El Campeon and Las Colinas: Twice as Nice at Mission Resort and Club
By Tim Cotroneo
The Mission Resort and Club is home to two of central Florida’s top golf experiences. Golfers choices are the legendary El Campeon Golf Course and the Gary Koch-designed Las Colinas.
A resort featuring two courses often begs the question, “Which one should I play first?” For the golfer traveling a fair distance or dealing with a time constraint, it’s best to lead off with El Campeon. Consider that this 7,000-yard beauty opened in 1917. This remarkable birth date makes El Campeon one of Florida’s oldest courses.
When one thinks about how the game of golf has evolved over the past century, it’s amazing how proudly El Campeon has stood the test of time. Then there’s the hurdle of standing toe-to-toe with the advances in golf technology. Ask anyone who has taken on El Campeon in the recent past and you’ll learn that George O’Neil’s creative design demands a golf strategy that will endure for another 109 years… easily.
Lake County is Lake Country
Mission Resort is based in Howey in the Hills, Fl. This quaint town of 2,000 residents is in the Florida region known as Lake County. Located about 38 miles northwest from the Orlando International Airport, Lake County boasts over 1,000 lakes. You’ll soon discover that water comes into play on 13 of El Campeon’s 18 picturesque holes.
Moisture welcomes golfers on the very first hole as a sliver of a stream knifes across the fairway about 250 yards out. If this wakeup call isn’t enough, O’Neil’s first fairway also features three pine trees located smack dab in the middle of the Bermuda carpet. This is the initial indicator that grip and rip won’t work on El Campeon.
In case you didn’t catch on from the first hole, the 2nd hole Par 3 features two precisely placed sand traps to guard the green. There’s no real bail out area unless you play short. So go for the gusto on this 176-yard tester, or prepare to work on your sand game.
I Can See for Miles and Miles
The Par 4, 405-yard 5th hole is where O’Neil really displays his 1917 chops. From this elevated panoramic vantage point, you can see four different golf holes including one of El Campeon’s signature island greens. Take a moment and digest what you’re looking at. A Westminster judge would declare this view Best in Show.
If the words “island green” get your attention, then you’ll love the Par 3, 180-yard 8th hole. The green sits up from the water, and you’ll believe you’re seeing what resembles Pete Dye’s railroad ties bolstering the green. History and nature’s beauty make a perfect pair at El Campeon.
As golfers thread their way through El Campeon, on many occasions it would be wise to turn around and reflect. From the 8th hole green, gaze back at the shimmering calm water, a throng of trees, and the stone bridge connecting to the previous hole. O’Neil’s design is an architectural puzzle in which golf management rewards again and again.
Back Nine, Back in Time
The 10th hole is built around a single tree. Your second shot on this 569-yard, Par 5 must wind around a massive Spanish Moss leaning from right to left across one third of the fairway. If the tree could talk, it would tell you that its been standing tall since O’Neil first ventured to central Florida from Chicago in the early 1900s.
On the 14th hole, another Par 5, you look up and spy an eagle soaring overhead. In North American culture there’s no greater symbol of strength and luck. On a course known for alligators, bobcats, and an occasional bear, this particular connection to Mission Resort’s 500-acres feels like one of the highlights to your round.
El Campeon’s 17th hole includes a stop dead in golf shoes kind of moment. The 556-yard hole known as Devil’s Delight offers a double dogleg, and then a large live oak standing in front of a moat separating you from the green. Many a golfer will need to lay up depending on the shot distance to the green. The challenge is whether your club can deliver the height needed to carry over the tree. Is O’Neil the Devil? You be the judge.
Las Colinas for an Encore
After holing out on El Campeon’s 18th green, you realize you’ve only just begun. Tomorrow’s 8:30 a.m. tee time is your chance to play the Gary Koch-designed Las Colinas Golf Course.
Most golfers know Koch as an NBC Sports broadcaster and the man behind the “better than most” call on Tiger Woods’ putt at the 2001 Players Championship. Koch is also a decorated amateur golfer, and he’s designed 10 courses throughout the Midwest and Florida.
After an exhilarating round at El Campeon, one can’t help but wonder what Las Colinas can do for an encore. Today we look back at El Campeon. Tomorrow, we look forward to Las Colinas, Mission Resort and Club, and more great memories from Howey in the Hills. https://www.missionresortandclubgolf.com/
