The monorail hums past the Magic Kingdom, and most riders take a passing glance at the fairways slipping by just beyond the windows. They should. Long before the first firework lights the night sky over Cinderella Castle, a different kind of magic has been unfolding nearby — on three championship golf courses that have quietly hosted the game’s biggest names for more than half a century.
In total, 63 holes of golf, including Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course (7,505 yards, par 71), which reopened in 2025 after an extensive redesign project, and Disney’s Lake Buena Vista layout, which is currently being renovated in preparation for a reopening in the Fall.
Walt Disney World Golf’s third 18-hole layout – Disney’s Palm Golf Course – was renovated by Arnold Palmer himself in 2013. The King, who died in 2016, lived only a few miles away, and his Arnold Palmer Golf Management Company is in its 15th year of operating all the Disney courses, including a par-36, nine-hole walking layout, Disney’s Oak Trail.
“We’ve had the pleasure and honor of upholding the Disney brand and Palmer brand,’’ said Alex Forsyth, PGA, Director of Sales and Marketing.
According to Forsyth, the Walt Disney World courses play approximately 250,000 rounds annually.
“We’ve been very successful at driving volume here,” Forsyth said. “Certainly, we’ve been fortunate that golf has done very well, growing in popularity, and that Walt Disney World and Orlando, in general, continue to be as popular as ever. But definitely, the redesign elements of each course have helped elevate the stature of each of them.”
Ken Baker’s terrific renovation of the Magnolia Course – an original Joe Lee design that opened on Oct. 1, 1971, the same day as the Magic Kingdom – took its journey to completion mainly because of road construction that interfered with the original 16th green and 17th tee box. The road is scheduled to be complete within the next few months.
“It was sort of a perfect scenario,” Forsyth said. “Magnolia’s renovation had come due. The greens were approximately 20 years old—Bermuda grass greens don’t last much longer than that in optimal playing condition. We were planning to renovate them soon, in any case. So, when Disney announced that it was rerouting the road across 17 tee and 16 green, the time was right to reimagine the remainder of the course at the same time.”
All told, Forsyth said, the renovation removed approximately 35 percent of the sand from the course. Each of the fairway and greenside bunkers was renovated, and some waste areas were created. The irrigation system around each of the greens was upgraded for more precise moisture application.
The green complexes of all the holes were recontoured and designed to match the modern look of the new holes, added Forsyth, meaning the new 14-17 holes are known as “Grumpy’s Gauntlet.”
And a Gauntlet it is – from the 485-yard (tips) par-5 14th hole; 5-yard (tips) par-5 15th; 454-yard (tips) par-4 16th hole; and 235-yard (tips) par-3 17th hole. A three-foot-tall statue of Disney’s Grumpy, elevated on rocks, greets players as they approach the 14th tee box.
But don’t be daunted by the Gauntlet. There are five tee boxes (including hybrid tees) for players of all skill levels to choose from, each mirroring the “player-friendly” focus of each of the WDW courses.
“We haven’t hosted a PGA Tour event since 2012,” Forsyth said. “We didn’t want people to feel as though these golf courses were overly punishing. They are certainly still championship golf courses, no doubt about it. And there is nowhere else in the world where you can experience a championship golf facility along with a touch of Disney hospitality and whimsy.”
Feature Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney World