Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida offers a private golf club experience for everyone

Black Diamond Ranch is located in Lecanto, Florida about a 90-minute drive from Orlando. The gated, private community boasts 45 holes of golf that were designed by Tom Fazio. The highly acclaimed Quarry Course is the “shining star,” it has been ranked among the Top 100 courses in the country for two decades. Holes 13 to 17 are the heart and soul of the course – they are played around, over and through an old quarry. These five holes are as spectacular a stretch of golf as you can find anywhere. The Quarry’s signature hole is no. 15 (see image above), an out-of-this-world short par 4 with an elevated tee-box. This picturesque hole is right up there with my favorite par 4s. It comes as no surprise that this course is always mentioned as one of the premier golf courses in Florida.

The other Black Diamond Ranch golf courses – Ranch, and the nine-hole Highlands Course – aren’t quite as spectacular but they are fine tracks in their own right.

The private club offers national memberships and special stay-and-play packages. Prices start at $399 and include two rounds of golf and a one night stay (based on four people sharing a two-bedroom villa). There are also a number of model homes which can be toured.