About 30 minutes west of Orlando, Florida lies Southern Dunes Golf Club. Southern Dunes is a player’s golf club meaning it’s a challenge for the best golfers. Yet, it’s still a fun and fair course for all levels of golfers. Southern Dunes is semi-private and open for outside play as tee times are available.
History of Southern Dunes Golf Course
Southern Dunes Golf Course lies on what was originally prime orange grove land in Central Florida. However, the grove was lost during the freeze of 1989 that killed many of the Central Florida orange groves. In fact, ownership originally planned on naming the course Lost Grove. Interestingly, the property was owned by a local family named the Donley brothers and three investors from Las Vegas. Those famous investors were Dewey Tomas, Doyle Brunson and Jack Binion.
Instead of re-planting oranges, the investors decided to get into the golf course and development business. In 1993, golf course architect Steve Smyers was hired and took on the design. Smyers took what was wide-open grove land and cut deeply into the land.
Southern Dunes Golf Course Today
Undulating fairways were created and vast bunkers were placed strategically throughout the design. The holes were created offering challenging pin positions over the bunkers that challenge top players. Yet, the design allows open safe routes for players of all levels to circumvent the dunes of Southern Dunes. The design was well received and the course opened to much acclaim in the world of golf.
Today, the course still has its bite if you find yourself in one of the vast, high-lipped bunkers peppering the design. Once golfers arrive at the greens, there is still work to be done. Many of the greens have sloping and tiers that can make two-putting challenging if you’re on the wrong tier.
One sign of a good golf course is that it has memorable holes. Southern Dunes is a course with standout holes. For me, the Par-5’s are all great. Number 4 is the first par-5. It welcomes you with a wide fairway. Longer drivers can reach in two but they must navigate a high lipped waste bunker that is about 50 yards deep protecting the approach.
Number nine is the second par-5. It plays 533 yards from the back. Your approach shot must be precise. The course gives you straight and short. Yet, if you take on back pin positions, misses can easily result in bogey or worse due to bunkering and an elevated green that will repel sloppy chips.
Number 12 could be the best of the par 5’s. Off the tee, the fairway looks tight with bunkering right and water left. However, there is actually plenty of room out there. Playing 555 yards, most players will be laying up to a tight landing zone. Water is left and bunkers still right. The green is extremely wide, undulating and not that deep in places.
Number 16 is the last of the Par 5’s. It’s fairly long and straight. Once again, it’s the green complex that makes this hole great. That could actually be said about the entire golf course. Wonderful imagination was used by Smyers around the greens. On most holes, there is typically a side where you don’t want to miss. On the 16th, you don’t want to miss on either side. It’s a hole where you can possibly reach in two or have a short approach and still make bogey or worse.
As a golfer, you can tell ownership makes course conditioning a priority. It’s always in good shape and sometimes in premium shape. On my recent visit, I was talking to one of the staff about conditioning before going out. He made a point to talk me through the recent third party aeration. He explained how they invested extra money to get it done without taking conditioning down for many weeks like a lot of the other courses around Orlando. It showed out on the course as the greens still rolled true.
Saying all of that, the course plays fair. There is water on only a couple holes which is rare in Florida. Most of the homes on the course are pushed back and away from the course in most cases. Southern Dunes could actually be a one ball golf course for many which makes it more fun. The course gives golfers of all levels a way to play smart and avoid trouble. Yet, that only applies if you hit it straight on your approaches. That said, Southern Dunes is a fun play.