Champions Gate in Orlando

Champions Gate in Orlando

 

Everyone wants to visit Disney World at least once in their life. The east coast version of the Magic Kingdom in Orlando also includes Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios. Universal Studios – Orlando is close by as well. A very luxurious way to take all this in as well as enjoy great golf would be to stay at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate.

Champions Gate is a spacious golf resort with 36 holes of championship golf as well as a lighted 9-hole, par-three course. The practice facilities are top-notch and include the headquarters for the famed David Leadbetter Golf Academy. Both championship courses were designed by Greg Norman, but are quite different from one another. The International Course is a links-style layout, patterned after courses found in Scotland. This layout was designed and is maintained to give the player the feeling of golf in the British Isles. The Natural golf course on the other hand is more “park golf.” It is spread out over 200 acres of southern woodlands and wetlands. These are both superb layouts and are in excellent shape.

David Leadbetter is a legend in golf instruction, having tutored Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and more recently, Michelle Wie. The Leadbetter Golf Academy offers a state-of-the-art teaching facility with multiple practice areas, including a wedge range. This area has multiple targets for every conceivable wedge distance. We played the par-3 course at night, which was a lot of fun with warm temperatures most of the year.

The Omni Orlando Resort is directly in front and just steps away from all of the golf facilities. This is a luxurious hotel with spacious meeting rooms and common areas. The entry way features marble floors and opens up to the 15-acre pool, spa and golf facilities. Although the hotel is large, it has the feel of a private club and was very enjoyable.

We dined at Trevi’s, located on the pool level. This restaurant features a Mediterranean-style cuisine in an Italian garden setting. The food and service were very good. The Resort features two pool areas with a lazy river running in between. There is a large spa and fitness center as well. All of these facilities are close together and not far from the golf. The rooms were very nice and seemed brand new as the hotel is only three years old. Many rooms look out over the expansive golf facility. The recently completed Villas at Champions Gate offer even more comfort and luxury with marble-clad baths, Roman tubs and views of the pool and golf. For more information, visit www.omnihotels.com.

The Omni Orlando Resort is only 10 minutes away from Disney World and Epcot. While Disney World is always great fun, this time I really enjoyed Epcot. It is more spread out and seems to be less crowded. They have some great new attractions including Test Track, which my son had me do at least four times. At Epcot there are many restaurant options and you might even be able to sample your favorite local Valley wine. There is a tram connecting Epcot and Disney World

with a park-hopper ticket available. The Orange County Convention Center and Sea World are also close, about 20 minutes from the Omni. The Orlando International Airport is about 15 minutes from the property.

 

A Golfer’s Chair

I will bet that many of our Valley Golfers spend a fair amount of time in an office chair. Well, if you are like me after a couple of hours in most chairs in front of the computer, you are probably in need of a massage or maybe a chiropractor before you can get up and play golf. Having had serious back problems, I am always on the lookout for help. Recently I was buying a desk and I asked the salesman what he thought was the best chair for those with stiff backs. He did not hesitate a bit and told me that the Number 19 chair by Allsteel was the best bet. However, he warned me that it might take a while to get one because they are made to order. Well, I managed to get one fairly quick and boy I am glad I did. There is no comparison between the Allsteel chair and what I had been using before. I can spend hours at the computer in this chair and get up and play golf. Chairs like this are more expensive, but well worth it to anyone who has suffered from back ailments.

For more information, visit www.allsteeloffice.com.