Ritz Carlton Golf Club Orlando at Grande Lakes: the course, the PNC Championship and Ritz and JW guests

The Ritz Carlton Golf Club Orlando is Greg Norman's 2003 course at Grande Lakes, shared by The Ritz-Carlton Orlando and the JW Marriott and open to the public. A 2025 guide gave public rates of $299-375 and guest rates of $269-345, with caddies extra. It hosts the PNC Championship, event week December 14-20, 2026, and reopened on November 1, 2026 after regrassing.

This guide covers the course and its tees, what the files say about fees and booking, the PNC Championship week, and the two hotels that share it. Hotel and course figures come from third-party sources dated in each section; the official site blocked automated reading, so confirm prices when you book.

Quick facts

• Course: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes; Greg Norman with Matthew Dusenberry, 2003; par 72.
• Access: public; Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott guests pay less.
• Fees seen: public $299-375, guests $269-345 (2025 guide); caddies extra.
• Booking: hotel site or 407-393-4900; public about 4 months ahead.
• Back tees: 7,122 yards, 73.9/139.
• PNC Championship: event week December 14-20, 2026.
• From downtown Orlando: 22 minutes, 12.8 miles; about 15 minutes to SeaWorld and 20 to Universal or EPCOT (estimates).
• Google rating: 4.6 from 255 reviews.

The course

Norman built the Grande Lakes course on the headwaters of the Everglades: wide and flat, with a lot of water and native areas. Wide holes leave room off the tee; water and the native areas are the main hazards. A caddie program sets it apart from most of its neighbours. The research's verdict: good, not essential, and worth the price if you want caddies and resort polish.

The Gold tees, at 6,708 yards and 72.2/135, are the natural choice for a good amateur; the Blue tees drop the slope to 127. Our Grande Lakes course guide has more.

Ritz Carlton Golf Club Orlando fees and booking

That makes it the top-end price in Orlando among courses anyone can book. Guests save about $30 a round on those 2025 figures. Book on the hotel site or call 407-393-4900. For how it compares with the rest of the city, see Orlando golf rates.

The PNC Championship at Grande Lakes

The PNC Championship pairs major champions with a family member and is played at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club every December.

The course closes to guest play around the event, and both hotels fill. If you want to play rather than watch, book for November or early January. Event details are in Orlando golf events, and the December picture in Orlando golf in December and January.

Ritz-Carlton or JW Marriott?

Both hotels sit on the Grande Lakes estate, share the course, the spa and the pools, and book golf through the resort.

The research calls the Ritz the most polished golf resort in central Orlando and the JW the cheaper door to the same course, usually with lower room rates. Either way, the fees bite: on the JW figures, the resort fee plus self-parking adds about $104 a night before the room rate. Nightly room rates are not in our files. Nothing is walkable off the estate. Compare them in Orlando golf resorts and Orlando resort fees.

Who the Ritz Carlton Golf Club Orlando suits

Couples and spa trips. One partner plays with a caddie while the other uses the shared spa and pools, all without leaving the estate. That is the trip the estate is built for.

A special round on a family trip. SeaWorld is about 15 minutes away and Universal or EPCOT about 20 by the course's estimate, so a dawn tee time leaves the rest of the day for the family. The White tees, at 5,835 yards, suit a teenager.

Golf fans in December. Watching the PNC Championship and playing the course the week before or after makes a good pairing, as long as you book rooms early.

It suits budget buddies trips less. At $299-375 a round for the public plus caddie fees and about $104 a night in JW fees and parking, four rounds and four nights add up fast. Groups on a budget can play the Ritz Carlton Golf Club Orlando once and base at Shingle Creek or a vacation home for the rest; see Orlando buddies golf trip.

A two-night Grande Lakes plan

• Day 1: arrive at MCO and check in at the JW or the Ritz-Carlton; pool and dinner on the estate.
• Day 2: an early tee time with a caddie, lunch on the estate, spa or pool in the afternoon heat.
• Day 3: a second round at Shingle Creek, 12-13 minutes away, before the flight home.

Ask the hotel for guest rates when you book the room; on the 2025 figures, guests paid $30 less per round than the public.

Cheaper golf near Grande Lakes

If $300 a round is too much, the neighbours are close:

• Shingle Creek: 12-13 minutes away, 7,213 yards at 74.3/137, public with dynamic pricing. The research's advice is that it is close by for less. See the Shingle Creek Golf Club guide and the Shingle Creek course guide.
• Grande Vista: short-course golf 10-11 minutes away, from $30.99 on GolfNow for November 5, 2026.
• Hawk's Landing: a short par 70, 15 minutes away, at the World Center Marriott.
• Celebration Golf Club: a Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Jr. daily-fee course, 17 minutes away.
• Falcon's Fire: Rees Jones, 18 minutes away, by Disney's main gate.

When to play

November and early December, before the PNC week, are dry and mild, with NOAA normals of about 78F highs in November. January to April is peak. The PGA Show (January 26-29, 2027) pushes up Grande Lakes room rates along with International Drive. June to September is cheapest, with afternoon thunderstorms on 14-17 days a month, so take a morning tee time. Couples weighing a winter resort trip elsewhere can compare Palm Springs golf resorts.

Plan it on the map

Open the Orlando golf map to see the Ritz Carlton Golf Club Orlando, both Grande Lakes hotels and every course nearby. The $49 plan can build a couples trip around Grande Lakes or fit a round around a convention or park days.