Major renovation coming to Disney's Magnolia Golf Course at Walt Disney World

Jun 23, 2022 in "Golf - Magnolia course"

Posted: Thursday June 23, 2022 9:31am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Arnold Palmer Golf Management will be improving Disney's Magnolia Golf Course, as they reimagine holes 14 through 17 on the finishing stretch of the course.

These course updates will be designed and overseen by Ken Baker, who has extensive design experience internationally and is currently the head of golf course design at One Club Limited.

Each of the four holes are anticipated to be reimagined primarily as follows:

  • Hole 14 - Currently a par 5, will become a par 4, with a new green location
  • Hole 15 - Currently a par 3, will shift location and become a long par 5, dogleg to the right
  • Hole 16 - Will shift location and remain a par 4, but will now become a dogleg to the left
  • Hole 17 - Currently a par 4, will become a par 3, with new tee box locations

Holes 16 and 17 will be connected with a new wooden bridge through the forest. There will be several new fairway and greenside bunkers engineered to accommodate the shifting hole locations, and a selection of new teeing grounds suited to test each level of player. The changes to the holes will retain the par 72 traditional nature of the golf course.

Two PGA Tour stars - 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia and 2019 US Open champion Gary Woodland - recently got a sneak peek at the redesign.

“It will be amazing. The 15th (becoming) a big par 5; 16 is a long par 4 and they’ve brought in water perfectly,” said Woodland. “You’re going to have four closing holes down the stretch that will test every aspect of your game. It’ll be a great finish here at Magnolia.”

Added Garcia: "It’s a fun course to play. When (golfers) finish their rounds, they can’t wait to come back and I think that’s something the Magnolia course will have.”

Disney's Magnolia Golf Course is currently closed. Disney's Palm or Disney's Lake Buena Vista Golf Course remain open as normal.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

    View all comments →

    Ayla11 days ago

    Every single course we have ever played has at least one dog leg hole, if not two.

    Skibum197011 days ago

    Plus, by hole 15, a player is usually starting to get a little tired. The heat combined with the torque on the joints and muscles with a swing that isn't natural just naturally wear a person down. Then, you come off a long par 4 at 14, fight 15 (as you mentioned), 16 isn't long but plays against people who fade/slice and there is a lot of trouble to get into, and then a long par-3 over water. #18 finishes with a long par four. While I haven't played it, I can see where this is definitely Grumpy's Revenge.

    Smoky13 days ago

    15 and 16 look genuinely difficult. We'll see how they actually play but 15 looks brutal because of that crazy dog leg.

    Skibum197013 days ago

    Bad Grumpy!! I expect that from Dopey.

    zulemara14 days ago

    I worked at the Palm/magnolia in 2004-2005 on my college program. I think I should go walk around one day and see everything! Have to wonder if I would know any of the staff anymore.

    JoeCamel14 days ago

    Plop plop fizz fizz house broken is for loosers cuz

    MisterPenguin14 days ago

    Yo, what G be doin' on the links, homie?

    JoeCamel14 days ago

    It's not the difficulty of the holes that make it a gauntlet let's just say it's been G's play yard for weeks now so watch where you step.......

    Skibum197014 days ago

    I think that they are harder than they look. The bunkers and water placement along with the length is going to challenge just about anyone. There isn't much of a bailout left either as the trees await. I may give this a whirl in early May. It's this or Lake Buena Vista. Played the Palm a few years ago and it was great. I just always look at LBV from Port Orleans and dream and so it's probably time to go for it.

    UNCgolf14 days ago

    Those holes don't look anywhere near hard enough to be called a gauntlet. Which isn't a bad thing -- it would be silly for Disney to build a super hard course -- but just saying.

    Ben_since_197114 days ago

    Looks like they really moved earth and created some more water hazards. Looking forward to playing it this September.

    Smoky14 days ago

    The layout looks great. Disney golf is criminally underrated and one of my favorite things to do on property. Haven't played Magnolia since last year during the middle of the renovations but it's a great course and one of the few things at Disney that is very reasonably priced. There's something special about warming up early in the morning at the driving range, drinking a coffee, and hearing the train in the background from MK while I shank all of my shots in the woods.

    DCBaker14 days ago

    More details on "Grumpy’s Gauntlet", aka Magnolia holes No. 14, 15, 16 and 17:

    DCBaker14 days ago

    Disney says the Magnolia Golf Course renovation is complete: https://disneyparksblog.com/wdw/magnolia-golf-course-now-offering-a-dose-of-grumpy-with-loads-of-golfing-fun/

    Don't miss out!
    Get the latest Walt Disney World news in your inbox

    FREE EMAIL BONUS

    Stay in the loop of EVERYTHING happening at the Most Magical Place on Earth

      Get the latest Walt Disney World news as it happens, delivered straight to your email