Partial view of the Mission Inn Resort from the ‘Devils’ Delight’ 17th green on El Campeon.
You can tell a golf resort by its golf courses. If there is only one, then it really isn’t a resort, rather more of a private estate for the owner to entertain her or his friends. When there are two then it is a golf resort for sure, but what kind? Are they mirror images of each other or stately and unique in their own right? At Mission Inn Resort & Club there are two golf courses—El Campeon and Los Colinas and there is no doubt that they are stately and unique in their own right!
El Campeon, a.k.a. The Champion, is the preserver of golf history in the Southeast United States. While not the oldest course in Florida it is old and dates back to 1917. This unusual Florida golf course with significant elevation changes captures the essence of the early years of golf design in America. The Los Colinas course, a.k.a. The Hills, is relatively new and brings into play all the latest modern design principles. Together, the historic and modern golf courses make Mission Inn, located in Howey-in-the Hills, the Orlando area’s top golf resort, if not in the entire state of Florida.
Fountain in the Plaza de Las Palmas at Mission Inn Resort.
This was an exciting “stay and play” adventure for a number of reasons. First of all, I have heard about the Mission Inn ever since I moved to Florida in 2008. The location, “Howey-in the Hills” always intrigued me as well—hills in flat Florida? Who-the-heck is Howey and why is he in the hills? Plus I was part of a large group of golfing buddies.
The trip was scheduled right after the annual PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center and the majority, if not all, of the media gathered at the Mission Inn Resort & Club were fellow Golf Travel Writers Association (GTWA) members. Mission Inn is so close to Orlando you could almost golf your way there. It was easy to close the PGA Show at 3 pm, drive to Mission Inn and check in, take a nap and join the Welcome Event in time for dinner at the Lakeside Pavilion with time to spare.
The Mission Inn Resort and El Campeon is part of Florida’s Historic Golf Trail.
GTWA folks are special and I need them in my life so maybe I am a special needs person in life after all. What they found at the “Granddaddy of All Golf Shows” and their stories about their finds were wonderful and beneficial to hear about. I am not saying I am the youngest member of GTWA but I probably am and who better to learn from than folks who have been going to a show for twenty or thirty years longer than you have? As long as I stayed away from their one-putt on-course golf betting scam (you know the one where they always just miss the green and get it up-and-down to take your money), I knew I would have a great time at Mission Inn.
Los Colinas, designed by Gary Koch, opened in 1992 to rave reviews.
George O’Neil, the famous Chicago golf professional and architect, was employed to design El Campeon at a time when golf resorts were just emerging In the United States. O’Neil was also a golf instructor and helped develop the skills of the great amateur golfer Chick Evans. Hiring O’Neil was a bold and provocative decision at the time and sent the message that nothing but the best is good enough at the Mission Inn Resort & Club. This message continues today nearly one hundred years later.
Los Colinas has a storied, yet shorter, design history. Gary Koch, the acclaimed amateur and professional golfer turned golf broadcaster and course designer created the original design in 1992. It was an instantaneous hit and was nominated as the “Best New Resort Course” by Golf Digest. Ron Garl, a prolific designer of golf courses in Florida and around the world updated the layout in 2007.
Like so many dual coursed resorts, El Campeon and Los Colinas are the perfect complement to each other and a purely passionate place to play golf.
Golf groups, like PJ Vandewalle, keep coming back year-after-year to the Mission Inn Resort.
Our GTWA gathering was like a corporate meeting or convention with the agenda, logistics and operation professionally orchestrated by Drew Toth (Director, Sales & Marketing) and Bud Beucher (Vice President/General manager). While celebrating 50 years of Beucher family ownership and creating a “Lifetime of Memories” it is easy to see why groups like the PJ Vanderwalle Golf Group came back year-after-year and were celebrating their 20th year anniversary at Mission Inn. Maybe you have an association of family members or folks in your company that could enjoy a ‘stay and play’ experience at the Mission Inn Resort & Club?
“Blessed by nature, touched by history,” I certainly agree. Family owned and operated, there is a strong sense of home when one visits.
Even Debra’s osprey family comes back each year to the Mission Inn Resort!
Who is Howey? William J. Howey is the entrepreneur who purchased 60,000 acres, including the grounds of Mission Inn, to grow citrus fruits and ship Florida sunshine around the country. In 1917 it was he who hired O’Neil to build El Campeon and diversified his business. Nick Buecher, an adventurist, who rode horseback across Mexico after recuperating from broken leg suffered in a rodeo tumble bought the operation in 1964 and expanded to what it is today. Celebrating 50 years of family ownership is quite an accomplishment!
The question isn’t why Howey and Buecher were in the Hills, the question is why you are not? Whether a private or corporate endeavor, the place to endeavor is Mission Inn Resort & Club with its two golf courses, 176 hotel rooms, Lakeside Pavilion, fresh-water fishing, marina, full-service spa, Billiard Room, three restaurants and 30,000 square feet of group space for meetings, weddings and special events.
Here’s a citrus toast to the Beucher Family and the Mission Inn Resort celebrating 50 years! Thanks for having me!
My GTWA buddies and I had a wonderful time at the Mission Inn Resort & Club. I even received a gift of homemade Ma Poole’s Chutney from John Dyson. Just in time for the Super Bowl party back in Ponte Vedra Beach, the chutney was as big a hit as our time at Mission Inn.
Modern and historic, with a strong sense of family, for personal or corporate events and outings, Mission Inn has it all to not only offer but to deliver. Check it out next time you are anywhere near Orlando and you won’t be disappointed in any way. In fact unless you are staying there for a week or more you won’t experience it all and will want to make a visit to the Mission Inn Resort & Club an annual affair.
Here are six more memories from a fantastic visit to the Mission Inn Resort & Club:
The grandeur of the Mission Inn Resort is found in every vista!
The classic par-4 5th hole on El Campeon with part of the Mission Inn Resort in the background.
On the par-5 5th on Los Colinas. A beautiful walk through the hills hitting that little white ball!
Lots of golf memorabilia displayed at the Mission Inn Resort. I liked this cabinet commemorating Gary Koch’s career.
Autographed scorecard from the original opening of Las Colinas in 1992.
With our host Drew Toth, Director, Sales & Marketing at the Mission Inn Resort.
