Orlando

Orlando is the rare golf destination embedded inside the largest tourism economy in the country. Sixty million tourists visit Central Florida every year and the overwhelming majority never pick up a club. They come for the parks, the convention centers, the attractions along International Drive. The golf operates in the margins of all that, which is what makes it interesting. While the rest of the world queues for roller coasters, Orlando quietly runs roughly 80 courses within a 45-minute radius, several designed by the most significant figures in the game.

Arnold Palmer refined Bay Hill over five decades and lived on the property until his death in 2016. Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Palmer each contributed a course to Reunion Resort. Greg Norman built the highest-rated course in the state at ChampionsGate. Nicklaus modeled a layout after the Old Course at St Andrews at Grand Cypress. Rees Jones designed at both Waldorf Astoria and Falcon's Fire. Sir Nick Faldo placed his only North American design along Lake Apopka. The designer concentration alone justifies a trip.