Southern Dunes Golf & Country Club

As sort of a tradition I play this course once a year during my annual visit to Florida, usually in April/May, just after the busy winter season has ended. Like many courses in Florida it’s located in a gated community and houses are nearby on every hole, which makes the surroundings less than spectacular. The houses aren’t great to look at, but they are convenient to stay in when playing the course (and likely visiting the greater Orlando area). The course itself is actually very nice with wide-open and some heavily undulating fairways and lots of bunkers – really lots of bunkers! Inevitably you will end up in a few but luckily most are very playable (a few are not…) and you can recover from a bad shot. If you can avoid the bunkers it’s not a very difficult course as the Par 3’s are all relatively short/easy and it also includes some short(er) Par 4’s which will help bring in a good score. A-typical for a Floridian golf course there is hardly any water, just on 2 holes (#5 and #12) and it only comes into play on hole #5 (as it’s to the right of the green). Fairways are good quality and grass is ‘resort course length’, meaning quite often your ball will be on top of the grass (no tight lies) and therefore easier to play for most players. Biggest concern over the last years have been the greens which were fast but very poor quality (just dirt/sand which was actually painted green!). That changed in 2016 when all greens were replaced and the quality is now much better – and they are still quite fast. The course is cart-only and carts are equipped with GPS and some tees, but no towels and unfortunately also coolers without ice – this would be a great addition in the Florida heat! Southern Dunes is one of the nicer courses in the Haines City/Davenport area and very playable, definitely recommend to play and worth the drive from the Walt Disney World/Orlando area. Depending on the season and time of the day green fees can be as low as $35 (twilight rate, including cart), which is a real bargain!

The course looks alright and appeared to have some good hilly elevation for a Florida course. The only problem is the people who work in there are liars, cheats, and have no respect for your money. I stayed on the course in an air bnb for vacation and had a Florida friend drive up for a round. We get to the pro shop around 2pm on a Tuesday. The clouds were rolling in and we knew that. Just figured we’d try our luck. They tell us from the get go no rain checks and if we decide to go out there will be no rain checks. Fair enough. We asked them ok, then can we wait it out? They said YES. So we figured we could always wait it out if we get rained on as they said. We race out there and can’t even find hole 1 and instead start on hole 4. Play hole 4 and get to 5 and it starts pouring. We wait it out a good 30-45 min and roll on thru to hole 6/7 and they ride out telling us we have to get off the course as they’re closing. I’m livid! Get back to club house and that rude manager states it’s not worth it to keep the course open for just us as we’re the only ones on the course. So still no rain check. No apologies. Nothing. These clowns should’ve just told us no, course is closed as it’s going to rain. No rain checks, fine. But don’t lie to us and be an A about it. If he never told us we could wait it out, we would’ve never paid the $49/person. Stay far far away from this course as long as these clowns work there. These guys will rob you!

I was excited to drive the 90 minutes over from Brevard County to play Southern Dunes this past Saturday. I was back and forth about playing at 10am for $165 or 2pm for $95, but I figured the course was nice enough that 4 hours before sunset would be enough time to get through or at least get close.

I arrived to find a course that was in really great shape. Going between several of the holes involves driving through part of the surrounding neighborhood, which is a pretty cool feature. The fairways were in great shape and the greens were the perfect speed.

This review would have been much higher if not for three issues. The first and smallest issue was range balls not being included in the price. They were actually fairly expensive (I think I paid $15 for 60 balls) and they were pretty mediocre range balls. If you are going to be a high-level course, you either include the balls in the greens fee or invest in higher quality range balls. The driving range was pretty cool though with some unique targets that I saw lit up at night. They also had a toptracer bay area and a restaurant with pretty good food.

My second and bigger issue is standard at a lot of public courses, which was pace of play. We were unable to complete our round and played hole 17 in the dark. This wouldn't have been an issue if there had been any ranger/marshal out there moving groups along (we had 4 groups on 1 hole at one point) and tee times spaced a little farther apart. Like the range balls, this type of issue strikes me as management getting greedy.

These two issues could be forgiven as that is just public golf nowadays. The third and biggest issue cannot. That issue was the noise. Apparently Haines City was having some event nearby, but the music from that event was absolutely deafening to the point that I felt like I was in a nightclub on the 10th and 11th holes. This extremely loud music went during the entire round and ranged from deafening to sounding like someone playing their own speaker loudly from a cart on the next hole. I understand that it involved an outside source that may have been beyond the course's control, but there was no acknowledgment of the issue and apparently this course, which has been a focal point of Haines City for decades, couldn't do anything to at least get the cops to have the volume of the music (which was often unedited and involved very aggressive music) at least somewhat reduced. It was mentioned to me that a similar issue had come up with a preacher on Sundays who yells for multiple hours. I get that this was probably a pretty rare occurrence, but how on Earth could I ever come back to this course and bring my wife or friends or clients and risk the round being absolutely ruined? I'm sure there were plenty of people who traveled from far distances to play this amazing course, and many of them left disappointed and will never return. The short-term lack of acknowledgment or taking action will cost this course a lot of money in the long run.

Overall, Southern Dunes generally delivers on its reputation as a top Florida public course and others who go will likely have a good time. However, the pace of play and crazy surrounding atmosphere I experienced shows a venue with management that could care less about its clients. With so many other high-level options in Central Florida, I will not be taking the chance that such a horrible experience happens again.

Very nice course with some good challenges. Greens were quick and in great shape. Lots of bunkers but if you play strategically you can navigate them well. Good driving range. Pace of play was great. Price was reasonable given the area. Highly recommend.

Very unfriendly staff. Always negative and poor attitude. Booked at one price on their a d charged a different price. Asked for ice for the cart cooler and was refused. Awful experience.

Golf here several times and was made to feel not welcome every time

WE WILL .EVEE BE GOING BACK!

Well, it’s amazing that somebody can be a manager of a golf course and actually be racist to our ethnicity.. worst manager I’ve ever encountered with, he pinned us being me and my family and friends to something that we never did, insinuating lies on us of things we’ve done or said at the course. He completely disrespected our heritage banning all last names of our group for no reason when I asked him to give me a reason he could not, and just mention “your guys.” Living in the real world that is considered racism and it must be dealt with accordingly. I really hope management sees this and does the appropriate steps to remove him from his position. Who’s to say he won’t do it to anybody else.

Played this course a few times in the past but today the whole experience was above and beyond. Course was in impeccable shape. Everything aspect was flawless. What an experience. Special kudos to the grounds crew.

Best of all was Kasey in the restaurant/bar. What a special young woman. Truly genuine, caring and attentive. Thank you so much. 👏🏽

Our group of 8 golfers has played Southern Dunes many times over the past years on an annual golf trip to Orlando area. We all thought the course was in excellent condition for our outing on February 23, 2025. Practice facilities were very good, and the staff was friendly. At bit pricey for a weekend round, but worth it.

I have been playing golf in Florida in the winter for 30 years and have played southern dunes over 20 times. I can't believe the price to play this so called public course. No way is it or any public golf course in Florida worth 190.00 US. Very disappointed. Go private and put us out of our misery. I will certainly miss the course as it is top notch but my salary hasn't gone up 400% in the last 4 years like the rates have at this course and others.

Should have played Grand Cypress!! Had the choice, but I read reviews saying this course was worth it. Don't believe it. Pay the extra hundred and play grand Cypress...Southern Dunes has no marshall to be seen and back was backed up 2 groups every hole.. the starter voiced his political views very belligerently. Just not what I expected from reading reviews. Course was ok....but sanded greens were a little slow....plus the maintenance workers turning on their equipment during our swings was a little unprofessional. Just overall....this is a $75 course at best from what I experienced.

I have played this course several times through the years, and it has always been a favorite of mine in the Orlando area. So, I was very disappointed to play a 5-hour round where we finished in absolute darkness. We teed off at 1:10 pm and waited on the very first hole and on every hole. As we stood on the tee of a couple of par 5's, there were four groups on the hole including us on the tee and a group on the green. I have never run into this before at Southern Dunes, so I assume they have shortened the tee time spacing so that they can jam more golfers on the course and increase their revenue. Totally inconsiderate of the people who come and pay to play there. The problem is all those huge sand traps. Players get in them, and it takes time to walk to the ball, hit, then rake the long walk back to the grass. The traps are great and are a great feature of this course, but no one wants to play a 5-hour round. It would be a big help just to move to 10 minutes between tee times. I hope they will consider it. Oh, I almost forgot, our 1:10 group was the last to finish on 18 (in the dark) at 6:20 pm.

Very cool golf course with an unusual layout for Florida. Giant sand dunes strategically placed to create many challenging shots. Great elevation changes. Plays through a neighborhood…. A little more signage would be helpful. It’s a gated community. Be sure to ask at the guard house directions to the club house ..we had a very tough time finding it because there are literally no signs in the neighborhood when you pull in telling you where to go. We literally had to ask a guy taking his trash out how to get to the clubhouse. Once we finally got there the course was wonderful.

This course doesn’t get enough reviews. It needs to.

I play here about once a month, year round. It continues to be one of the best maintained courses around Central Florida. Just beautiful shape every time. Wonderful facility including Trackman Range, restaurant/bar area, and the course itself. Best bang for the buck for just about the entire year. Every year. If you haven’t played it, do so! If you have played it, you will want to go back. Just don’t think it’ll be easy. Tough to score on but beautiful conditions. Do it!

Nice course, no towels, no drinkable water on the course, toilets smelled like out outhouses

The only down side of Southern Dunes GC is its geographic location. It's located roughly 9 miles east of I-4 on Route 27 south of Orlando. Unfortunately, the traffic on I-4 is horrendous & nearly as bad on that portion of Rte 27. That said, Southern Dunes is a wonderful course. I've played most courses in Central Florida over the past 9 years & I've found none better. The layout is challenging and the course is immaculate including the 150+ bunkers. Be prepared to use every club in your bag. After golf you must visit the club's restaurant for a nice meal. Pre-golf warmup facilities are excellent too. The course is pricey but definitely worth it. Beginners maybe skip this one.

Wow, being from the Philly area I felt right at home. This is totally not your typical Florida course. There are many elevation changes, the likes of which I haven’t seen in Florida before. This was easily the best of the courses I played around Orlando and was also a good bit cheaper as well. This probably moved into my top 10 anywhere and it’s definitely my favorite that I’ve played around Orlando.

Top notch experience from conditions to staff. The layout is unlike anything I have played in Florida and is totally worth the trip if you are in the Orlando area. I would certainly play again.

The course conditions at Southern Dunes are amazing. Grasses were cut, greens were in great condition, and the many, many bunkers were raked and clean. The course is definitely challenging, in part to the bunkers but also the pin placement - all seemed to be in tough locations guarded by bunkers or near an edge. It was a fun challenge if you can stay out of the sand.

I would give Southern Dunes a 5 star rating, but the we had a number of negative interactions with the staff that would make me reconsider recommending it to others. The restaurant was very slow and rude - it took our first group 20 minutes to get hot dogs, and when they finally got them they were chewed out by the starter for taking too long, even though no other groups were held up. Our second group was also chewed out by the starter for slow pace of play (my group was behind them and finished in under 5 hours). Even when we called ahead for food on hole 8, the bartender was rude about splitting the bill and getting us drinks. Fortunately the beverage cart was coming around regularly and she was great.

I would play here again because the course was in such great shape, but would avoid the restaurant. If I'm paying $12 for a hot dog at a course that cost $130 I don't need to get yelled at too.

Played 10/11, 13, & 16, 2022. Lots of large bunkers, hence the “Dunes.” name. Enjoyed the Gold tees much more than Whites. Earlier rounds played in less than 3 1/2 hours, but weekend round took more than four. Greens very fast, especially for the many contours on them. Expect some three puts, maybe four! Only minor complaint is that the flagsticks don’t seem to match up well with the cup receptacle: flagstick not seating well and not standing straight in the holes.

Course is very difficult because of the many bunkers (large) and speedy contoured greens. Price is right though.

Southern Dunes is a quality course, and one of the best in the area west of Orlando. Tees are excellent and greens are well presented, if a bit slower than they look, unless you’re the wrong side of the flag. Speed of play was lethargic at best, and would be improved if they had a course Marshall or two.

There are, I understand, 180 or more sand traps - if only they had enough rakes! They surely don’t cost a lot. They are sadly lacking, resulting in many, many unraked areas with footprints galore.