Lake Wales Country Club
About
Lake Wales Country Club boasts a classic Donald Ross design that players of all skill level will enjoy. Built in the 1920s, the golf course has a different look and feel than most modern courses. Rather than exaggerated hazards and dramatic contouring, the layout blends seamlessly into the natural landscape. The routing of each hole was determined by the existing contours. Like many of Ross' designs, the phrase "hard par, easy bogey" holds true here. The layout features small greens with crown centers that are sloped back to front. Rough borders the fairways and the wide-openness of the course means that wind will often be a factor. Lake Wales C.C. is a challenging but straightforward golf course. There are no trick holes but there are several holes that will make you think.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange | 72 | 7072 yards | 73.5 | 134 |
| Blue | 72 | 6510 yards | 71.2 | 130 |
| White | 72 | 6171 yards | 70.3 | 123 |
| White (W) | 72 | 6171 yards | 75.9 | 134 |
| Gold (W) | 72 | 5364 yards | 70.9 | 123 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4990 yards | 69.8 | 121 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange M: 73.4/138 | 361 | 401 | 198 | 467 | 133 | 325 | 368 | 439 | 544 | 3236 | 525 | 460 | 205 | 540 | 460 | 183 | 366 | 363 | 452 | 3554 | 6790 |
| Blue M: 71.5/130 | 358 | 373 | 180 | 463 | 128 | 278 | 362 | 379 | 506 | 3027 | 513 | 420 | 197 | 511 | 418 | 162 | 363 | 357 | 418 | 3359 | 6386 |
| Hybrid M: 69.1/128 | 341 | 356 | 167 | 459 | 128 | 270 | 352 | 367 | 487 | 2927 | 493 | 399 | 190 | 484 | 408 | 162 | 346 | 341 | 409 | 3232 | 6159 |
| White M: 70.4/128 | 341 | 356 | 167 | 459 | 128 | 270 | 352 | 367 | 487 | 2927 | 493 | 399 | 190 | 484 | 408 | 162 | 346 | 341 | 409 | 3232 | 6159 |
| White/Gold M: 67.9/123 | 341 | 356 | 167 | 459 | 128 | 270 | 352 | 367 | 487 | 2927 | 436 | 281 | 143 | 401 | 328 | 145 | 301 | 323 | 353 | 2711 | 5638 |
| Gold M: 65.9/116 | 304 | 317 | 143 | 411 | 120 | 234 | 306 | 260 | 434 | 2529 | 436 | 281 | 143 | 401 | 328 | 145 | 301 | 323 | 353 | 2711 | 5240 |
| Red W: 70.2/123 | 300 | 306 | 132 | 401 | 120 | 228 | 299 | 250 | 426 | 2462 | 426 | 276 | 134 | 395 | 317 | 133 | 292 | 316 | 349 | 2638 | 5100 |
| Green M: 61.8/107 W: 64.9/111 | 256 | 260 | 132 | 366 | 120 | 156 | 233 | 195 | 363 | 2081 | 358 | 243 | 69 | 340 | 273 | 98 | 247 | 209 | 292 | 2129 | 4210 |
| Handicap | 13 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 4 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 10 | 2 | 16 | 6 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, Snacks, GrillAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Banquet FacilitiesAvailable Sports
TennisReviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by melly96 on 04/18/2026
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Photo submitted by HawksFan67 on 04/13/2026
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Photo submitted by u314159445278 on 03/26/2025
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Photo submitted by DavidPR55 on 02/01/2025
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Photo submitted by DavidPR55 on 02/01/2025
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Photo submitted by DavidPR55 on 02/01/2025
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Photo submitted by DavidPR55 on 02/01/2025
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Photo submitted by jorden17 on 06/16/2024
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Photo submitted by jorden17 on 06/16/2024
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Photo submitted by jorden17 on 06/16/2024
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wife and Granddaughter liked the course Photo submitted by firstech2 on 06/11/2024
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Photo submitted by salsamacho on 04/29/2023
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Photo submitted by GLopez007 on 01/18/2022
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Fairway Photo submitted by anmibou on 04/14/2021
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Tee off Photo submitted by anmibou on 04/14/2021
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Fairway Photo submitted by anmibou on 04/14/2021
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Lakes Photo submitted by anmibou on 04/14/2021
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Rain trees AWSOME! Photo submitted by recon68 on 10/05/2014
great but nit with a five ball playing
Great course but they had a 5 ball followed by two two balls and then us a four ballRound ruined by slow play .5 balls should of be allowed and shocked to find a 5 ball on course. Told they we not allowed but no marskal so stillcourse fault. Shame
British golfers
Generous off the tee and no water comes into play .
This makes the course ideal for higher handicap golfers. Not particularly memorable in that many holes appear the same . Not challenging enough for low handicap golfer. The staff are fabulous and could not do enough to help us . Greens are excellent.
Great course coming back
This old Donald Ross gem is definitely on the way back. From the staff to the course, it is quality all the way. Course plays long , with many holes playing up hill. Par 3's are really tough. Just a tremendous course found on Golfnow. It is one of the best in this area, and I suggest you also try the 19th hole and their specials.
A pleasure to play!
With many of the courses in Florida having water on the course or burnt greens....this course was a pleasant surprise! Wide fairways and quicker greens than anticipated made the course enjoyable to play. I'll be back!
Well maintained old course
Felt like you were back in the 60's/70's, but everything worked, well maintained, kept up with. Stay in the fairways, rough is tough.
Great find
Nice old Ross course. Layout is excellent. only complaint was the slowness of the greens. otherwise I highly recommend it.
Old Donald Ross
I have played a few Donald Ross courses and found this course to be very good design and layout. The staff was great, very friendly.Will defiantly be back.
Nice old design
Green s had a lot bare spots . Rolled ok but slow. You need to keep it on the short grass because the ruff was tough.
Old style course
Greens need a lot of work. Not a lot of grass ,lots of bare spots. They rolled ok put slow. I enjoyed it and play it again when the greens get better.
Now public
I'm glad this course is now public and the fairways and greens are well maintained . It's an older course so the fairways are wide enough to allow for some hooking and slicing while still keeping the ball in play.
Well worth the money .
A few long par fours but you can make up strokes on the fives.
Lake Wales is now in great shape and I always get treated great by Bobby and Tim, even though I'm not a member. For anyone that plays a few times a week they do have some real good membership plans. I only play on Sat. or I would join, mabey after retirement.
A Little Piece of Golf History in Florida
When I first booked this tee time I wasn't sure about it. A course built some 90 years ago, afterall, made me wonder if it would be maintained. Am I ever glad I make the trek into Lake Wales! This course, as it turns out, was timeless.
The course was well maintained and difficult. The staff could not have been more welcoming and friendly. And my overall experience was extremely positive. I am already plotting another trip out there just to take on this challenging track once more now that I know a little more about its layout.
The summary is simple; this course was laid out in a different era in golf. This course uses and becomes a part of the landscape; each hole just makes sense as to how to travels through the property. Management has maintained the course is a way that keeps it challenging and keeps golfers honest. Even with a ton of rain lately the course was not flooded. The rough was truly rough and you paid a penalty if you ended up anywhere other than in the fairway. In my book courses such as this should be listed as an historical landmark.
Maintenance staff???
Drove down to play here because I read that it is a Donald Ross course so I wanted to give it a try. It is an old style country club, but looked ok for such a long drive down route 27. The course is maintained, fairways and greens ok. They had just punched the fairways but I have never minded that. The problem is when I went into the edge of the rough on my 2nd hole, it was sitting on top of all the plugs they took out of the fairway. They took all the plugs from punching the fairway and just dumped them all down the edges of the fairway all over the course. So I had to clear me a spot and drop my ball every time I rolled into the rough. Other then that it went good until I got to the back nine. On 10, I could see two men mowing the greens ahead, when I got to the next fairway they were on tractors mowing the green and the area around the green. I had to wait a few minutes but then the guy drove off the green so I hit it up about 10 yards short of the green. When I got up there he got back on the green and finished while I stood to the side for a good 5 minutes before he finished. I get to the next tee, a par 3, and walk to the box and those guys pull up and take out the flag and start mowing that box. So I go sit in the cart to wait and notice the tractors have stopped so I walk back up to the tee to see the tractors both parked right in front of the green and them talking off to the side and taking a water break. I wave my arms at them and they yell just a minute and get back on the tractor and finish. I waited sixteen minutes from the time I got to the tee till I teed off. Then I get to 16 and they is a man on a tractor sitting up by the fairway in a tractor with sand in the back. I tee off and head to my cart and notice him start driving down the middle of the fairway throwing sand over the fairway that was punched. I drive through a cloud of dust and get up to my ball that he has now covered with sand. The course is a nice old course, but the maintenance crew is the worst I have ever seen. I will not be driving back down there to play again.
Good design, well maintained.
This is an enjoyable course to play. It is always in good shape and is well designed.
a real gem a true donald ross.
i was quite surprise when i saw the course for the first, beautiful old style ross gem in central fl.wide open off the tees but challenging, have the move the both ways to be effective, classic old style greens with crown centers and sloped back to front. found the course to be good condition. will definitely be playing here again soon.
Good Old Donald Ross course
Had the pleasure of playing Lake Wales Country Club today with my wife. We teed off at 1:00PM on a hot Saturday afternoon. We finished our round in under 3 hours with no delay. Course was in immaculate condition, the only faults we seen were some of the tee boxes needed attention and the sand traps lacked sand in them, though with all the rain this area has received, you could see the sand was washed out. The course is all in front of you, no trick holes and very playable. Had lunch prior to our tee time and was very good at a affordable charge. Will be back in the future....
Enjoyed the course ,will pay again!
One of the better courses in the area. The fairways are well kept as the ruff. Greens a little slow but have alot of breck as the balls slows.
very nice private course!
This private course is well maintained with really good true greens.We played from the blue tees, around 6400 yds and it was plenty! Will definitely try to play again before they close to the public. Great deal for $25.
A friendly course.
It was an enjoyable experience. Not much challenge on the front nine as most hole were straight forward. Little to no water in play, hard to lose a ball on this course. Really super friendly staff and it was nice to have fresh ice and water on both 9's. Would probably go back again.