Mickey got all your money?

By Tim McDonald, National Golf Editor

GolfPublisher Syndications

updated 1:57 p.m. ET June 12, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. - Envision a scenario in which you're in Orlando to golf and the kids are running amok at Disney World spending money on everything Disney throws at them while the wife is burning up your credit score at the Mall at Millenia. Not hard to imagine, is it?

There's precious little money left over for green fees. The only thing left to do is go cheapo. Don't sweat it: Orlando doesn't just offer high-priced resort and upscale daily-fee golf courses.

You can play golf in Orlando on the relative cheap and still have a challenging and fun time. Here is our guide to some of the better-value courses in the Orlando area.

Must plays for the money
Ridgewood Lakes is an excellent alternative to the higher-priced golf courses of Orlando. Green fees are in the $45 range, though you can play as cheaply as $25.

For the money, this is an excellent bargain. The conditioning and service won't remind you of, say, the Marriott courses, but both are fine. The maintenance crew overseeds the entire course.

The semiprivate course is a Ted McAnlis design that opened in 1994 and has become extremely popular for locals and visitors, hosting nearly 50,000 rounds a year.

It's a fairly open course, with only a few holes on which trees dramatically affect your play - No. 7 comes to mind, with its big oaks both side of the fairway.

There is a good practice area, with a driving range, large bunker and chipping area and a practice putting green.

The greens fees at Southern Dunes vary greatly according to the season, ranging from $55 to $115. For that, you get to play golf in Florida as it is seldom played here.

The course is a work of art by designer Steve Smyers, and it's no surprise his primary influences were the legendary golf architects of the 1920s and '30s, those who emphasized risk/reward strategy, creative shot-making and bold design features.

The most striking design features of Southern Dunes are its bunkers, all 180 of them. They immediately catch your eye. They have red sand and are of every imaginable shape and size, yet never seem to be an overstatement.

If you go Tee times: (888) 848-8941 Click here for Orlando golf package quotes. Golf Publisher Syndications

"We put our bunkers in so that they hit you basically right in the face, where you see them," Smyers said in an interview with Golf Club Atlas. "I've seen a lot of courses built within the last 10 years that probably have more square footage of bunkers - big waste areas, but they are off to the side and don't have the visual or psychological appeal that our bunkers have. We always provide a route around the bunkers."

The course is more than 7,200 yards from the back tees, with more than 100 feet of elevation changes. Southern Dunes sits atop a high, sandy ride that juts across this part of the state, offering what views there are of this part of central Florida.

Eagle Creek Golf Club, set in the east Orlando master-planned community of the same name, is an odd combination of American and British golf architecture that turned out extremely well.

The idea was to combine elements of both styles, and, to that end, the designers put in the wide fairways of America and the bunkering of Europe, among other characteristics.

Lest you be confused by this strange merger, the designers make it easy on you, with wide fairways and generous landing areas and not too much trouble in front of you. The course plays 7,198 yards from the back tees and has a leisurely slope rating of 128.

Related stories from TravelGolf.com Here's your three-day Orlando golf itinerary Podcast: Orlando's more than just resort golf Great old school golf in Howey-In-The-Hills Your guide to golf and travel in Orlando

The owners clearly wanted something that would make this course stand out among the myriad of Orlando golf courses, and so they built five par-5s. The closing hole was converted from a par-4 to a par-5 shortly after the initial work, thus making Eagle Creek the only par-73 in central Florida.

Eagle Creek is a good play for the green fees, which range from $72 to $120. However, twilight rates are $29-55 and the course also offers a multi-day pass program. Service here is top-notch, a step above most courses with similar rates.

Diamondback Golf Club is the place to go if you're having trouble with your driver.

It's a parkland course out in the wide, windy spaces of rural golf-happy Polk County, but designers act like they were tight on space, with narrow tree-lined fairways and tiny hard-to-hit landing areas.

Orlando solid seconds North Shore Golf Club Lake Orlando Golf Club Forest Lake Golf Club Golf Publisher Syndications

"This is a course-management course," said Brian Whitaker, a regular. "It's not a smack-it-as-far-as-you-can-and-go-get-it course."

The Joe Lee design is laid out around natural swampy areas and sandy hills and measures 6,805 yards from the back tees. Lee installed risk/reward doglegs and multi-level greens.

This is another good bargain, with greens fees of $37-62 weekdays depending on the season and $42-69 weekends, but add on an $18 cart fee. There is a price break for 36 holes, and guests of members get better rates.

Eagle Dunes is in Sorrento and opened in 2003 from a Mike Dasher design. For greens fees of $50 weekends and $40 weekdays, including cart, you get a 7,024-yard layout with walkable routing and broad fairways.

Southern comforts Charleston weds small-town charm with big-city luxury

"Tee to green, the course is a joy to play, keeping the golfer entertained and off balance, especially when the wind is up," Derek Duncan wrote in a TravelGolf.com review of the course. "For sportiness, it's difficult to beat. Orlando is rife with pricey immaculately serviced courses, and Eagle Dunes fits splendidly into a growing counterculture, one of a handful of courses surrounding Orlando that stress affordability, walker accessibility and no-frills naturalistic golf."

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.

MORE FROM GOLF TRAVEL

Golf Travel Section Front

PGA Tour-host courses for the traveling golfer Tee it up at these top casino golf courses Top 10 golf cities in America Making up for lousy Christmas gifts Now’s the time to hit the links in Sin City Best value golf in uncertain times Tee up and land the big one in British Columbia A St. Andrews golf vacation on three budgets Tee up for bachelor parties and golf Lowcountry golf comes to life near Myrtle Beach Golf Travel Section Front   Add Golf Travel headlines to your news reader: