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3.5
72 Reviews (72)
5 Stars
44
4 Stars
15
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
3
1 Stars
7
Conditions
4.4
Value
3.4
Layout
4.3
Friendliness
3.8
Pace
3.4
Amenities
4.1
73.5%
Recommend this course
62 out of 72 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
5.0
1 Reviews (1)
5 Stars
1
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
5.0
Value
4.0
Layout
5.0
Pace
5.0
Amenities
5.0
StaffFriendliness
5.0
100.0%
Recommend this course
1 out of 1 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.2
6 Reviews (6)
5 Stars
3
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
2
Conditions
4.2
Value
3.0
Layout
4.2
Pace
2.5
Amenities
3.3
StaffFriendliness
3.5
50.0%
Recommend this course
3 out of 6 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 7192 yards
Slope 140
Rating 75.0

The 18-hole Southern Dunes Golf & Country Club in Haines City, FL is a public golf course that opened in 1993. Designed by Steve Smyers, Southern Dunes Golf & Country Club measures 7192 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 140 and a 75 USGA rating. The course features 7 sets of tees for different skill levels. Greens and fairways are bermuda grass.

Since 1993, this award-winning facility has captured the hearts of golfers throughout the world. Steve Smyers' dramatic hillside layout, rolling terrain, steep elevation changes and large, fast, undulating greens and expansive fairways flanked by more than 170 bunkers of varying size and shape certainly present a challenge

The high grasses enhance the spectacular design and ornamentals that form the borders for holes and changes of 100 feet make this course very unique.

Enjoy a round of golf at Southern Dunes and be reminded of the great traditional links of Great Britain.

Course Details

Year Built 1993
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Champion Dwarf Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Steve Smyers (1993)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Indoor Practice Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Fivesomes Allowed No
Dress code Proper golf attire is required. Tank tops and cut-offs are not allowed on the course.

Food & Beverage

Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities

Available Activities

Swimming, Billiards

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Florida (2023 #15) (2021 #23)
  • Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2017 #4)
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Reviews

3.5
72 Reviews (72)
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
First Time Playing

Pace of play

If your interested in playing a five hour round then this is the place. Paying over 100.00 and having to wait on every single shot is not my idea of a fun round of golf. When I went in to the pro shop to complain about the pace they just looked at me and did not say a word. It's as if a five hour rounds is the norm for them. I have played courses in the area that are a quarter of the price that control the pace of play. This course has no marshals therefore if there is a group hoping up play then everybody else has to suffer. The course is not worth the aggravation and I will not be going back.

Conditions Good
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

The REGULARS encourage slow play

We played the front 9 in about 2hr 45 min. 3 groups waiting on the par 3's. No marshal. When we went into the pro shop to complain. We were told the 3 groups of threesomes were "REGULARS AND THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULD DO" as he has spoken to them before. We were told if we wanted to play 18 holes quicker we would have to play the front 9 twice. If we wanted to play the same holes twice we would have gone to a cheaper 9 hole course. The course was nice BUT WHEN YOU MISS MANAGE A

GOOD PRODUCT IT BECOMES A BAD PRODUCT. He credited us half our money forcing us to comeback and he knows the REGULARS are coming back so we may have to relive another terrible round or suck it up and let them keep the our money. There lots of courses in the area and this is one to avoid. The bar staff, the beer cart girl and staff at the bag drop were excellent but had to give only one star because in my opinion the pro shop staff are in control of the total golf course. And I couldn' score lower than 1 star on pace of play but it deserves to be lower than 1 star.

Conditions Good
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Cold weather
Used cart

Great day at Southern Dunes

Unseasonably cold today. Played 36 holes and ate lunch in less than 7 hours. The course was extremely challenging yet so enjoyable. The golf staff was professional and the dining staff was efficient. Will be back when in the Orlando area again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 34
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

ALWAYS perfect!

I love this course. The conditions were incredible, the fairways and greens were absolutely PERFECT!!! If I still lived in this area, I would play this course a lot! Keep up the great work!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Why Haven't I played this Course Sooner???

Wow. What an amazing round. Fantastic conditions. The greens were perhaps the best I have ever played in my life. Smooth and fast. Played in under 4 hours with a buddy, and we went out again right away for a free replay from TeeTimes USA booking. Have been talking about playing this course for almost 7 years. Do yourself a favor, do the 30 minute drive from Lake Buena Vista and try this one. Just as good, if not better, than others in area costing twice as much. You will not be disappointed (unless you keeping having to play out of the endless traps!!!).

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Fantastic course in A1 condition

Although I have been staying in a villa in the Southern Dunes complex, this is the first time I have played here. The staff in the pro shop were helpful. Bob who was in charge of the darts was super helpful and the hire clubs were also excellent (new complete set of Cobra F6). The course buggies with course maps were really helpful given my first time here. The carts were also picking up the distance to the actual pin placements rather than just the usual front, middle and back yardages.

This is not the cheapest course in the area but it was definitely in the best condition of all courses I played in my 2 weeks in Florida.

I would definitely play this course again. Being in a villa looking over the 7th green I can assure you that the green keepers work very hard in not only maintaining the course, but every day they moved the pin placements.

Great course layout, superb condition for August, reasonably priced and very helpful staff ( who also loaned me some clubs to use on the range). Cannot fault it, would just live to play it more often !

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 169
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Golf Channel
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

This was my first time playing Southern Dunes, I heard great things about the track and wanted to give it a try. I took advantage of their twilight summer rate, and was it ever worth it. The practice facility was very nice, especially the practice chipping green. We had a 12:20 tee time, got there pretty early and was able to tee off close to an hour early as there were not that many people out there. We were finished in just over three hours, would have been sooner had a three-ball let our two-some play through. The course was in great shape, the greens were pretty firm and not very receptive, but they rolled great. Definitely going to play this course again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 20
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Great track, recent renovations show nicely!

This was the best of the four courses we played this week. A good challenge but fair for all in our mixed 4some. The recent weather woes this year did not show up here. We will play this one again in future trips to the area.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 20
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Excellent

Southern Dunes is a beautiful course. The conditions were excellent. The practice range and short game area is a nice warm up for the round. The carts employ GPS which is nice for someone new to the course. The grass was perfect, cut very tight and smooth. The greens held fairly well considering still new. I really loved this course with the current conditions.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Used cart

A Challenging Florida Gem

My son and I had the opportunity to play this exceptional challenging facility twice over the last week on the 23rd and again on the 27th. It has quickly become and absolute favourite. The value for the money is exceptional. The course is a fantastic challenging layout. We played it from the Blue tees at 6800+ and a 134 slope. The greens were perfect; smooth, quick, and true. The entire course was in phenomenal shape. Pace of play was excellent at 3:45. The practice facility is adequate with a chipping green with sand bunker, a putting green, and a small driving range. Okay for a quick warmup. Staff were exceptionally friendly. This course may seem a bit out of the way but we were staying in the Reunion Championsgate area and it was a mere 20 minute drive. Treat yourself this is one of the absolute best courses you will play in the Orlando area and at an exceptional rate.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Highly recommend, worth the drive from the WDW/Orlando area

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!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

great course at a great price

Me and my daughter played this course on march 9th. Just by driving in i could tell this was gonna be a nice course. We got there a half hour before tee off and they got us out early which was nice. The course was in great shape. Some of the best greens i"ve played. Its a challenging but not crazy hard. For $45 after 2:30 it was a great deal. Afterwards we went for dinner in the restaurant and the food was fantastic at a reasonable price. Overall i give this course a double thumbs up.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 18
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Southern Dunes has recovered

The highlight of our recent trip to Orlando was 18 holes at Southern Dunes. Course is a great layout with fairly generous fairways, variety of approach shots and the best greens we putted on all weekend. Highly recommended.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 72
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played

Wonderful bunkering

Have always loved playing this course because of the wonderful bunkering and layout of the course. Fairways and tees were in great shape. The greens appear to be fairly new so are not super quick but plenty of undulation on the greens. Put your thinking cap on. We were cause in a heavy cloud burst for five holes but it did not matter to us as we couldn't wait to see what bunkering confronted you on the next hole. A real pleasure to play and would highly recommend.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

One of the funnest and challenging courses I have ever played.

This course has always been a top course since its inception. A few months back, the greens were redesigned. This course, right now, is one of the top 25 courses in the State. If you can play this course, then play this course immediately. I have never played greens this perfect.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Greens Renovation

Yes, we lost our greens this past season to a disease called Bermuda Grass Decline. We treated the greens with every fungicide (at the curative rate) for this disease, but it did not slow down the disease. We were left with no choice but to renovate our greens.

On May 2, 2016 we closed the course to renovate our greens and surrounds. We also completely redesigned hole 14 as well as the greens on holes 12 and 16. We re-opened the course September 9, 2016 and the course reviews have been fantastic! The greens are in great condition and course is better than ever! Please visit our website to see some pics of the renovation www.southerndunes.com .

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
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Commented on 11/14/2016

These are the best greens I have played in a decade. They are the best greens in Polk County. They are the best greens in the State. Yes... I'm including Streamsong (both courses) and Eaglebrooke.

If no one wants to play this course, then I am okay with that. Better tee times and cheaper rates.

Played On
Reviews 4
1.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Stay away.... for at least a few months!

This was the first game of a 10 day trip. We chose it based on recommendation from people that played the course the previous year.

We were just in time to get the tail end of the buffet breakfast. Staff was very accommodating, food was excellent value.

On checking in at the pro shop we were asked if anyone told us that some of the greens were under repair but were quite playable. We proceeded to play. We shouldn't have.

Barely any grass on a single green which really ruined what otherwise would have been a nice track.

On the 12th hole while on the green staff turned on the sprinklers!

On the back nine, two of the holes took in excess of 25 minutes each. Called the pro shop to summon a course marshal but no one showed.

When we spoke with the proshop after the game to complain all we got was a "sorry". When asked about the value they told us that the $95 we paid (tax included) was a discounted rate.

We won't be back.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

What happened?

I have always been a very big fan of Southern Dunes, and its been an excellent round for me and a friend while we stayed in the Orlando area. We teed it up there about a week ago, and I am not sure what happened but the greens which used to be amazing, are mostly rolled pressed dirt, with hardly any grass. I was surprised cuz the practice green was also in this condition. I was also surprised that with the course in this condition they were still charging normal prices. I even thought the twilight rate was a little high for this course. I have always been pleased with Southern Dunes, and maybe its a disease, change in personnel or they're in the process of replacing the greens, if so I think the rate should go down some. Golf in the Orlando area has a lot of competition, I really hope I can write something much more positive next year around this time. I really do enjoy the holes and he atmosphere there, but these greens are quite the blemish to what I thought was one of the best places in the area.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Previously Played
Used cart

Very Disappointed

Been staying here for month of February & playing this course for 11 years now. This is the worst I've ever seen it. Fairways and greens are horrible. Southern Dunes has always been a quality plush course & one of my all time favorites-until now. I'd expect these conditions on a $20 course. No way it's worth the price they continue to charge. There are too many other courses in the area to settle for Southern Dunes this year. A serious management change is needed if this normally great course is going to survive.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Greens in poor shape

This course is well tended and designed from tee to green. The greens are impossible to putt. They are way too fast and sloped. Parts of the greens are dying and the paint that is put on the greens makes really fast. Several greens will not hold an approach shot. Several greens are very easy to have your putt roll to the fringe.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
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