper arrangements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Ship Sticks (@shipsticks) on Jul 31, 2019 at 7:48am PDT

Option 3– Just rent them from Disney. The rental set you get from Disney is top notch. For men you get a set of TaylorMade M3 or M4 clubs (Driver, 3 Wood, 3 Hybrid, 4-PW, AW), a TaylorMade 56-degree Sand wedge and a TaylorMade Spider Tour putter. These clubs are available in right or left hand as well as Regular or Stiff flex. For Ladies they offer a 10 pc Kalea Set (Driver, 3-Wood, 4 & 5 Hybrid, 6-9 iron, PW and SW) and a TaylorMade Spider Tour putter. Youth Clubs are also available. Rental rates are $45 for 18 holes and $25 for 9 holes. What makes this option appealing is that along with getting a full set of clubs you also get a pair of golf shoes, two sleeves of balls (one sleeve for 9 holes) and a bucket of range balls. Check with Disney before you make this decision as the cost of the rentals and the sets themselves could change.

Getting to the Course and Picking Up Equipment

If you are staying on Disney property you have the option of getting free transportation to the course. Confirm this with the resorts concierge but the process is simple. Head to the front entrance of your resort and speak with the resort Valley. Tell them that you are playing golf and provide the name of the course you are going to. If it is a Disney owned course, the valley will call a taxi for you. At this point you will be handed a voucher to hand to the Taxi driver. Fare and tip are included but if you want to give a little something extra to driver, they won’t say no.

Hand the voucher to the driver when they arrive. If you have clubs of your own with you, place them in the trunk or back of the cab. The driver will take you to the clubhouse of the course you are playing. If you are staying off property or this option becomes unavailable, Disney is crawling with Lyft or Uber drivers who can get you to the course at a low out of pocket cost (depending on the type of car selected). Once you arrive at the clubhouse a cast member will confirm you have a tee time before you enter the clubhouse. Afterwards you will head inside the pro shop to complete your check-in and finish paying for your round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by ed_ditusa (Duffs to Darts) (@ed_ditusa) on Jun 19, 2019 at 5:16am PDT

I only had one day set aside to play. With the forecast calling for a lot of rain, I chose to go with renting clubs (Option 3 mentioned above). The cost is almost the same as shipping my clubs down there and I wanted to see how good these rentals where first hand. When I called to book my tee time three days before I planned on playing the Disney cast member (that’s what Disney employees are called) asked me if I was going to need a rental set. When I said yes, the cast member asked if I needed right or left-handed clubs, what type of flex and if I needed the shoes.

When you arrive at the course you head into the pro shop to pay for your round. When you booked the round a credit card was asked for, but this is to hold your tee time and in the event of a no show, a fee would be charged. At check in the Pro Shop staff will confirm your tee time and if you have sent your clubs via Ship Stick or you have a rental set, they will direct you where to go. They handed me a receipt for my round (this is for the starter) and another receipt for the rental set. I was sent to the back side of the pro shop to the club rental station. Here is where you give your club rental receipt to the attendant. I picked up my rental set along with my shoes and range balls. The attendant will go over the set of clubs you are provided, and have you count them before you head out. This way if anything is missing you know before you head out for your round.

Playing Your Round

I mentioned before that pace of play is important when playing at Disney. Along with pairing you up with other players to round out a foursome it is encouraged to choose the appropriate tees. When I played the Magnolia there were five tees to choose from. Red, Gold, White, Blue and Black. I wanted to enjoy the course and not over extend myself. The gentlemen I was paired with felt the same way, so we chose the Gold. It played at about 6027 yards with a course rating of 69.0 and a slope of 121. For us this was the appropriate Tees. Our starter that day let us know that a breakfast ball is encouraged off the first tee if needed but after that, keep it moving. We moved along quickly and never fell behind pace.

How do I know we didn’t fall behind pace? The golf cart told me. Each Cart is equipped with a GPS system, so you know what hole you are on and your distance to each shot. It was cart path only the day I played so GPS didn’t come into play much, but I have a Shot Scope for that. Not only does it keep track of where you are on the course, but it allows Disney management to keep track as well. If you are falling behind pace, the screen on the cart will tell you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by ed_ditusa (Duffs to Darts) (@ed_ditusa) on Jun 14, 2019 at 10:00am PDT

We kept up with the group in front of us with very little waiting. That group was playing a bit slow and they had been warned to pick up the pace. Our cart alerted us that the group in front had been warned so we knew that they would be speeding up a bit. We were never rushed but this does keep people from spending 10 minutes looking for a lost ball. Everything OB is marked Red. Its Florida, there are snakes and alligators so if your ball goes into a marsh or trickles into the edge of the water… LEAVE IT. Take a lateral drop and keep playing. The course itself is in wonderful condition. The Arnold Palmer Golf Management company operates the Disney World golf courses. Every fairway is in pristine condition and the bunkers have just the right amount of sand to make playing a proper sand wedge from a greenside bunker possible. Each hole has a little touch of Disney to make your round as magical as possible.

Post Round Merch

Once you complete your round and return your rental set all that is left hitting up the pro shop for some hard to find merchandise. Disney has souvenirs all over the place. You can’t exit a ride without going through a gift shop. If you want anything Disney golf related, you can only get that by going to a Disney Golf Pro shop. Most of the merchandise you find in the shops are exclusive to Walt Disney World and can’t be found online or in other stores. The pro shop is filled with equipment and accessories that range from clubs, bags, Polos, ball markers, hats and much more. It’s easy to find something for yourself or any golfer who also happens to be a big fan of Disney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by micky mouse. (@mkmicky) on Jun 8, 2013 at 2:09am PDT

Once you have made your purchases in the pro shop and you are ready to head back to your resort just let the staff know. They will arrange another complimentary taxi ride back to your resort if you are staying on property. When it comes to playing golf at Disney, they make every effort to ensure you have a fantastic time.

Scheduling a tee time is as easy as it comes. Getting your clubs to the course or picking up a rental set is just a matter of personal preference. The rental set is top notch and its only outdone by the service of the cast members and the condition of the course. If you want to make time to play a round while on a Disney vacation, just pick a day and make a call. Disney will take care of the rest. After playing the Magnolia I can say that Disney golf is truly the happiest place on turf.