An 18-hole tribute to the Old Course at St. Andrews, complete with double greens, stone bridges, gorse mounds, burns, deep pot bunkers, and a 'Valley of Sin' at the 18th. Originally called the New Course; the resort has since rebranded as Evermore Orlando Resort and the course is now called the Links Course.
"Members researching 'Grand Cypress' may be confused when they can't find it — the resort is now branded Evermore Orlando Resort and this course was renamed the Links Course; still bookable by the public."
In 1988 Jack Nicklaus built Orlando's strangest and most wonderful golf course: an open homage to the Old Course at St. Andrews. The New Course isn't a hole-for-hole copy, but it has seven huge double greens, 150-plus pot bunkers up to 12 feet deep, stone walls and bridges, a winding burn, gorse-style mounding — and a Valley of Sin fronting the 18th, which runs side by side with the 1st exactly like the original. The resort around it has been reborn as Evermore Orlando, and the New Course survived the transformation intact.
Anyone who dreams of St. Andrews but hasn't made the trip — this is the closest thing in the Western Hemisphere. Also shot-shapers who love ground-game golf: bump-and-runs actually work here.
The 1st and 18th, sharing one enormous fairway with the burn and the Valley of Sin, are the point of the whole exercise — you get to putt from 40 yards off the green like it's Fife. The double-green holes mid-round produce gloriously long lag putts you'll never face on a normal Florida course.
Wide-open links golf with almost no trees — beginners can advance the ball all day. The pot bunkers are the trap: one bad step and you're chipping out sideways. Fun, quirky, and rarely intimidating off the tee.
About 75-90 minutes from Wesley Chapel down I-4 — one of the most bookable famous-architect rounds within day-trip range of the Clubhouse, and a completely different style from every Tampa-area course.
Grand Cypress appears in GSPro course libraries (community recreation). And a note for links-curious members: this New Course is a Nicklaus tribute to the Old Course at St Andrews — with the real thing gone from GSPro (the recreations were taken down at the rights holder's request), the tribute IS the St Andrews fix in our bays. Great for members who slice into Florida water all summer.
Resort-public: book tee times through Evermore Orlando Resort's golf site — staying at the resort helps but isn't required. Expect Orlando-resort pricing (roughly $100-250 depending on season and time).
Source: web verified · medium confidence
