Golfing at Disney World

Live to work. Work to live. It is the debate that has been brewing for years and gaining particular strength in the modern, global economy. Corporations around the world are challenging their employees to do everything faster, better and cheaper than the competition to differentiate themselves. This can lead to many long hours at work and, whether you enjoy work or not, there will always be time away for you and your family. This time away should be enjoyed thoroughly regardless of what you do, for example a Disney World vacation.

While you are at Disney World enjoying time with the family you will likely want to carve out some time to do the things you enjoy. Examples of this could be exercise, the casino, dancing and golf. If golf is your idea of fun then you might be surprised to find out that there are many options for your golfing pleasure to be found at Disney. Of course, once you learn how many courses are there you run the risk of spending too much time golfing!

The courses playable at Disney are: Magnolia, Palm, Osprey Ridge, Lake Buena Vista and Oak Trail. These courses range from the most challenging Palm and Magnolia, which host annual PGA Tour tournaments, to the family-friendly-everyone-can-play-and-have-fun course known as Oak Trail, which is a 9 hole course that you can walk.

Continuing with their theme of fun for everyone, Disney has designed these golf courses with enjoyment for everyone in the family in mind. While at the Magic Kingdom you might not get a sexy golf posters shot with Mickey and Minnie but you will get out on the links. The courses are an extension of the park where good service and family enjoyment are paramount. You are allowed to book your tee times up to three months in advance and there is a car service that will take you to the course from your hotel room.

The Oak Trail course was designed to be for people looking to enjoy the day and play some golf without worrying about whether their score matches a PGA Tour professional. This course can be walked easily, which Disney makes easier by allowing you to rent equipment in advance of your round. This course is a great option for the golfer in the family who wants to play a couple of times and bring the family along to keep the "family togetherness" theme going.

The Osprey Ridge and Lake Buena Vista courses provide a good challenge for golfers but they are more forgiving than the two professional courses. On these courses, and others at Disney, there is GPS technology that will allow you to see real-time how far away from the hole you are, a scoreboard and tips to help you as you progress through the holes.

The Magnolia course has perhaps the longest history of the Disney courses. This course has hosted a PGA Tour event every year since 1971 and is home to the Walt Disney World Golf Classic. The course gets its name because of the number of Magnolia trees that line the course (roughly 1,500). When you hit off the first tee at this course, and at the Palm course, you cannot help but think that Tiger Woods is playing somewhere on these professional courses.

The Palm course, in fact, is most often thought of as the most difficult course at Disney. Some of the holes at the Palm are incredibly difficult despite their breathtaking appearance, in particular #18. History has shown that this hole was rated all the way up to fourth in terms of most difficult holes on the PGA Tour. Bring your "A" game to these courses if you want the challenge; you could, of course, play the courses straight up for fun realizing that it is a family vacation and you do not care what your score is!

So should you run right out to the course and starting playing immediately? Well, you might want to exercise caution in how quickly you run out to the course to play even if you cannot wait to. Remember, you are in Disney for a family vacation and there is a good chance that in addition to the 10 hours per day your kids would like to stay at the park, your wife/husband will also want to spend quality time together.

There is so much to do at Walt Disney World and there is a pretty good chance you will come back multiple times as your children grow up. That being said, each trip should be treated as if it were your last there. If you can find the time to play some golf, do take in one of these courses as it will be an enjoyable experience. Just be sure not to do it at the expense of time with the family and remember that when your vacation is over, work starts back up again so enjoy every last minute!