Arnold Palmer’s own club, where a night in the lodge gets you on the course.
Arnold Palmer owned Bay Hill from 1974 until he died in 2016, and the club still carries his name. The PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational has been played here every March since 1979. It is a private club, but it has a lodge, and a stay is your way onto the course. That makes Bay Hill easier to play than most tournament venues with a private club behind them. You do need to plan around the room. The setting is suburban Orlando, on the Butler Chain of Lakes, with houses along many fairways.
Golf at Bay Hill is for members and registered guests of the lodge only. There is no pay-and-play tee sheet, and you cannot book through a third-party tee-time site or by ringing the pro shop as an outsider. Book a lodge stay with golf, by phone on 407-876-2429 or through bayhill.com, and the lodge arranges your tee times. Each night’s stay entitles a guest to one 18-hole round on the Challenger and Champion nines. The round is charged on top of the room. The other route is as a member’s guest. The club does not publish its package prices, so ask for a quote for your dates.
These two nines make the Invitational course, and they are the reason to come. Expect firm, fast Bermuda greens, thick rough and water on the long holes at the finish. Afternoon wind across the lakes makes it harder. Guest rounds are booked for this 18 as part of your stay.
The third nine, at 3,324 yards and par 36, is a useful extra loop on the afternoon you arrive, or a second round on a short stay. The club suggests checking availability in advance, as members also use it.
Dick Wilson laid out the original 18 in 1961, built by Bob Simmons, who later added a third nine. Palmer kept refining the course for decades. Today there are three nines: Challenger, Champion and Charger. Challenger and Champion together form the tournament course, about 7,380 yards and par 72 from the back tees. The Charger nine adds 3,324 yards of par-36 golf. Water and doglegs define the round. Lakes run along several closing holes, and the bunkers are deep. The finish is the famous part: the 18th bends around a lake to a green with water short and right. The greens were re-grassed with TifEagle Bermuda in 2015.
Two nights gives you two rounds on the tournament 18 plus time for the Charger nine. That is the sensible minimum for most visitors. The Arnold Palmer Golf Academy runs on site if you want lessons in your package. Caddie fees must be paid in cash or by a payment app, and there is no ATM on the property, so arrive with cash. The lodge works with Ship Sticks to deliver clubs ahead of you.
Orlando International (MCO) is about 30 minutes east by road via State Road 528. Orlando has direct flights from the UK and much of Europe, so Bay Hill is one of the easiest tournament courses to reach from abroad. The club is in the Dr Phillips area, close to Universal and International Drive, so a hire car or taxi is quick.
Nearby: 1. Shingle Creek Golf Club (8 km) · 2. Disney’s Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses (10 km) · 3. Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, Orlando (12 km) · 4. Orange County National (Panther Lake) (12 km) · 5. Celebration Golf Club (15 km) · 6. Reunion Resort (Watson Course) (23 km) · Compare all Orlando tee times
You stay at the lodge itself. Rooms are King or double Queen, Junior Suites and Suites with Parlor, decorated with Palmer photographs and memorabilia. Groups and families can take a guest cottage with a full kitchen and waterside views. Guests can also use the pool, fitness centre, spa, racquet courts and marina on the Butler Chain. Theme-park hotels near International Drive are only minutes away, but staying there does not get you on the course.
Grand Cypress and Orange County National are both within 20–30 minutes for extra rounds. Streamsong’s three courses are about 90 minutes south, and TPC Sawgrass is about two and a half hours north for a Florida tour. Off the course, Universal Orlando is a few minutes away. Winter Park’s Park Avenue and its boat tour through the chain of lakes make an easy half-day.
These packages have a confirmed round at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge in the itinerary, with the other courses, nights and hotels listed so you can compare like with like.
5 nights, 4 rounds
Rounds: Celebration Golf Club · Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill · TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley · TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course
Stay: 2 nights at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, 3 at Sawgrass Marriott
Two PGA TOUR venues in one week: sleep on site at Bay Hill, then play the Sawgrass Stadium Course with a forecaddie included.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
October to May is the most comfortable time, with dry, mild days from December to April. Summer brings heat, humidity, afternoon thunderstorms and lower prices. The 2027 Invitational moves two weeks later than usual, to 15–21 March, with tournament rounds on 18–21 March. Ask the lodge how guest play is affected in the build-up and tournament week.
Explore golf by monthNot on a pay-and-play basis. The course is open to club members, their guests and guests staying at the Bay Hill Lodge. Each night of a lodge stay allows one 18-hole round on the Challenger and Champion nines, the tournament course.
Bay Hill does not publish green fees or package prices online. You pay for the lodge room and a separate golf fee for each round. Ask the lodge for a quote for your dates, and confirm whether caddie or forecaddie fees apply to your round.
Yes, with a caddie. The club’s 2025 rates listed a single-bag walking caddie at US$100 plus gratuity, and a double bag at US$100 per player plus gratuity. Caddies are paid in cash or by payment app, not on your room bill.
The tournament moves two weeks later than its recent dates. The week runs 15–21 March 2027, with the four rounds from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 March. Guest golf is limited around tournament week, so plan a stay on either side.
Last checked 10 November 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
How we research our guidesPhoto credits and licencesThe Pacific sets the scene. The little seventh steals the show.
Walking golf, shifting winds, and days measured in rounds.
Home of The Players, and a 17th green that sits alone in the water.
