Huntington Hills Golf & Country Club – Lakeland, Florida
Huntington Hills Golf & Country Club located in Lakeland, FL is a well-kept secret amongst Lakeland golfers. Located within an hour’s drive from downtown Orlando and less than 45 minutes away from Walt Disney World Resort, North Lakeland is much closer than you think. The golf course at Huntington Hills was designed and built by legendary golf course architect Ron Garl. A native of Lakeland, Garl literally built Huntington Hills in his own backyard. In fact, of the 400 home sites that make up the Huntington Hills community, Ron owns the last lot on the golf course that’s yet to be built upon.
Huntington Hills opened in 1992 featuring a diverse landscape that has matured over the past 25 years. What makes Huntington Hills special? The course elevation, in Florida the majority of golf courses are flat and have to rely on water hazards and bunkers to challenge golfers. With the Huntington Hills design Garl had something hard to come by in Central Florida, natural elevation. In fact, when Garl was overseeing construction he could look out on the horizon from the clubhouse and see lights from Tampa, FL located 40 miles away. In Florida, elevation is the state’s most precious resource and Garl was able to make the most of it when designing the course routing for Huntington Hills.
So, let me guess, I bet by now you’re thinking Huntington Hills sounds like a great place to go play. Well guess what; I haven’t even mentioned that Huntington Hills just reopened after retaining the services of Ron Garl to complete a course renovation that cost well over $1 million. The highlight of the renovation work was the installation of all new TifEagle greens. When it comes to installing new greens, Ron Garl and his team have long been the envy of the golf industry. In fact, using their private formula and trade secrets, the new greens were ready for play in only 3 months’ time.
A look at one of the new tifeagle greens installed in September 2016
In addition to installing new state of the art greens, Ron wanted to focus on making the golf course more player friendly. When riding around the course it was evident that after 25 years of play the bunkers were an issue. In fact, some of the bunkers had to come out altogether. Golf has changed a lot over the past 25 years, with advances in club technology what made sense back in 1992 doesn’t necessarily apply to today’s game. That being said, several bunkers were removed which were penalizing quality shots off the tee. All surviving bunkers had new draining installed and were rebuilt conforming to USGA standards. To ensure the health of the course for years to come, a state of the art irrigation system was also installed. The new irrigation system not only reduces the amount of water needed to irrigate the course but also saves time for the maintenance staff, which can use the extra time to apply a special touch to the golf course.
A look down the back 9 showing off the course elevation
Huntington Hills Golf and Country Club did something not many golf courses are doing these days. Ownership invested a large sum of money to bring Ron Garl back to update and refresh the course. In our minds, Huntington Hills is the best value play in the state of Florida, in fact you’ll never find a tee time advertised for more than $40 dollars. Right now, during peak season, you’re able to play during the week for $33 and $38 on the weekend. I double dog dare you to find a better course in that price range, and don’t forget you’ll be playing a newly reopened course with brand new greens and bunkers.
Tee times can be made by calling the course at 863-858-8736 or visit them online at www.huntingtonhillscountryclub.com