“That will be $40 each, including the cart”, said the polite young man on the other end of the line. “You want a set of rental clubs, certainly and that will be $20”, he continued to answer my questions, “OK Sir, you are booked to be with us at 0830 tomorrow and we look forward to seeing you then”.
I told my nephew (we will call him A – to protect the innocent) the good news that we were escaping the bosom of the family for a few hours in the morning. I retrieved my new-ish Callaway clubs from the Owner’s closet and got all my golf gear ready.
I’d chosen Mystic Dunes because I had played there before and it was within 5 minutes drive of our house. It is one of far-too-many-to-name Golf Courses in and around Kissimmee/Orlando. I have played about 10 and I don’t have a bad word to say for any of them. They are all value for the money and they are all geared up for the tourist golfer.
We left the house with enough time to give us an hour at the course before we teed off. We arrived, and immediately A’s jaw dropped. “They take your clubs for you?”.
“Of course” I said nonchalantly. We entered the palatial clubhouse and walked over to the Professional’s desk. We were greeted and I requested again the rental clubs.
“Certainly Sir, which clubs would you like”, he said.
“Driver, 3-wood……….” I started but was quickly interrupted by the Pro.
“No Sir, I meant did you want Titleist, Taylormade, Cobra or Nike”. I looked at A and he replied that he wanted Taylormade. We bought a few souvenirs, paid and exited to the locker room.
Boots on, we walked out to the terrace. A’s jaw dropped again. On our buggy was a brand new set of Taylormade clubs. There was more value in his bag than in mine. He turned to me “I’ll be afraid to hit these”.
We wandered over to the practice range to hit our pyramid of Nike practice balls and then off to the first tee via the putting green.
As we arrived at the 1st Tee Chuck greeted us. He told us all about the course and the course rules. A’s jaw dropped once again as Chuck explained the working of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and how it gave us a picture showing every distance to every pin, green, bunker, path, water hazard and the buggies in front. The automatic scoring system was explained and finally how to order lunch to be delivered on the 10th Tee.
We packed the integrated cool box with ice, checked the integrated ball and club washer had enough water and we were ready to go.
We agreed that I would give A one shot a hole as he only plays 3 or 4 times a year. I hit an easy 3 wood down the fairway leaving myself a wedge to the green. A took out the brand new Taylormade driver. Before I could stop him he had hit it over 300 yards down the middle and left himself a short chip on to the green. We discussed his 18 handicap again and took off in our buggy.
A couldn’t believe the views on each hole and the designs and quality of all the greens. We had a great round and enjoyed Alison visiting us every second hole to replenish our stocks of water and nibbles.
We agreed that the course was magnificent, the service excellent and the cost to be excellent value for money. I would recommend Mystic Dunes to golfers of all abilities as somewhere you would be welcomed and where you would enjoy yourself. They will also do their best to match up single golfers with a game.
A still mentions it every time we talk. Oh, did he beat me? Of course not – I know the rules!
Mystic Dunes is in the Wyndham Resort on Old Lake Wilson Road just south of the 192. Enjoy.
Mystic Dunes and most other golf courses in and around Kissimmee have there own website. However, if I know I am going to play and I know the dates, I use www.teebone.com to do my booking for me. It works out roughly cheaper and you get one or two extras thrown in (like free range balls).