Golfing at Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course

I love to golf. My husband and I used to golf nearly every weekend in the summer when we were first married. It was a great time to bond, relax and enjoy the outdoors. However, after our daughter came along it was harder to find time (and a sitter) to make it out to the course very often.

Once she turned about 6 years old, we had the great idea that we’d just teach her how to golf and then we could go back to our weekly golf habit! I know Tiger Woods started golfing at age 3, but we soon learned that taking the average 6 year old on the golf course (even a par 3) is tough. Carrying clubs, walking up hills, and the 4-5 swings needed to make contact with the ball were too draining for her to make it for 9 holes. But over the next three years we persevered, continuing to teach her and from time to time golfing a round with her as scorekeeper in the cart (I think she’d rather drive the cart than golf most times anyways.)

On our last trip to Disney, I felt like we had reached the point where we could try to golf as a family. After some research I was pleased to find a Disney course that was labeled as “family friendly,” which is pretty rare on a regular length course. The age range on the website even listed preschoolers … which made me wonder if it was going to be the equivalent of a mini-golf course with lots of kids running around. As soon as we arrived I realized that was not the case at all. There was an attendant to greet us, take our bags and escort us into the pro shop, which had all the Mickey golf paraphernalia you could ever want!

WDW Golf

Since we are annual passholders, our rounds were FREE! Yes, I said FREE! (Greens fees are a benefit for passholders at Oak Trail, but not the other courses.) In addition, our taxi from the resort to the course was FREE! (Complimentary transportation is available for guests from most Disney resorts – check with the concierge desk to confirm.) Free golf and free taxi – – how could we pass that up? To save on the baggage fees at the airport we combined my clubs with my husband’s and I was able to get a complimentary bag at the course as well.

We set our tee time for 8 a.m. since it was June and we didn’t want to be out on the course by the time the noon sun was out. It was totally worth lugging our clubs with us on vacation (especially since we took the Magical Express and didn’t have to really lug them any further than the airport when we left.)

Heading to the 1st tee

Oak Trail sign with Mickey topiary

Oak Trail / Magnolia sign

What I liked most:

Family oriented but not kiddie – there was a husband and wife playing ahead of us pushing a stroller – which I never thought I’d see on a golf course – but it didn’t slow us down one bit and we didn’t have to feel rushed if our daughter took a little longer playing
Beautiful course – one of my favorite parts was the Mickey tee box markers
Price – you can’t beat free but even if you’re paying, the rates are relatively inexpensive

Mickey tee box markers

Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course

I didn’t dislike anything, but a few things to note:

Walking course – there are no carts available at this course
Swampy – some of the areas were very wet from the previous night’s downpour. Not a huge deal, but our daughter’s shoes were completely soaked through by the time we were done.

After golfing we happened to see an unattended Mickey golf cart so we couldn’t help but get a picture!

Mickey golf cart

While I look forward to playing on the other Disney golf courses someday, until then I would definitely play at Oak Trail again. And don’t forget to hit the snack bar beside the putting green for a refreshing post-round beverage!