Our first choice over the many years we’ve been coming to Orlando for a relaxing golf getaway is Grand Cypress Golf Club. The choice of staying at the roomy Villas of Grand Cypress at the golf course or the iconic 1500-acre Hyatt Regency Resort with a private lake nearby is a most difficult one. But it’s the 45 holes of magnificent Jack Nicklaus Signature golf that keeps us coming back. The 27 hole North/South/East course is the original track replete with what we expect in Florida – white sand, lots of water, magnificent trees (cypress and palm), lush Bermuda grass fairways and firm greens. The New Course is a tribute to the famed Old Course at St. Andrews and a perfect complement.
We played the original course – the North/South combination. Fairways have sharp ledges, plateaued greens, many large bunkers, mounded rough, and abundant water. The East nine is more wooded but generous fairways and fewer bunkers. Other than the comfortable Grand Cypress Villas, there are no housing structures.
Grand Cypress Golf Club – North Course
A simple short Par4 starts the round. Hole #1 shows well-placed bunkers, menacing bunch grass, and typical green-side mounding. The seventh is a tight Par4 with water on the left and ample bunkering on the right requiring a precision tee shot. The ninth holes of the North and South courses share a green.
Grand Cypress Golf Club – South Course
The second hole is a good risk/reward Par5 with water along the right side. But with water in front of the green, getting home in two is difficult. It needs a simple wedge approach. A small steeply plateaued green requires precision on the Par5 Hole #6. The South course closes with a strong dogleg right Par4 with a large fairway bunker and an extended green-side bunker with water on the right. North/South combines many memorable and challenging holes that stand the test of time.
