Osprey Ridge

Osprey ridge, which was designed by Tom Fazio, opened in 1992. Complete with elevation changes including rolls and ridges, the playing at the Osprey is much like playing at North Carolina’s Sandhills. Easily one of the most unique courses in Florida, which is famous for its flat courses, the Osprey has forgiving fairways, 70 bunkers, and large greens. Nonetheless, it is filled with hazards and curves.

Florida swamps and duck ponds can be found framing many of the holes at the Osprey, which meanders through pine trees, mighty oaks, and cypress trees. Inside the swamps, you can enjoy watching the native ospreys, which are encouraged to nest by the special placement of aquatic grasses. To further help protect the wetlands, Disney erected raised boardwalks, which helped it become designated as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” in June of 2000.

You will surely enjoy the relative seclusion offered by the Osprey, making it impossible to see other players as you move from one hole to the next. Fazio accomplished this with special mounding and by varying the pine forest thickets located on the course. These thickets further help create the effect of walking through lush halls of vegetation. The bunkers and doglegs of the course are both long and winding, yet each hole allows the ball to easily roll onto the green.

Being a semi-resort golf course, the Osprey starts off fairly simply. The further along you get in the course, however, the more difficult it becomes. At holes 3 and 4, you will encounter long par 3s. In fact, hole 3 is 193 yards and has a massive and winding sand trap located to the right that is about the same size as the entire hole. Its elevated tee which faces a tee of equal elevation, is the highest point on any of the Disney golf properties. In addition, it is oblong and contains a false back and side. The left is the easier approach to this hole if you are prepared to handle the slope and grain of the far right pin or the greenside mounding.

At hole 5, which is 222 yards, you will discover a pond along the entire right side. Being of the largest greens, hole 5 has a slippery slope and the pin is located in a tricky area. At the par 5 hole 9, you will have to overcome 510 yards. Its elevated tee and the downward slope of the fairway will give you a free fall feeling and will help you to understand why it is the highest handicapped hole on the course. If you shoot to the right, your ball will likely end up in the water. Aim to the left, and you will hit wood. Nonetheless, the small and guarded green creates a very tight approach.

Once you hit the back nine, you will think things have started to get easier again. As with the first nine, however, it becomes increasingly more difficult. At the par 5 hole 16, you will need to roll the ball in because the green is located high up on a mound. If you pull off a solid drive, you will still be left with about 230 yards to go before you make it to the green. From here, you will have the choice of hitting the ball over the water or playing to the right in order to play it safe. Once you reach hole 17, which is a 200 yard par 3, you will be challenged to hit over the water. Hole 18, on the other hand, is a long and zig-zagging par 4.

The Osprey is a favorite of many fans and, as such, has been the co-host along with Eagle Pines of the Bryan Gumbel/Walt Disney World Celebrity Tournament, which has been benefiting the United Negro College Fund since 1993. The women’s Oldsmobile Scramble national finals, the North Florida PGA Sectional Championship, and the Guess Watches Zinger Stinger Pro-Am, which benefits the American’s Lymphoma Research and Leukemia Society.

If you are looking for Mickey at the Osprey, you will only find him twice. The first place you will spot him is at the cart corral where you can even get a picture Mickey’s golf card. You will also spot Mickey at the practice green, which bears his shape.

The Osprey Ridge plays 7,101 yards with a course/slope rating of 74.4/131 at the back tees. From the silvers, it plays 6,680 yards at 72.3/129, while the golds play 6,103 yards at 69.5/123 and the reds play at 5,402 at 70.5/122.

You can find the Osprey Ridge at Disney’s Bonnet Creek. It is just a 10 minute drive between Magic Kingdom and Pleasure Island and you will receive a complimentary taxi voucher to and from the course if you are a resort guest. If you are not a resort guest, you will need to take Interstate 4 to exit 26-B. Then, follow the signs to the Epcot Center Drive until you reach the third exit, which will be labeled “Disney’s Golf Courses.” You will be able to follow signs from there.

To get more information, call (407)-WDW-GOLF or 407-939-4653 or visit www.golf.disneyworld.com.