On Location: Four Seasons Orlando at Walt Disney World

During PGA Merchandise Show week in Orlando, I spent an afternoon playing golf, enjoying lunch at the clubhouse and taking a brief tour of this luxury resort property.

Opened in August 2014, the Four Seasons Orlando at Walt Disney World has been creating lots of buzz, especially among leisure luxury travelers, golfers and business meeting groups.

While Orlando has more than 115,000 hotel rooms, its upscale, luxury offerings are somewhat limited and the Four Seasons is a welcome addition for those who like a 5-star resort experience on and off the fairways.

GOLF

Originally built in 1992 and designed by Tom Fazio in Disney's portfolio of courses (named Osprey Ridge), the resort's Tranquilo Golf Club was re-designed by Fazio as well.  His enhancements included renovating bunkers, expanding and re-positioning landscaping to enhance visibility and airflow and creating a completely new hole.

I liked the course as Osprey Ridge and like it even better as Tranquilo Golf Club. The golf experience encompasses varying elevation changes, some elevated tees, protected wetlands and numerous Southern live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. Fazio is one of my favorite designers because he has mastered the technique of making courses enjoyable for all skill levels, not just for power hitters and scratch players.

All the greens have been resurfaced with Tiff Eagle Bermuda grass. The new hole is the par three 16th, which measures 163 yards from the back tee. Interestingly, the course concludes with a 217 yard par three fronted by a large bunkers and a pond to the left.

The 6,901-yard course is a par 71 with four sets of tees to accommodate all skill levels.

"I am very proud of the transformation of the Tranquilo Golf Club golf course," says Tom Fazio. "Since the course opened more than 20 years ago, it has been considered among the best courses in the region, and the recent upgrades and improvements to the course will surely solidify that reputation for many years to come."

ACCOMMODATIONS/AMENITIES

Designed in a Spanish Revival architecture style, the hotel has 443 rooms (including 68 suites). The lobby and common areas are luxuriously appointed with beautiful art, flooring and furniture.

The guestrooms feature tasteful soft, elegant colors (beige, teal and orange) with white furnishings. In the evenings, you can view the Magic Kingdom's nightly fireworks from your room.

Guestroom amenities include:

--Twice daily housekeeping service
--Hypoallergenic bedding
--Thick terry bathrobes
--Flat screen television
--Device charging station
--Marble mosaic bathroom with deep soaking tub, a separate oversized glass-walled shower, a separate WC and in-mirror T.V.

Resort amenities include:

--Adult-only pool
--Family pool with lazy river
--Full-service spa
--5-acre Explorer Island family playground with rock climbing wall, two water slides, sand volleyball and more
--3 Har-Tru tennis courts
--On-site Tom Fazio designed 18-hole championship course
--37,450 square feet of meeting space

DINING

For those tired of the same ol' hamburgers and wings at the clubhouse grill, the Four Seasons Orlando responds with Plancha, a Cuban American restaurant located at their golf clubhouse.

On my visit, I dined on empanadas, smoked bacon and black bean soup and marinated chicken followed by Tres Leches cake and a chocolate banana torta. My dining companions raved about their selections: The La Plancha burger with chorizo, maduro and smoked gouda cheese and the classic El Cubano grilled sandwich.

A unique touch is the outdoor smoking lounge area where you can enjoy an "apres golf"
cigar.  Better still, you can purchase a Plancha Cigar, which are hand-rolled and made exclusively for Tranquilo Golf Club. They also offer additional cigars from Davidoff, Padron and Romeo Y Julieta from their humidor.

Other dining options, include:

Capa--A 17th floor rooftop steakhouse bar with an open-kitchen and wood-burning grill.

Ravello--Features modern Italian cuisine, including pizza made in a wood-burning oven.

PB&G--A pool bar and grill with smokehouse grilled favorites like pulled pork sandwiches and smoked brisket burgers.

THINGS TO DO

--It's only minutes away from Disney's theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom).
--Downtown Disney with Cirque du Soleil, House of Blues, Planet Hollywood and an AMC 24-screen theater is a five-minute drive.
--Other golf options within a 10 to 15-minute drive are Grand Cypress Resort, Marriott's Grande Pines, Celebration Golf Club, Falcon's Fire and Disney's other courses.
--Luxury shopping at Mall at Millennia is 15-minute drive away.

LOCATION

Four Seasons Orlando is situated in Golden Oak, Disney's new, private, luxury, residential community of upscale, custom homes. Hotel address: 10100 Dream Tree Boulevard, Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32836.

GET THE SCOOP

For more information, click to Four Seasons Orlando at Walt Disney World or call 407-313-7777.

On Location: PGA Village Has Come To Play

Finishing Hole at the Wannamaker Course

You might want to take another look at PGA Village this fall and winter.

If you think Oprah performed some amazing makeovers, the new management team and grounds crew are equally magical.

Let's face it, PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Florida has not aged gracefully in the past few years. While it certainly was an acceptable place to tee up and stay on a golf getaway, it didn't really boldly stand out among the state's crowded sea of 40 major golf resorts.

It will now.

Six months ago, PGA Village hired veteran golf course superintendent Dick Gray to oversee the grounds and maintenance of the three courses at the resort.

Dick Gray knows turf. During his 25-year career, Gray helped design and build The Florida Club in Stuart, Florida; worked with Pete Dye and P.B. Dye on the construction of Loblolly Pines in Hobe Sound, Florida; and was involved in significant greens and regrassing projects as superintendent at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Florida and Sailfish Point Golf Club in Stuart.

Gray and PGA President Ted Bishop have promised to enhance the courses to unparalleled levels commensurate with the PGA brand. PGA Village serves as the home club for more than 27,000 men and women PGA Professionals.

"Dick Gray is a world-class golf course superintendent," says PGA President Ted Bishop. "His turf grass practices are widely respected throughout the golf course industry..."

Gray has arrived on property with a focused enhancement program and a passion to make the courses at PGA Village some of the best turf playgrounds anywhere.

Guests visiting this winter will see the initial results of his turf revolution at the resort's courses. From new and improved grasses to recently acquired state-of-the-art mowing equipment and a hard-working and dedicated staff, Gray believes he can succeed with the makeover.

"As the PGA, golfers expect us to produce at a high-level and we want these courses to meet and exceed  expectations," says Gray. "There is tremendous commitment to that goal starting with Ted Bishop on down."

Gray says his goal is to have players walk off the courses thinking "Wow, these are some of the best maintained and conditioned courses I've ever played."

GOLF

The way I see it, PGA Village's golf selections are a bit like those at a ski resort, where there are slopes for experts, intermediates and beginners.

Dye Course--To be sure, you'll quickly be exposed on this course if you don't have game. If you can't consistently hit your approach shots to near the exact yardage, you'll be scrambling for bogeys all day. Dye's use of fairways with movement, massive coquina waste bunkers, pine straw roughs, subtle contours on the greens and masterful bunkering is joyful to see and appreciate, but hellish to play if you lack consistency.

Wannamaker Course (formerly named the South Course)--I'm a huge Tom Fazio fan and the Wannamaker exudes Fazio flair with bold, imaginative bunkering, marvelous mounding and large greens with subtle movements that don't look contrived or forced.

Ryder Course (formerly named the North Course)--There are just as many pine trees as palms on this Tom Fazio layout. Generous landing areas and five sets of tees make this the best course to start any stay and play getaway vacation at PGA Village. My suggestion is to start here then progress to the Wannamaker and finish with the Dye.

PGA CENTER FOR GOLF LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE

The facilities and practice areas at this 35-acre complex are exactly what you would expect at a resort that serves as a gathering spot for thousands of  PGA Professionals. The menu includes:

--More than 100 full swing practice stations
--9 bunkers that simulate play from around the world
--Three private teaching pods
--Mobile covered hitting bays to protect against the hot sun and rain
--Pitching and chipping practice areas
--7,000-square-foot USGA putting greens
--Three hole teaching course
--State-of-the-art technology for swing analysis, club fitting and game improvement; TrackMan Shot Performance, LinxTracker/PGA PAR System and other high-tech gadgets
--Golf specific fitness center
--Golf repair and fitting center

Designed so you can work on all phases of the game, the expansive complex is the perfect place to practice for cold climate residents who want to work off the rust caused by inactivity and sporadic play. A daily pass costs $34 from 1/4 to 3/17; $29 from 11/1 to 1/3 and 3/18 to 5/31 and $21 from 6/1 to 10/31. There's also special pricing for spouses, PGA Professionals and juniors.

For those who want a golf school experience, there are  21/2 day, 3 1/2 day and 4 1/2 day schools featuring a 4:1 student-to-teacher ratio.

Some of the things I like about the PGA of America Golf Schools is that the instructors are experienced Class "A" certified professionals with years of teaching experience and each instructor stays with a student for the entire school instead of revolving for each skill education.

The golf fitness facility is exceptional. Packed with a variety of machines, stretch bands, large rubber bands, balls and other apparatus, the PGA Center For Fitness helps develop core strength and increases flexibility as well as addressing other golf specific fitness issues.

PGA MUSEUM OF GOLF

Don't miss visiting this museum, which is brimming with golf history exhibits, vintage photographs, posters, golf clubs and other memorabilia. You can also see golf's four major championship trophies on display.

The PGA of America has a rich and storied history and it's displayed beautifully in this building adjacent to the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance. There's a also a phenomenal library room packed with historical golf books and past issues of the PGA Magazine.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Much like the golf, there's great variety in the accommodations options at PGA Village.

A good selection of on-property villa and townhome properties are available in packages.  The beige stucco villa apartment and townhomes feature kitchens, Wi-Fi, swimming pools and other amenities.

For those who prefer a hotel room, there are several moderately priced options just outside the front gate and very close to the clubhouse and golf courses. I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which has spacious, well-appointed rooms, a comfortable lobby with a fireplace and large flat screen television, beautiful swimming pool and courtyard area and an on-site Sam Snead's Tavern.

Lobby at Hilton Garden Inn

Suite accommodations are available about 1/4 mile away at Homewood Suites, which has one and or two-bedroom suites. Each unit has a full-size refrigerator, two-burner stove and dishwasher. Also included is a complimentary breakfast.

10 Little Things I Like About PGA Village

1. The user-friendly GPS systems on the golf carts.

2. The 6-hole short course with holes ranging from 35 to 60 yards.

3. The Donald Ross 1890s-era workbench at the PGA Museum of Golf.

4. The Sam Snead's Tavern at the on-site Hilton Garden Inn that serves Goose Island brew on draft.

5. The on-site golf club repair and fitting shop at the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance.

6. The Ryder Cup golf bags and other memorabilia displayed in the clubhouse.

7. The 3-hole practice school course at the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance.

8. Fantastic, easily accessible location just off Interstate-95.

9. The quesadillas, turkey club sandwich and potato pancakes at the Champions Grill.

10. Lots of places to shop and dine just a few blocks from the property across I-95. The casual dining offerings include Chipotle, Chilli's and TGIFRidays to name a few.

LOCATION

Situated on Florida's east coast in Port St. Lucie just off Interstate-95 about a two hour drive from Orlando, a one hour drive from Daytona Beach and 45 minutes from West Palm Beach. 

STAY AND PLAY PACKAGES

Several golf travel companies offer packages to PGA Village. The golf travel company that knows the resort better than anyone is Atlanta-based Premier Golf.  They have a unique relationship with the PGA of America and customize a variety of stay and play packages. Call 866-260-4409 for package information.