Bay Hill?

omoub001 · February 3, 2022

Hey guys,

I'm coming up from South Florida for my son's first trip to Orlando (3 months by the day of travel) in Mid-March. I'm bringing my parents and my inlaws as well but we are staying at an AirBNB near Disney to accommodate the big party. I'm very familiar with Orlando the tourist area golf courses but I would love to try and get on at Bay Hill for me and my old man. Is there any possibility one can get on at Bay Hill without staying at the lodge?

Thanks!

Abh159 · February 7, 2022

On 2/3/2022 at 7:49 AM, omoub001 said:

Hey guys,

I'm coming up from South Florida for my son's first trip to Orlando (3 months by the day of travel) in Mid-March. I'm bringing my parents and my inlaws as well but we are staying at an AirBNB near Disney to accommodate the big party. I'm very familiar with Orlando the tourist area golf courses but I would love to try and get on at Bay Hill for me and my old man. Is there any possibility one can get on at Bay Hill without staying at the lodge?

Thanks!

Pretty positive Bay Hill is considered a private club. If you are a member at a private club, you could try having your pro make a call to see about getting you on. As you mentioned they do allow public play if you are doing a "stay and play package", but to my knowledge they don't just have tee times available to the general public.

The tournament is typically in early March (not sure of exact dates this year) so you may not even have the option to play it depending on how long they close it for non-pro play before and after the event.

FWIW I've played it about a half dozen times and it's a really nice club, but personally I wouldn't consider it a "must play" by any means. There are probably at least 15-20 other courses in Florida I would chose to play over Bay Hill

omoub001 · February 7, 2022

Thanks for the heads up. Not a private club member as I'm a school teacher and well... ya know lol. Bay Hill is the last course I need to scratch off from the Orlando/Attractions area so I figured it would be worth kicking the tires on.

Abh159 · February 7, 2022

28 minutes ago, omoub001 said:

Not a private club member

In that case I think your best option would be to pay for a stay and play, or try to find someone who is a member and will host you. Seeing as how they let the public play I doubt they have an issue with an unaccompanied guest(s).

If all else fails you could try a nicely worded call or email to their Head Pro or DoG. Just don't be upset if their response is "no" or if you don't get a response at all.

KMeloney · February 7, 2022

I played it years ago, and with a decent-size group. A couple of the guys who couldn't stay that last night were hoping to be able to play with those of us who were staying -- but no dice.

Some places are very accommodating, from the bag drop guys to the pro shop. BH was not that place, from the bag drop guys to the pro shop.

jerebear21 · February 8, 2022

Bayhill is a resort with a membership. Like most resorts in Florida right now it is packed. Even their own members are having a hard time getting tee time.

markheardjr · February 8, 2022

You could always go play Grande Lakes at the Ritz Carlton. Its where they play the PNC father son outing. Would be cool to take your Pops there. Maybe watch some of Tiger/Charlie playing it before you go.

TM_HOYER · February 8, 2022

The other option is to take lessons at the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy. You can take lessons in the morning, have lunch, and go play the course in the afternoon. But with the mid-March time frame, the course will not have had time to recover from the tournament. There is a lot of structures built that must be dismantled. If you do stay, guest tee times are limited to mid-morning or afternoon and a forecaddie will be required.

omoub001 · February 9, 2022

Wow thanks for all the responses I appreciate it! I thought about going over the Grande Lakes at the Ritz and it might still be where we play on this trip. Despite having played all the WDW courses multiple times, sometimes as an AP holder it's hard to beat the value of playing Magnolia in the morning.

KingstonGolfer · February 19, 2022

Might be able to if your pro calls them

MattC555 · April 11, 2023

Can someone tell me what the greens fees are for Bay Hill? I can't figure out if it is included in the room price or not. Thanks.

Shagginballs · April 30, 2023

On 2/9/2022 at 1:28 PM, omoub001 said:

Wow thanks for all the responses I appreciate it! I thought about going over the Grande Lakes at the Ritz and it might still be where we play on this trip. Despite having played all the WDW courses multiple times, sometimes as an AP holder it's hard to beat the value of playing Magnolia in the morning.

Look around for charity events. They're always open to whoever wants to sign up. They do a few each year (scrambles etc) and its easy to slide in there with minimal participation as long as you can put a two or foursome together. I do this with some of the nicer private courses around me to get on once in a while and remind myself why I'm not paying 30k to join an above average CC