Winter Garden golf courses: Orange County National, Stoneybrook West, Forest Lake and the private clubs of Windermere

Winter Garden golf courses are led by Orange County National, a public 36-hole facility with its own lodge and a very large practice ground. Stoneybrook West adds a modern public 18 in town, and Forest Lake sits just north in Ocoee. Windermere's famous clubs, Isleworth among them, are private. Winter Garden is about 24 minutes from downtown Orlando.

This guide covers what a visitor can book on the west side of Orange County, what the private clubs allow, and how the area fits around Disney. Prices were seen in 2026 and change.

Quick facts

• Bookable courses: Orange County National (Panther Lake, Crooked Cat, The Tooth), Stoneybrook West, Forest Lake.
• Private: Isleworth, Orange Tree; Bay Hill is for members and Lodge guests only.
• Status unclear: Golden Bear Club at Keene's Pointe and Windermere Country Club (both private; not on our map).
• Cheapest round seen: The Tooth, a $15 walking nine.
• Stay at the course: The Lodge at Orange County National, 43 rooms.
• Busy week: PGA Show Demo Day at OCN, January 26, 2027.

Winter Garden golf courses compared

Drive times are free-flow estimates from downtown Orlando and ignore traffic.

Orange County National

Orange County National is the best-known public golf in west Orlando and the main reason to look at Winter Garden golf courses at all. Two 18s share one practice ground, which the club calls the largest in America, plus a lighted 22,000 sq ft putting green, a short-game area and the OCN Academy. Its Google rating is 4.4 from more than 2,100 reviews.

Panther Lake is the more traditional of the two: rolling meadows, native pines, wetlands and lakes, with up to 60 feet of elevation change and large, contoured, raised greens. It has tour tees plus three forward sets. See the Panther Lake course guide.

Crooked Cat is the links-look course: fewer trees, wide landing areas, native heather, mounding and grass bunkers, all exposed to the wind. It hosted LIV Golf Orlando in March 2023, and the club calls its back nine perhaps the best nine on the property. It is wider than Panther Lake, which makes it the friendlier pick for a mixed group, but the wind matters more. See the Crooked Cat course guide.

The Tooth is a nine-hole executive course, walking only, with a lake in play on four holes. It takes under an hour, juniors from age 5 are welcome at a discount, and the Tempo Walk rate was $15 when we checked (season not stated). It is the add-on after 36 holes or before a flight home.

Tee times for all three are on OCN's TeeItUp site, with dynamic rates. Book early for January to April mornings. More detail is in our Orange County National golf guide.

Stoneybrook West

Stoneybrook West is a modern public par 72 in a Winter Garden housing community, 7,101 yards from the Black tees at 74.8/135 and 5,173 from the Reds. It has a driving range, chipping area, putting green and a teaching pro. GolfNow listings in August 2026 showed $49 for a morning 18 with cart and $35 at twilight, tax extra; winter rates were not published. Call the shop at least 24 hours ahead to cancel without penalty.

The research calls it a solid public 18 at fair prices, especially in summer and at twilight. It is about 20 minutes north of the Disney parks via SR-429 (estimate), and pairs well with dinner on Plant Street in downtown Winter Garden.

Forest Lake Golf Club in Ocoee

Forest Lake is a local, owner-run public 18 north of Ocoee: par 72, 7,221 yards from the back and five sets of tees. The owners designed it and still run it. Tee times are on Teesnap, and the club sells memberships and season rates (prices on pages we did not read). It is handy for snowbirds staying in Ocoee, Apopka or Winter Garden.

Close by: MetroWest

MetroWest Golf Club is not in Winter Garden, but it is the closest public course to Universal and International Drive on the west side, about 16 minutes from downtown. It was renovated in 2013-14 (about $1.5 million, greens resurfaced, bunkers reworked) and books on GolfNow and TeeOff. It works as a twilight or arrival-day round.

The private clubs of Windermere

Windermere, between Winter Garden and Disney, is where Orlando's best-known private golf sits. None of these clubs is open to a visitor without a member or a room:

• Isleworth Golf & Country Club: a private golf community on the Butler Chain of Lakes. Member's guest only; no resort or public access.
• Golden Bear Club at Keene's Pointe: listed in our research as a private Jack Nicklaus club, member's guest only, but the club site could not be reached to verify it. Not on our map.
• Windermere Country Club: listed as private, member's guest only, with its status not verified. Not on our map.
• Orange Tree Golf Club: a member club in Dr. Phillips. Outings and events are booked through the club; there is no public daily play.
• Bay Hill: Arnold Palmer's club, open only to members and guests staying at the Lodge. See how to play Bay Hill.

Our private golf clubs in Orlando guide covers every club and the guest routes the research found.

Where to stay

• The Lodge at Orange County National: a plain 43-room lodge inside OCN, 2 minutes from Panther Lake and 3 from Crooked Cat. Stay-and-play examples were $496 per player (March 27, 2026) and $597 per player (April 13-15, 2026); prices swing by date. No resort fee was found. There is nothing to walk to off the golf property.
• SpringHill Suites at Flamingo Crossings: a newer suites hotel at Disney's western edge, about 12 minutes from OCN. It suits families splitting Disney days with west-side golf. Rates were not read.

For other bases, see where to stay in Orlando for golf.

Winter Garden and the parks

Winter Garden is a good compromise base. Its centre is about 31 minutes from Disney Springs and 24 from downtown Orlando; Windermere is about 22 minutes from each. OCN is about 20-25 minutes from the Disney parks via SR-429, so an early tee time and an afternoon at a park is realistic. Real drive times on I-4 and the park roads are often 15-45 minutes longer at peak hours. More options close to the gates are in golf near Disney World.

Off the course, Plant Street in historic downtown Winter Garden has restaurants and breweries on the West Orange Trail, a paved rail trail to Apopka. PopStroke in Hamlin, off SR 429, is a putting-course evening for families, and the Tibet-Butler Preserve near Bay Hill has a boardwalk on Lake Tibet.

When to play

• January to April: peak season. The PGA Show (trade only) runs January 26-29, 2027, with Demo Day at OCN on January 26, when its courses and range are taken over. The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill (March 15-21, 2027) fills Dr. Phillips and Windermere roads and hotels.
• November and December: the driest stretch of the year at Orlando International (about 1.8 inches of rain in November) and shoulder prices.
• June to September: the cheapest golf, with Stoneybrook West's $35 twilight a typical summer price, but afternoon storms most days. Book first tee times.

See Orlando golf events for the full calendar.

Who Winter Garden suits

The west side suits a golf-first group that wants OCN's 36 holes and lodge, a family that wants Disney within half an hour, and a snowbird looking for a season rate at Forest Lake. For more courses further west, continue to Clermont golf courses, or see every bookable course in public golf courses in Orlando.

Plan it on the map

Open the Orlando golf map to see the Winter Garden golf courses, the Windermere private clubs and the drive to the parks. The $49 plan can build a day-by-day trip around OCN's two 18s, with rounds fitted around park days.