Orlando – Syndication Server

Eagle’s Edge at ChampionsGate ramps up with Toptracer tech near Orlando

The new Toptracer Range combines a cool pub scene with plenty of golf tech at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.

CHAMPIONSGATE, Fla. – Want to beat a bucket of range balls near the tourist corridor in Central Florida? If you’re looking to throw in dinner and a cocktail and do it all under the lights, check out the new Eagle’s Edge range with Toptracer Range technology at Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.

Hardly a week goes by without a golf club – typically multiple clubs – announcing the installation of a Toptracer Range. The popular tech tracks a golf ball’s flight with a system of cameras and sensors then projects its flight onto a screen. If you’re reading this golf story, you’ve surely seen the tech at work on TV broadcasts of the PGA Tour.

There are other similar systems, with Trackman’s radar-based system being a prime example. All such systems are designed to elevate the range experience from merely beating a bucket of balls, giving players data about their practice shots or allowing them to virtually play famous courses as a video game come to life.

Since being acquired by Topgolf in 2016 and rebranded from its original name of Protracer, Toptracer’s tech has taken off and been installed at more than a thousand facilities. The company says on its website that there are now more than 24,000 Toptracer hitting bays.

The new Toptracer Range at Eagle’s Edge at Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate is just a few hundred yards out the back door of the massive resort hotel. The facility is open to public bookings. (Courtesy of Omni)

Many private clubs have installed a few bays with food and beverage options for members, especially in colder climates where courses might be closed seasonally. Plenty of public-access ranges also have installed Toptracer tech, where players can hit balls and monitor their results on a monitor. There already were several facilities in Central Florida to have installed the tech, such as Tee It Up Golf Driving Range in Oviedo, some 20-30 minutes of driving northeast of downtown Orlando on the opposite side of town from the region’s theme parks.

The new public-access Eagle’s Edge at ChampionsGate ramps it up several notches, combining a high-end pub scene and Toptracer tech on the southwest side of Orlando not far from Disney World.

Eagle’s Edge offers 30 ground-level hitting bays playing out to an un-netted range, which on the far end serves as the practice facility for ChampionsGate’s two full-size golf courses, the National and International. The new Toptracer Range was constructed where coach David Leadbetter’s golf academy formerly resided.

The 6,000-square-foot Eagle’s Edge includes dining and a central bar just a few hundred yards out the back door of the massive Omni hotel, with food and drinks delivered to each bay. Raised and lit targets large and small were built on the half of the range closest to Eagle’s Edge, giving players something to aim for night or day. Shots are tracked on monitors adjacent to the high-end hitting mats, and balls are supplied via a machine with the swipe of a club in front of a sensor, the same as at a Topgolf facility.

The total Eagle’s Edge experience is much more like a Topgolf, which helped define the industry term of “eatertainment,” than it is a regular range. Hang out on a couch watching TV with a craft cocktail and plate of nachos, or pound balls with purpose; the choice is yours.

Food and drink are an integral part of Eagle’s Edge at Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. (Courtesy of Omni)

And like the targets at a giant Topgolf facility, those at Eagle’s Edge light up when a ball strikes home and the bayside screen registers the hit. Many players will spend most of their time whaling at a driver to see how far they might be able to hit a ball, but on opening night it was just as fun for the more serious golfers in attendance to try to make the lights dance with wedge shots bouncing off the smaller targets closer to the bays.

“With Eagle’s Edge, we are transforming the way our guests partake in the game and event gatherings through an all-encompassing venue that brings state-of-the-art technology, topline service and unmatched food and beverage offerings,” Scott Tripoli, general manager of Omni Orlando at ChampionsGate, said in a media release announcing the opening of the facility.

Each of the 30 hitting bays can accommodate one to six players. Walk-ups are accepted, but it’s best to reserve a bay via opentable.com. The price of a bay varies on demand, but expect to pay $40-$58 per hour depending on date and time as judged by a recent glance at the booking site – that price is the same per bay regardless of one player or six. The facility also accommodates large groups. Players can use their own clubs or swing with clubs provided at each hitting bay.

Check out a selection of images of the new facility and its Toptracer tech below.

Check the yardage book: Bay Hill for the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour

StrackaLine offers a hole-by-hole course guide to Bay Hill and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, site of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard on the PGA Tour, opened in 1961 with a design by Dick Wilson. Arnold Palmer took over the property on lease in 1970, bought it in 1975 and made adjustments to the course multiple times over the following decades.

Bay Hill, which has been the site of the Tour event since 1979, ranks No. 5 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access layouts in each state. It also ties for No. 191 on Golfweek’s Best list of all modern courses in the U.S., and it ties for No. 58 on the list of all resort courses in the U.S.

Where to play golf around Orlando

Bay Hill will play to 7,466 yards with a par of 72. The layout is one of the toughest on the PGA Tour each year.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at Bay Hill.

Chargers EDGE Khalil Mack opts out of Pro Bowl games

Keenan Allen is still set to participate.

Khalil Mack was among the two Chargers players who were voted onto the 2024 Pro Bowl team to represent the AFC. However, Mack won’t be participating in the annual games this weekend.

Mack decided to opt out and was replaced by Jets edge defender Jermaine Johnson.

The reason why Mack won’t be participating remains to be seen. His fellow teammate Keenan Allen, the other Charger to make it, will participate in the festivities.

Mack had one of the best years of his career this past season. He set a career-high in sacks for a season with 17 and became the 43rd player in NFL history to hit the 100-sack mark.

The 2024 Pro Bowl Games will include several competitions, including a flag football game on Feb. 4.

The games will be held in Orlando, FL, at Camping World Stadium.

Stars (like Matt Fitzpatrick) are everywhere as the PGA Show is booming in Orlando this week

Organizers from the PGA of America say exhibitors from 25 countries are on hand this year.

ORLANDO — It wasn’t long ago that many were wondering whether or not the PGA Show at Orange County Convention Center was losing its fastball.

The 2024 edition of the annual trade show, however, is proving definitively the lasting power of the show — and perhaps how important it’s become in the wake of remote working quarters and increased travel.

According to organizers from the PGA of America, more than 1,000 exhibitors from 25 countries are on hand this year, and the event still includes a robust series of speakers and prominent guests, like 2022 U.S. Open champ Matthew Fitzpatrick and 8-time major champ Tom Watson. Attendees from 80 different countries registered for the event.

Also, while most guests come from the United States or Europe, many of the exhibitors come from China, Korea and Canada. A handful of the major golf club manufacturers still haven’t returned to the show, but many have and the floor has been an endless stream of activity.

“The PGA of America is actively sourcing more opportunities to partner with like-minded organizations, golf facilities and mission-driven individuals across Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa,” said Sean D. Thornberry, Director of Global Development at the PGA of America.

Here’s a look at some of the fun:

Where to play golf around Orlando and Central Florida: Golfweek’s Best 2023 public-access courses

Thanks to Golfweek’s Best rankings, we break out the top courses around Orlando and Central Florida.

Looking for a break from the theme parks around Orlando? Whether you want to stay close or you’re willing to drive a bit, there are several courses available that appear on the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top public-access layouts in Florida.

But it’s not as easy as pulling up our state-by-state rankings, which lists Florida courses that might be a full day’s drive away from Central Florida. We wanted to focus on the eight top-ranked courses that, while they might require golfers spend up to 90 minutes in the car, are within reasonable driving distance.

For the purpose of this exercise, we limited driving time to within 90 minutes of Disney World. Why 90 minutes? Because it can take a while to get anywhere around Orlando, especially if you’re stuck on Interstate 4, so 90 minutes seemed like a reasonable amount of time in a car to reach great golf.

And why Walt Disney World Resort? Because chances are if you’re visiting Orlando, you will be bunking up not far from that entertainment giant’s theme parks or Universal Orlando nearby.

We used Google Maps for its drive times, keying in Walt Disney World Resort at a time with no significant traffic slowdowns. Take all drive times around Orlando and Central Florida with a grain of salt, of course, as backups frequently happen.

None of this is to say there aren’t plenty of other worthy places to play around Orlando. As a nearby resident, this author will attest to the simple pleasures to be found at Winter Park Golf Course – frequently called WP9 – just north of downtown Orlando. The short nine-holer is one of the most fun two hours you’re likely to spend on a golf course.

Included with this list is a general map of where to find all these courses. Each one on the list below is represented with a number on the map – keep scrolling to see the numbers.

Included with each course is its position in Florida on the Golfweek’s Best public-access list. For any course that appears on our other popular rankings lists, those positions are included as well.

More: Where to play public golf around Chicago, New York City and the Phoenix/Scottsdale area

A little background: The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.

The courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required.

Orlando map where to play 2023 — (Google Earth/Golfweek)

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Former Notre Dame LB Jonathan Jones Finds New Home

he’s found a new home at an Ohio-based Mid-American Conference university.

Former Notre Dame linebacker and special teams player Jonathan Jones was previously in the transfer portal but now he’s found a new home at an Ohio-based Mid-American Conference university.

Jones enrolled in classes at Toledo University last week and will spend 2020 as a member of the Toledo Rockets football program.

Jones finished his Notre Dame career with 16 career tackles, playing for the Irish in the last three seasons.

Jones was recruited to Notre Dame from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, Florida as a four-star linebacker based off of 247’s rankings. He graduated from Notre Dame in December and will immediately eligible at Toledo.

Mark Lamping: Gainesville, Orlando more prepared for Jaguars than Daytona

Mark Lamping isn’t convinced Daytona International Speedway is the best candidate to be a temporary home for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville Jaguars president Mark Lamping will meet with Daytona International Speedway representatives on Friday to discuss the possibility of NASCAR’s premier racetrack potentially serving as a temporary home for the Jaguars in the future. He doesn’t sound convinced that much will come from the meeting, though.

In an appearance on 1010XL earlier this week, Lamping said Daytona isn’t the team’s top choice in the event that the Jaguars play games outside of Jacksonville during a renovation of TIAA Bank Field.

“One thing Daytona has going for it is that they’re used to big crowds,” Lamping said. “It’s pretty close. You just have to worry about going back and forth up I-95. So if you’re going to invest a bunch of money in a facility … they’ve hosted football there before.

“There will be some issues with that as it relates to infrastructure, so we’ll see how it goes. But again, that’s going to add cost to the project, so we’re going to have to figure out who pays that cost. The preference, if we are going to take games away from Jacksonville, we’ll look at all alternatives because you never know what you may discover, but as you sit here today, you’d have to say Gainesville and Orlando are more prepared to host NFL games right now than doing games at the speedway.”

The Jaguars are hoping to reach a deal with the City of Jacksonville on a massive renovation of their home stadium. While a four-year renovation of the stadium could allow the team to stay at TIAA Bank Field during construction, a two-year project would force the team to play elsewhere.

There are local venues in Jacksonville like Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida, but that facility would require a significant investment to be ready to host NFL games.

While the idea of the Jaguars playing games on the front stretch of NASCAR’s most iconic track is fun, it seems pretty low on the list of possibilities.

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Check the yardage book: Bay Hill for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour

StrackaLine offers hole-by-hole maps for Bay Hill, site of the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour.

Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, the annual site of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard on the PGA Tour, opened in 1961 with a design by Dick Wilson. Arnold Palmer took over the property on lease in 1970, bought it in 1975 and made adjustments to the course multiple times over the following decades.

Bay Hill, which has been the site of the Tour event since 1979, ranks No. 5 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access layouts in each state. It also ties for No. 196 on Golfweek’s Best list of all modern courses in the U.S., and it ties for No. 53 on the list of all resort courses in the U.S.

Bay Hill will play to 7,466 yards with a par of 72. The layout is one of the toughest on the PGA Tour each year. The past two years saw especially high scoring as the layout played incredibly firm and fast, and the relative lack of rain in Orlando in recent weeks means the course again could play difficult if tournament operators wish, especially if winds pick up.

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Bay Hill’s par 3s might be the toughest on Tour (and they have a huge impact on the Arnold Palmer Invitational)

Pros in the Arnold Palmer Invitational must survive what was in 2022 the most difficult set of par 3s on Tour, minus the majors.

Gary Woodland, winner of the 2019 U.S. Open, has some advice for players in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard: Watch your step on the par 3s at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.

In last year’s event Woodland arrived at the downhill, over-the-water par-3 17th on Sunday with a one-shot lead at 6 under par for the week, having just made eagle on the par-5 16th. One more good swing, one more good result, and Woodland would have a chance play the famed par-4 18th with a lead in pursuit of his first title at Bay Hill.

Things didn’t work out. Woodland’s 8-iron approach to the back-right hole location – a small target tucked between sand, water and rough – fell short of the green, clearing the pond but plugging into the front bunker. It took him two swipes to get out of the sand, and the ensuing double bogey left him a shot behind eventual winner Scottie Scheffler. A following bogey on 18 added salt to the wound, dropping him to a tie for fifth place.

It was a painful example of how tough the par 3s play at Bay Hill. The four holes – Nos. 2, 7, 14 and 17 – averaged the highest score over par among any set of pars 3s on the PGA Tour in the 2021-22 season in an official stroke-play individual event, not counting major championships. The Bay Hill quartet played to an average over-par score of 3.193 for the week, proving it’s not always the longest holes that trip up the best players in the world, but sometimes the shortest.

“Most of the time, the par 3s out here (on the PGA Tour), you’re trying to attack, trying to make some birdies,” Woodland said.

But not at Bay Hill.

“You really should play to the middle of the green on all four of them,” said the four-time PGA Tour winner. “… No. 2, when you’re trying to run away with par. No. 17, when you’re trying to run away with par.”

The worst part for Woodland last year? He struck his tee shot on No. 17 exactly as he planned toward a more generous area of the green left of the flag. He said he isn’t sure if his ball was hit by a gust of wind or what, but there was plenty of frustration in coming up short.

Woodland wasn’t the only player in contention to lose traction Sunday on the 17th. Viktor Hovland was 5 under par for the week – which would have earned him a spot in a playoff – when he walked up the hill from the 16th green to the 17th tee. Four shots later, he was one behind. The Norwegian spoke later about how much “this one stings” after that bogey on 17 knocked him into a tie for second place.

“It’s just a brutal hole,” Woodland said. “You know where that pin’s gonna be: back right. They move the tee up and they kind of tempt you a little bit.”

As so often is the case, temptation leads to folly. Especially on the par 3s at Bay Hill. The layout is famous for its closing par-4 18th, with its green wrapped around a pond. The par-5 sixth has gained notoriety in recent years as well, with ever-longer players attempting eye-popping tee shots across the lake around which the hole is wrapped. But smart pros know to be wary of the one-shotters.

Looking again at last year’s event, it’s clear how important the par 3s are for players packed atop a tight leaderboard. Winner Scheffler played the par 3s for the week in 48 shots, which was even par in 16 attempts. Woodland required 50 total shots, playing them in 2 over, and he finished two shots back in the end. Tyrrell Hatton, who also finished tied for second and one shot behind Scheffler, required 51 total strokes on the par 3s, playing them 3 over par for the week. And Hovland took 52 shots in all on the par 3s, playing them 4 over for the week. Each of those strokes mattered dearly on the final leaderboard.

That theme extended into the final round. Scheffler was 1 under on the par 3s Sunday, making birdie on No. 2 and parring the others. Hovland and Hatton were one shot worse, with both players even on the par 3s in the final round. Woodland played the pars 3s that day in 2 over par, with three pars and that double bogey on 17.

Photos: The PGA Show in Orlando is back in a big way

The event typically attracts more than 40,000 PGA of America professionals, manufacturers, media members and golf industry insiders.

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ORLANDO — It feels like old times at the Orange County Convention Center as the crowds and many of the vendors have returned to make the annual PGA Show a vibrant gathering in the Sunshine State.

The annual Demo Day was held at Orange County National on Tuesday and a week of exhibits and education runs through Friday at the convention center.

The event, which was held virtually in 2021 and in a smaller form in 2022, typically attracts more than 40,000 PGA of America professionals, manufacturers, media members and golf industry insiders.

The crowds have yet to be tallied, but the numbers appear to be healthy for the show, which had been rumored to be in trouble just a few years ago.

Here’s a look at the fun: