I spent a few days in Florida last week playing two rounds at Mountain Lake and one at the Winter Park 9. These are two very different venues, but both are worthy of a visit if you are in the Orlando area.
There are several things that standout at Mountain Lake, width being perhaps the most noticeable and enjoyable. This is a course one can and should play without losing a ball, not just because of wide fairways but also wide open areas on either side of fairways on most holes.
That said it appears angles are important. On quite a few holes there is an advantage and, shall I say, comfort to being in the ideal fairway location.
My favorite feature of Mountain Lake might be the location of those greens that sit atop hills with relatively long, gentle and deceiving rises. These are holes where a golfer will often need to add at least one club and sometimes two depending on hole location. But, one can’t get too aggressive: almost every hole at Mountain Lake has trouble over the green.
As for the greens themselves, they were superbly conditioned, firm and fast with plenty of contour. I’m not sure how exactly how fast the greens were playing, but would observe that if the club wanted to slow them down, they would still present lots of interest.
One other point about the greens: if one prefers, one could approach them from the ground - say, a low running 7 iron - in addition to the option of an attack from the air.
As for the individual holes, Mountain Lake’s Redan is the star. It plays downhill from multiple tees that vary in length from 140 to 190 yards. The amphitheater setting is fantastic. If there is a more fun version of the Redan, I haven’t seen it. One could play it for hours and not get bored.
Mountain Lake has an obvious Seth Raynor feel. The bunkers, both fairway and green side, assure that. But, Mountain Lake has its own unique and extremely pleasant sense about it. If you are invited to play it, by all means make the trip.
I understand architect Gil Hanse will soon be visiting Mountain Lake. Honestly, I didn’t really see anything at Mountain Lake I would change.
Winter Park 9
The nine hole course in Winter Park is, as I said, a very different venue. It is a pretty flat property that sits in the middle of a residential area with a couple churches and a cemetery to boot. What makes the Winter Park 9 worth checking out is the feeling one gets that many communities could and should have a course like it. It plays only about 2,500 yards and all of the interest is greens which were re-done a few years back by Riley Johns and Keith Rhebb, who did a very nice job, IMO.
Apparently, Don Mahaffey was also part of the project. Maybe Don with his expertise can comment on whether, realistically, many communities could have a course like the Winter Park 9. I have no hesitation in saying many communities should have such a course.
Strange as it might seem, playing the Winter Park 9 brought Dooks in Ireland to mind, not because these two course have similar settings, but because they both are a little piece of heaven - pure fun and enjoyment.