Crooked Cat at Orange County National

I have played this course several times over the summer of 2023 and it was always in great shape and a value. The greens fee increases by 70% once the fall weather arrived. Understandable. Not much of a value but still a wonderful place to play 18.

The morning was cool and wet but by our tee time dry and breezy

Was informed at the pro shop that due to overseeding it was cart path only on the booking site it clearly stated 90 degree rule

Pro shop said they informed G.N.of this restriction

My fit bit counted 12,000 steps!

it would have been much shorter to walk the course

I was exhausted after this round

In fairness Crooked Cat is a very nice course. We happened to play when they had done some seeding in November and it was cart path only. Course fairways are very forgiving and wide but near green traps and undulations make it challenging. Staff was very nice and overall experience very good.

Always a nice course to play when we come down to Florida. Good conditions, greens were great, practice facility is first rate. If you’re not teeing off before noon, you might not get the round in! We had a 1230 tee off time and were stuck behind a foursome that was playing inappropriate tee blocks. The Marshall came by once, however, did not rectify the issue and we finished 18 just before sunset, brutal.

Played around 11am with another two-some. Played in about 3.30 as we were able to pass a foursome in front of us. Course in great condition, staff always nice.

Teed off at 1:12 and made it through 9 holes in 2.5 hrs as we waited on every tee box and fairway. Surprising for a Monday afternoon but was impacted by the over seeding on the Panther Lakes course at the site. We were given the opportunity to replay front 9 and by the second hole we were back to standing around and waiting and decided to call it a day.

When I checked in at the pro shop was told that someone had already come in and claimed my prepaid tee time but it was sorted out fairly quickly but somewhat unnerving when there was question about being able to play.

I liked the course and would live to play all 18. Drove almost 3 hrs to play the course in a meet up with one of my friends so it was disappointing to not get the full round in but would play there again.

Would not play again in the afternoon there as the tee sheet is too packed and it limits the expereince for everyone on the course when it is that slow on a weekday.

I always love playing Crooked Cat. Course in very good conditions and not as expensive as many courses in similar category.

I’ve been coming to Kissimmee/Orlando for many years and always make the time to play a round at Orange County National on either Crooked Cat or Panther Lake. The courses are always in top notch shape and the staff is super nervous nice.

This is my 2nd time playing OCN Crooked Cat in the past few weeks. As an Orlando local, we have A TON of quality courses to choose from, so the courses around here have to focus on staff friendliness as well as course conditions, to gain repeat business from us. Unfortunately, OCN is lacking on Staff Friendliness in a MAJOR way, and I will spend my 2-3 rounds per week budget on other courses from now on.

From the start, there was a 1 hour fog delay. (The fog had lifted an hour prior, and the course was clear.) They basically told us to "spend more time at the range, and we will let you know when the delay is lifted"

When asking the check in associate about the benefits of being a golf pass member, we got a response of "No clue. Thanks for being a member tho"

I then ask him to ask a manager about he benefits, and the manager was very short responding and wouldn't even make eye contact. The other patrons in line thought the same thing. Moving on though.

When asking about range balls, since we had two hours before our now 1 hour delayed tee time, we were met again with a lack of human element. As golf pass members, we receive 50% off on range balls, but due to the major delay I asked for a small bucket off balls for the two of us (we are both golf pass members) on the house. A bucket of 15 balls on the house for two golf pass members whose tee time was delayed an hour, makes sense. The manager literally walked away from us, still with ZERO eye contact. I pay for a bucket of range balls anyway. Get to the range, and the stupid range ball machine is broken, so not only was there a delay, but the range they told us to "hang out at" had no purpose. Plus I paid for golf balls I didnt even get!

Fast forward to the start.

The starter must have gotten the green light to send groups out via smoke signal or something, because they just grouped random people together, without spacing them out... basically whomever was in line at the time at the 10th tee box. So FROM THE START, we were waiting behind two 4 ball groups! the 1st 9 took almost 3 hours! insane.

When making the turn, I stopped into the restaurant to grab a quick iced tea. Literally stood at the bar for atleast 5 minutes waiting for the server or bartender to notice me. No one said a word. It wasn't busy in there. There was only a group of 4 guys at a table. Why the server or bartender couldn't help us, we have no clue. The twosome we were grouped with had the same issue.

We left without anything. Thankful for the cart girl though. She helped us out.

On the back 9 - the ranger comes by 3 holes in, and tells us "things are clearing now, so let's work to move a bit faster through the back." How could we move any faster? There were literally 2 full groups ahead of us! We were waiting at every single tee box the entire round!

Lack of human element.

The bright spots in this round were;

1. The bag attendants - they were great!

2. The cart attendant - she was very attentive and noticed the bad vibes people were getting from the staff. She was happy to help everyone.

The spots that will prohibit me from returning here;

1. The manager and his lack of service and attention.

2. The 2 restaurant staff and their lack of service and attention.

3. The ranger and his lack of just basic awareness of the situation. The crappy grouping wasn't the fault of the patrons. It was the fault of the starter and the staff. Dont pressure us to play at a faster pace than what you provided.

The course itself is a really fun track to play. Unfortunately, I wont be playing it again, and I will let my golf group buddies know to spend their money elsewhere as well.

The guys when I dropped off my bag were great. The starter Dunie was great. At the end of our round the gentleman from Jersey I think was awesome meet him before at Celebration. He has a great personality for this job, I really enjoy his energy. The biggest problem was the manager, sorry I didn't catch his name. Being rude and dismissive to customers is bad enough, but being rude and dismissive to the other employees was even worse. He is not at all a good representative of OCN. His behavior and attitude is and will be enough for me not to return.

We’ve played other courses during this visit to central Florida, some expensive ($100+) and some less expensive ($40) but hands down Crooked Cat and OCN never fail! It can be a little pricey but for everything you get while you’re on site it’s worth it. Great amenities and perfect greens. Pace of play is excellent. We played in 3:45 with a foursome in front of us. The course ranger was present multiple times and asked how we were doing. Nice to see how sociable they can be in what can get to be a tough job.

We will always play OCN and recommend to anyone who asks.

Ranger creeped on us and followed for 10 straight before he finally comes up to us and says we’re behind 7 minutes even though we were more than an entire hole in front of the group behind us. We also were not 7 minutes behind. We were ahead of pace, drove from hole 9 to 10 without stopping and as soon as it transitioned to 10 it went back 7 minutes. Bad cart programming, worse rangers. Mad it an unfun experience and would not recommend.