Back to the early starts today – destination the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes Golf Course.  A little hiccup finding the golf club – Doris our GPS was saying one thing while Google Maps was showing something different and the poor signage just added to our woes.  We worked it out but wasted a few minutes and when you’re cutting it fine at 6.30am a few minutes is a lot!  Managed to hit a few balls on the range and then we met up with our playing buddies for the round – Kevin and Blake.  Kevin was a member at the course and Blake told us they were a couple of hacks – yeah right!  They were both big units and man could they hit the ball although Blake lost a few wayward balls off the tee – that will learn him for impersonating a gorilla : ). They both worked for the US Army in the property management area.  They were nice guys and we enjoyed our round with them.

The course was designed by Greg Norman and built in 2003.

Grande Lakes Orlando has been recognized for its commitment to the environment and is pleased to announce that The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Endorsed by the United States Golf Association, the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses provides information and excellence to help golf courses preserve and enhance wildlife habitat, and protect national resources. The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando is also GEO Certified™, a symbol designating that a golf facility has met a credible standard in the areas of nature, water, energy, supply chain, pollution control and community, and is committed to continually improve.

It was definitely one of the more serene courses we have played.  We saw a bit of wildlife including two baby deer – one was limping though.  Steve reassured me that it’s sore leg probably wasn’t attributed to being hit by a golf ball!