The par-5 9th at Kissimmee Bay

There is a good reason that The Golf Channel is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

When the staff aren't working, they can play the game at any of literally dozens of courses in the Orlando area.

In short, the city is a golf haven. Of course, much of Florida is, too, but Orlando seems to typify golf in the state.

Last week, my wife and I took a short winter break and spent three days with some close friends who live and work in Orlando. Both of them are avid golfers so, when we arrived, tee times had already been booked.

Day one saw us teeing it up at Remington Golf Club, owned by Mark Farrow who is an ex-pat Canadian.

Remington was voted Best New Golf Course in 1996 by Golf Digest, as their website will tell you via a very annoying "talking avatar".

Like many courses in Florida - and Remington's sister course, Kissimmee Bay - Florida residents get a break in green fees. So do Canadians, although not as much of a break as the locals.

The day we played Remington, we took advantage of their unique deal; any golfer can play, practice and eat all day for one price.

What a great idea and it's probably one reason that the course is so busy.

I played from the Gold tees which measure just over 67 hundred yards. Most of the holes on the course feature wide landing areas for tee shots. In fact, I found the entire course fairly wide.

Unlike many courses in Florida, Remington did not feature homes crowding along the edges of the fairways but a ball could still land in a back yard and be OB.

On the whole, the course was in good condition for mid-winter. Some of the greens were spotty but most were fine. And quick, too.

What I did find about Remington was that most of the holes are fairly straightaway - there's not much variation in design although there is water on 17 of the 18 holes.

The sister course, Kissimmee Bay was our stop the following day. No "one price fits all" deals here, although a sandwich was thrown in with the greens fees.

Kissimmee Bay was a little shorter from the second-to-last tee blocks than Remington: just under 64 hundred yards.

But the course is a lot more varied, starting with the first hole, a par-5 dogleg left that measured 541 yards from my blocks. There is plenty of water again but only on 16 of the holes!

Greens were as fast as Remington's but the sand in the bunkers had been packed hard by some overnight rain. They drained well however the sand was still damp and my sand wedge bounced pretty hard off the surface, sending my ball from front trap to back trap on one hole.

I found the course much tighter than Remington, although one of our Orlando friends didn't agree. I can tell you one thing: the back yards of homes line almost every fairway snugly at Kissimmee Bay. I think that's why they have screened lanais in Florida...!

On the whole, I would play both courses again. It's difficult to complain about golf in Florida when you are a Canadian and it's mid February. Sunshine, temperatures in the mid 70s Fahrenheit and plenty of bird life.

Oh yes, bird life. Beware the crows and red-headed cranes at Kissimmee Bay. They will literally take your lunch right out of your golf cart if you leave it unattended. We watched a big crow fly off with an unopened bag of chips from one of our carts.

Jalapeno chips, too. I hope he enjoyed them. All part of the experience of playing golf in Orlando.