Links-Style Golf Courses in Kissimmee

For golfers, hearing about a links-style golf course may incite thoughts of golf's early days, tracing its lineage to Scotland.

What sets links courses apart from Florida or "parkland"-style courses are the playing features, including deep sand traps called "pot bunkers," with their top edges looking rough and grown out or having wooden fronts made of railroad ties. The greens and fairways might have undulations worthy of a rollercoaster track, leaving you with blind shots or twisting putts. Additionally, the playing surfaces are usually firm and fast, and trees give way to dunes and hills.

Here are three golf courses located in Kissimmee that are open to the public and will bring feelings of playing the old courses that gave birth to the sport of golf right to you.

Mystic Dunes Golf Club

Though they say it's the back nine that's reminiscent of a British Isles links course, all 18 holes at Mystic Dunes Golf Club have elements in play that are a far cry from the traditional Florida course.

The undulations on the fairways and greens will amaze you, and it can be difficult to find your ball on a flat lie. There are large waste areas filled with soft sand on all but two holes, and many of the regular sand traps contain vertical railroad ties on their front walls, aptly named "whiskey barrel bunkers." The course boasts five sets of tees, the longest ones playing just over 7,000 yards, and you will find a challenge from just about anywhere on the course.

This course is a must-play whether you're looking for links golf or not.

International Course at ChampionsGate Golf Club

One of Greg Norman's two signature courses located at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, ChampionsGate Golf Club's International Course is the one to play if you're looking for a British-style course. It plays host to numerous tournaments, and while this course is ready for the pros, five sets of tees and wide fairways offer playable conditions for most skill levels.

With Central Florida's famous wetlands as a backdrop, you will find many features on this course that would be more at home in the British Isles. From tee to green, you will find high-sided dunes with swirling grasses, over 160 pot bunkers, and hazards that blend seamlessly into the landscape. The greens themselves, with every size and shape you can find on one course, deserve every bit of recognition for the superb conditions you will find year-round.

Royal St. Cloud Golf Links

Voted the top links course in the area, Royal St. Cloud offers a well-kept course at affordable rates. With 27 holes broken into three sets of nine, each set represents a different style: Scottish, British, and Irish.

Wide, plateaued fairways containing many bunkers lead to smooth and fast greens. Apart from having very few trees, you won't see many houses, and the surrounding natural areas blend well with the course. The layout will have you dodging a "church pew" sand trap on one hole, or trying to clear a creek spanned by a stone bridge with your approach on another.

But what really makes Royal St. Cloud stand out is the overall quality of the course. Any time of year, the fairways will be tight and flawless and the greens will roll quick and true.