By Steve Pike, Spike On Golf and Travel
As a youngster growing up in suburban Chicago in the early 1900’s, Walt Disney spent winters in the warm rolling hills of Central Florida. Walt ventured to fellow Chicagoan William John Howey’s Florida Hotel in the town he founded named, Howey-in-the-Hills.
Disney remembered the wonderful times he spent in Florida and the region’s vast openness certainly affected his decision when he was searching for the perfect location for his second theme park – Disney World.
That Florida Hotel now is Mission Resort + Club, which features a tile mosaic of a smiling “Uncle Walt’’ on its second floor balcony.
Mission Inn + Club has survived the “Disneyfication’’ of Central Florida and continues to be a popular Central Florida destination.
Mission Resort + Club, acquired in 2023 by MMI Hotel Group from the Beucher family that had owned it since 1964, shows off the best of Lake County. Recently inducted into the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the resort, best known for its Spanish architecture, features a marina on Lake Harr, a spa, hiking trails, tennis, boat rentals, four restaurants and 176 hotel guest rooms, 131 deluxe rooms, 38 club suites, four one-bedroom suites, two two-bedroom suites and one penthouse suite with three bedrooms.
The resort’s Saturday Night Prime Rib and Seafood Fest at Nicker’s is popular with guests and locals alike.
Mission Resort + Club also has 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Thanks in large part to its aforementioned Spanish architecture, the resort is a popular destination for weddings, family reunions and other get togethers.
Mission Resort’s most popular calling card is its two golf courses, particularly El Campeon.
Built by George O’ Neal in 1917, El Campeon is one of the older courses in the South. Its classic design features unusually sharp elevation changes not normally seen in the predominantly flat Florida terrain. It has hosted multiple high school, college and professional tournaments.
In contrast, the Las Colinas course was created in 1992 by former PGA Tour winner and Florida native Gary Koch. Las Colinas is more player friendly, but it’s still a good challenge for most resort players.
Both courses at Mission Resort + Club features undulating greens surrounded by tropical vegetation and incorporates large water hazards on several holes. If you survive El Campeon’s signature 17th hole that has a long double dogleg, consider it a good round.
For Bryan Mulry, who was appointed PGA Director of Golf in March 2023, the uniqueness and beauty of the facility makes Mission Resort + Club a “must-play” golfing destination.
“There are not too many places where you can play two different courses at the same facility in one day and they are unique because they are two very different layouts. So, on the same property, you have one course that is played on undulating landscape with water on a lot of strategic holes and then you have Las Colinas designed through the residences and the tree lines which gives you a very different look and character. Mission is also unique because when you drive here, you don’t feel the hustle and bustle. Once you arrive in Howey-in-the-Hills and our resort, it is very quiet and secluded like a ‘kept secret’ in a way. It’s a very special place.”
Mulry said he has been repeatedly told by golfing guests that the beauty far outweighs the difficulty of the two courses.
Mulry expects more golfers to comment on the difficulty of the two courses, but they don’t.
“What they say is that it is beautiful. The rolling landscape isn’t typically seen in Central Florida. They see the challenge, yet many love the scenery here. If you go to La Hacienda restaurant and sit on the back patio as the sun sets, I will put that up against a lot of other views, even an ocean view, because you are looking over the lake, the golf course, the 18th, the first hole and the clubhouse. It’s very picturesque. And if you go out to hole No. 7 late in the evening and watch the sunset from there, it’s incredible.”
Mulry feels a level of excitement every day that he works at Mission Resort + Club.
“You’ve got 36 holes of golf here that you don’t have anywhere else. It’s in the middle of an area that has terrain that’s unnoticeable until you actually go see it. Playing here is an experience that everyone is going to have a different feel for.’’
To find out more about Mission Resort + Club, or to make a reservation visit: https://www.missionresortandclub.com/
