Eagle Creek Golf Club

In the spring of 2004, Lakeland-based golf course Ron Garl and British designer Howard Swan delivered the Orlando area a links flavored layout replete with stacked sod bunkers, expansive green surrounds and large, square tee boxes. In that sense, Eagle Creek is Garl and Swan’s answer to Greg Norman’s International Course at nearby ChampionsGate. Original nuances abound throughout the layout, however, including a formidable set of five par 5s. The 535-yard par-5 18th may be the best of the lot, as it requires a knee-knocking approach over water to a green set in front of the clubhouse. In true Garl fashion, Eagle Creek presents a cutting-edge turf prescription with its ground breaking Mini Verde strand of ultra dwarf Bermuda.