The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida, is scheduled to resume play on 1 November 2026. That is a planned date, not a completed opening. As of 29 October, the club's official website still lists its closure from 24 April through 31 October.
Turf replacement without a new routing
The Greg Norman-designed course has 18 holes, a par of 72 and a maximum length of 7,122 yards. Marriott Golf's 7 October announcement describes regrassing the teeing grounds, fairways, rough and putting greens, expanding practice facilities, reshaping selected contours and adding teeing options.
In a 24 October interview, architect Chris Marshall of Carlton Marshall Golf Design provided technical detail. He explained that Celebration turf was used across the course, with TifEagle on the putting greens. Some green complexes and bunkers received different contours, and selected bunkers gained stacked-sod features. The existing greens did not all require complete reconstruction; some retained their original underlying structure while receiving adjusted contours or additional usable hole locations.
What can players expect?
Changes to green contours can influence approach-shot landing targets and the way breaking putts are read. But green speeds and scoring effects cannot be established before actual post-reopening play. New grass does not, by itself, guarantee easier or harder golf.
The club retains its practice range, tuition facilities and clubhouse. 17–20 December 2026 is the resort's scheduled PNC Championship programme, featuring major champions and their relatives. That December event is separate from the still-pending November reopening.
The distinction matters: this is a comprehensive renewal of playing surfaces and selected strategic features, not the launch of a new 18-hole design. Norman's original course routing remains in place.
