Featured Golf Course

The Winter Park Golf Course is located in the City of Winter Park in Orange County. The city's golfing heritage dates back to 1900 when its first course, located south of the existing course and adjacent to Rollins College, was designed by John Dunn of Scotland. Dunn's golf course was closed in less than ten years due to the growth of the town and college.

In 1914, Harley A. Ward and Dow George were commissioned to lay out a 9-hole course on 25 acres at the north end of town. That same year the Winter Park Country Club was formed. One of the club's first activities was to build a clubhouse, which is still in use today. In that same year the newly formed club contracted with Dow George to build an additional 18-hole golf course which would wrap around the 9-hole "short" course.

Both the 18-hole and 9-hole golf courses shared the first hole. Golfers would then go to a different second hole, depending on which layout they were playing. In 1917, the opening hole was listed as a 246 yard par 4 and described as a “straight drive over level stretch of fair green and the hole is pretty easy.”

Complaints of cattle wandering on the fairways prompted the city to install a gate and fencing around the course. The club eventually turned its links into a green pasture for sheep and goats in order to help solve the shortage of meat supply during World War I. This also reduced the club’s need to frequently mow the fairways.

In 1926, with the opening of the Aloma Country Club and Golf Course, across Lake Osceola, the Winter Park Country Club golf courses were closed. When the Aloma facility went out of business ten years later, the Winter Park Country Club re-organized at their old site. They combined holes from the 18-hole and 9-hole golf courses to produce a new 9-hole layout. The golf course and clubhouse were rehabilitated, and the course was reopened in 1937.

The Winter Park golf course became the first golf course in Florida to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, along with its clubhouse.

On September 16, 2014, The Florida Department of State and former Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced the launch of the Florida Historic Golf Trail program at the Winter Park Golf Course. Along with Secretary Detzner, former State Historic Preservation Officer Robert F. Bendus, former Winter Park Mayor Kenneth Bradley, and LPGA player Michelle McGann, were among those who addressed the media at a press conference which also heralded Winter Park’s Centennial Celebration. Additionally, The Golf Channel’s Morning Drive Show was on location at the Winter Park Golf and Country Club to feature the centennial anniversary announcement, and interview with Secretary Detzner about the Florida Historic Golf Trail.

That same year the City of Winter Park appointed a task force to look into a renovation of the golf course. The City hired golf architects Riley Johns and Keith Rhebb, who introduced new fairways, roughs, greens and playing strategies. The new design enhanced the charm and aesthetic appeal of the course, while preserving its dual-purpose as community park and golf course. opening in 2016, the 40-acre course has become the model for public municipal golf courses.

Original Layout of the 18 and 9 Hole Golf Courses

Winter Park "Summer" Golf Club - 1916

First Tee for Both the 18 and 9 Hole Golf Courses

Winter Park Country Club c1916

Winter Park Country Club Starter House c1916

Sheep on Winter Park Golf Course

Former Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner Announcing the Florida Historic Golf Trail Program

Golf Channel Anchor Damon Hack Interviewing Former Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner

3rd Fairway Under Construction at at Winter Park Golf Course

3rd Green Under Construction at Winter Park Golf Course

Golf Architects Riley Johns and Keith Rhebb on Opening Day