Royal St. Cloud Golf Links, St. Cloud, FL

2005

One of my business associates mentioned to me that there is a course in St. Cloud, Florida that is a must play.  I told him are you kidding, St. Cloud?  Well, he has never steered me wrong yet, so I took his advice and contacted Mr. Bill Filson, Director of Golf, at the Royal St. Cloud Golf Links in St. Cloud to inquire about visiting his course to play a round  

Bill Filson, Director of Golf

Chris in the Pro Shop  (left)

Chuck Sabo, Starter (right)

Royal St. Cloud is ranked in the Top 5 of the most underrated golf courses in Central Florida. Well, anyone who ventures to St. Cloud to play this course will understand why.  The tee boxes are meticulously cared for, and designed, the fairways are kept as well as any we have played, and the greens are fair, yet challenging throughout the course.  Every green we played was carefully manicured to insure a fair roll off our putters. 

 Each hole has been named to depict the way the hole is structured, styled, ambience, or legend (hole no. 9).   Some of the names of the holes are:  Gator’s Porch, Little Poison, Seminole’s Horseshoe, Devil’s Pocket (one of my favorites), Buccaneer’s Spyglass, Eye of the Hurricane, and Hookenfacher’s Nose.  Hookenfacher, who is the God of Long Drives, meets you at the 9^th tee box.  Legend has it, that if you rub his nose before you tee off, you are guaranteed a long and straight drive.  Well, the legend is correct.  We all did our rubbing on Hookenfacher’s Nose, and it worked.  We all hit drives right down the middle, and longer than we have ever hit before.  It is worth it just to go to Royal St. Cloud to rub Hookenfacher’s nose, so you will always have him on your side.

Royal St. Cloud was opened in 2001, it is a par 72 (36, 36), and measures 7,111 yards from the tips.  There are 5 sets of tees, no houses on the course, no gimmick holes, just a challenging and fun course to test your golfing prowess.

The clubhouse contains the well stocked Pro Shop, Snack Shop and Grill.  All of the employees have been schooled in the fine art of etiquette.  Everyone at Royal St. Cloud was very friendly, courteous, and helpful.  Outside the clubhouse is a patio area where you can eat, rest, or just chat about your round.

 Golf Instruction is also provided at Royal St. Cloud.  Bill Filson, the Director of Golf, has an extensive teaching background. He has personally studied under some of the top-ranked teaching professionals. Bill brings 12 years of teaching experience that featured beginners to PGA tour professionals. Bill has consistently been a top-ranked PGA Professional. Dave Rummels brings 17 years of valuable PGA Tour experience with him. He can share advice from the “Tour” with you. They also feature Associate Professional, Doug Holloway, who brings 16 years coaching experience with him.  The course Superintendent is Steve Whaley. 

Royal St. Cloud also offers a unique unconditional 100% guarantee on your golf round.  Their guarantee states: If you don’t truly love our course, we’ll refund your green fees.  I have not encountered many facilities that will do that.