Epson Tour Pros Offer Scouting Report to Anyone Coming to Play at Mission Inn Resort & Club
Mission Inn Resort and Club, about a 35-mile drive northwest of Orlando, is home to two championship golf courses, El Campeón and Las Colinas.
The LPGA’s Epson Tour tackled El Campeón this past week, and we spoke with some of the pros about their most and least favorite holes.
Nataliya Guseva says No. 10 is her favorite.
“It’s a very interesting hole, it’s a long par 5, and with my distance I really like playing the long par 5’s to my advantage,” she said.
Jenny Coleman, who won in a playoff the week prior, called it a toss-up between No. 6 and 12 because of how she felt when she walked up to the tee boxes.
“Just had a little extra feeling when you step up on the tee that you’re going to like this, it goes with your natural tendencies or the wind is going the right way.”
Jenny Colman lines up a shot on El Campeón
Minji Kang said her favorite hole is the par-5 No. 7 because of her birdies in the first two rounds.
“The first day I was in a greenside bunker and hit my third shot to 2 feet. On Saturday I didn’t go for the green on my second shot and hit a wedge to 4 feet.”
Coleman, of Rolling Hills Estates, California, says there are many challenging holes on El Campeón, but one of the most difficult for her is the par-3 8th.
“Because it’s an island green and there is a small portion to hit. The pins were on the bottom, and the wind was in left to right. You have to use the bank because anything short is in the water, but if you use the bank too much, it’s in the water.
Coleman added that the 4th and 12th holes are tough because both are uphill and have tough approaches and greens.
Kang, of South Korea, agreed about No. 4.
“I do not hit my driver far, only 250 yards, so it’s difficult for me to reach the green in two shots.”
Guseva, a 20-year-old rookie on the Epson Tour, said her most challenging experience was on No. 5.
“Because of the green, it’s hard. You need all three shots, great drive, good iron shot, good putt, and it was always playing into the wind,” said Guseva.
The El Campeón (The Champion) is one of two championship golf courses open to the public at Mission Inn Resort & Club. Built in 1917 by George O’Neil, it is one of the oldest courses in the South. Its classic design features unusually sharp elevation changes in the typically flat, central Florida terrain.
The resort also offers Las Colinas (The Hills), created in 1992 by former PGA Tour winner and NBC Sports golf analyst Gary Koch. It features wide fairways rolling over gentle rises. Both courses are known for their undulating greens, which are surrounded by tropical vegetation and incorporate large water hazards on many holes.
To book a tee time on either Mission Inn Resort & Club courses, visit missioninnresort.com.
Photo credit Ben Harpring, Epson Tour & Mission Inn Resort & Club
