Best deal in central Florida if you are willing to drive and hour from Disney area. Tight, lots of water, but beautiful. Course much improved in last 3 years. It is literally on an island in the middle of a huge lake. You will see 8-10 foot gators unless it is very cold.
Classic Florida course with nice greens, and an easy drive with last 20 miles through old Florida and horse breeding country. For couples, golf in the morning and the drive 10 minutes over to Mt. Dora. Classy small town with lots of art shops, great little places too eat, and on the weekends the biggest TRUE flea market around at Renninger's. Perfect day...Flea Market in the morning, golf afternoon and dinner in downtown Mt. Dora at night. enjoy!

Customer Service

Very good. minimal staff, nice starter, cold beverages, good pace of play.

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anything with lots of water and gators!

Course has really been upgraded in the last few years with new owners...It is one of the best midwinter bargains in the Orlando area. It is about a 50 minute drive from Disney area right to the parking lot. Beautiful drive through horse country. Also, the town of Mt. Dora across the lake is a great place to shop and eat. Could be a fun full day adventure to include Mt.Dora and golf...or send the family over to Mt. Dora to shop and you golf!
You will see gators here, and a few big ones!
Very scenic views as you are surrounded by water of Lake Dora.

Well worth the drive for the course and the price.

Customer Service

Very good.

It is a beautiful, natural setting with water on nearly every hole. The water isn't just for show, either. It is nearly always in play. But be accurate and smart and your ball may just make it to the next tee.

It's a tough place to find and a long drive to get to. We've been coming there for four years and still have trouble finding the course. But it's obviously worth the trip because it is one of the most anticipated venues by all our players, with much teasing, trepidation, and serious stockpiling of golf balls. There are some signs that not enough people are playing the course. Hopefully, the course will make it. It's a unique place.

I've played Deer Island several times and bring numerous others to play it as part of an annual tour of several Florida golf courses that is now in its 10th year. Deer Island is a difficult course. Evidence is the scoring of those in our group that is consistently and substantially higher on Deer Island than on ANY other course we play, a list of courses that include: Diamondback, Ridgewood Lakes and Grenelefe (Haines City), Grand Cypress (Orlando), Golden Ocala, and Huntington Hills and Eaglebrooke (Lakeland), just to name a few. Nowhere are our scores as consistently as high as they are at Deer Island, playing from the same 6,000-6,500-yard tees.

Customer Service

The people at the course are proud of their course and they work hard to make your stay memorable.

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The clubhouse dining room wasn't too impressive and the service there wasn't either.

If course management is your strong suit then you'll score well and enjoy your round. If you can't manage your placement of shots, then enjoy the wildlife.

Too much water? Would be nice to have a hole or two where water didn't come into play.

Water, water everywhere. If you are accurate and have good course management, this is the course for you. Deer Island is a beautiful course on an island in the middle of a large lake. The wildlife (gators, eagles, snakes, etc.)enhance your golfing experience. I played there earlier this year and found the course in reasonably good shape. To stay in the fairways, you have to hit dead middle or the ball will roll into the water. If you are short off the tee (or long), you'll be in the water on most par 4s and 5s (course management?). I enjoyed my rounds here and bring friends to the course to play when they are in town. Just bring a lot of golf balls with you.

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Nice club house. Beautiful (if not sparse) homes around the course.

Good layout, requires accuracy

Poor maintenance

If you like water and wind, this is the place for you. Water on every hole. This is a decent golf course, but it has struggled with money. The last time I played it, the conditions had deteriorated.