Countdown to FI689
—
Departs KEF 16:45
Rounds confirmed
4 / 5
Sat 19 pending at Rio Pinar
Nights at Hatton Circle
5
15 Sept in → 20 Sept out
Local time right now
Reykjavík · KEF
—
GMT, no daylight saving
Orlando · MCO
—
EDT · 4 hours behind Iceland
Itinerary
Tap a day
Flights
Icelandair · Keflavík ⇄ Orlando
FI689 Outbound · Tue 15 Sept
Confirmed
KEF
Keflavík
16:45
Tue 15 Sept
MCO
Orlando
20:50
Tue 15 Sept · Terminal C
FI686 Homebound · Sun 20 Sept
Confirmed
MCO
Orlando
22:00
Sun 20 Sept · Terminal C
KEF
Keflavík
~08:50
Mon 21 Sept
Check your booking. Public schedules list FI686 out of MCO anywhere between 21:55 and 22:15 depending on the source. Arrival back at KEF is an estimate — confirm both against your Icelandair confirmation before setting alarms.
Live trackers open in a new tab — they block being embedded directly in a page, so these are deep links straight to the FI689 / FI686 pages.
Saga Lounge, KEF
Meeting point before FI689
Everyone arrives14:00, Tue 15 Sept
Boarding-ish~16:05
AgendaBubbly 🥂
WhereAirside, after security
Lounge access isn't automatic on every fare class — worth confirming all 8 can get in, or agree a fallback bar.
Airport → House
MCO to 10226 Hatton Circle
Wheels down20:50
Bags & immigrationallow 45–60 min
Drive time~15 min
At the house~22:00
Eagle Creek is one of the closest golf communities to MCO — the short hop is the upside of the 20:50 landing.
The Golf
Eagle Creek ×3 · Royal St Cloud ×1 · Rio Pinar pending
Eagle Creek Golf Club
10350 Emerson Lake Blvd, Orlando, FL 32832 · (407) 273-4653
Ron Garl and Howard Swan's Scottish-style layout, opened 2004 — 18 holes, 7,198 yards off the black,
par 73 with five par 5s, five sets of tees, and 60+ white sand bunkers with
bulkheaded water. Florida's first course on Mini-Verde greens, so expect them fast. Audubon International
Silver Signature site. Two-sided range, practice hole and an academy on site — useful on the Thursday
afternoon if the scorecard demands it.
Par / Yardage (Black)73 · 7,196 yds · 74.1/132
White6,841 yds · 72.5/128
Yellow6,362 yds · 70.3/125
Blue5,875 yds · M 68.0/118 · W 74.0/131
Red5,305 yds · 70.5/125
Clubhouse14,000 sq ft · pro shop · The Belfry (120 seats)
Photos: Eagle Creek Golf Club. The page loads them from images/eagle-creek/ next to this file if present, and falls back to eaglecreekorlando.com if not.
Full scorecard — all 18 holes, five tees
Course rating / slope shown against each tee name. Source: Eagle Creek Golf Club course details page.
Royal St Cloud Golf Links
Friday 18 September, 08:36 & 08:45 · Blue → Red loop · 5310 Michigan Avenue, St. Cloud, FL 34772 · (407) 891-7010
An actual links course, and the change of scenery for the week. 27 holes across
three separate nines — the British, Scottish and Irish, also signposted Red, White and Blue — which is
why you can mix and match. You're playing Blue into Red, one of the two
combinations the course is rated on, so it's a full 18 on ground that looks nothing like Eagle Creek's
bulkheads and tree canopy. Owned and run by Oliver Hale & Co. About 25 minutes south of the house.
Your loopBlue → Red · par 72 · 7,023 yds (Black)
Rating / slope74.8 / 134 off the Black
Tee times08:36 & 08:45 · Friday 18 September
GroupsTwo fourballs, back to back
Leave the house07:30
TeesBlack · Gold · Silver · Copper · Orange
Full complex27 holes · Red / White / Blue sides
On site foodThe Links Grill · Stone Bridge Tavern
Photos: Royal St Cloud Golf Links. Loaded from images/royal-st-cloud/ if present, otherwise from their site.
Full scorecard — Blue → Red loop, all 18 holes, five tees
Holes 1–9 are the Blue side, holes 10–18 the Red side. Stroke indexes shown are the
Blue/Red pairing specifically — odd numbers fall on the Blue nine, even on the Red.
Transcribed from the club's printed scorecard; every nine-total matches the card, and the
Black, Silver and Copper 18-hole totals independently match GolfPass and Golfshake.
Course rating & slope — Blue/Red sides
| Black | Gold | Silver | Copper |
|---|
| Men | 74.8/134 | 71.9/129 | 68.8/119 | 65.1/111 |
| Women | – | – | 74.0/128 | 69.6/119 |
For reference, the other two pairings off the Black tees: White/Blue is the monster at 75.1/145,
Red/White plays 74.7/133. Your Blue/Red sits between them at 74.8/134 — a stiffer slope than
Eagle Creek's 132 off the black, despite being 173 yards shorter.
No outside alcohol, and they mean it. The scorecard states that anyone found bringing their own
drink onto the property will be asked to leave with no refund. Worth saying out loud to eight people on
a golf trip before somebody packs a cool box.
Pace of play is enforced. Groups that fall out of position get asked to speed up or skip holes,
and persistent offenders get asked to leave. Two fourballs off consecutive tee times should be fine —
just don't all wait on every putt.
The hole names are worth the green fee on their own: you open with Devil's Pocket and Gauntlet of Palms,
play through Volcano, The Church and Twin Trouble, then cross to the Red side for El Diablo, Bunker Alley
and Mouse Trap before finishing at Hidden Creek. Sod-walled and wood-faced bunkers in the Scottish
tradition, almost no trees, and the Red nine was deliberately softened — so the back nine is the
friendlier half.
Rio Pinar Golf Not confirmed
Saturday 19 September, hoping for 08:45 · 8600 El Prado Avenue, Orlando, FL 32825 · (407) 286-6920
The history pick of the week, and the third distinct style of golf on the trip. Founded 1957 and
the original home of the Florida Citrus Open — Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino,
Julius Boros and Hale Irwin all won here, and the event went on to become today's Arnold Palmer
Invitational. The LPGA's Women's Citrus Open ran here too, 1966 to 1982. A classic parkland layout
through mature pines, par 71, up to 7,250 yards off the tips. Semi-private
but open to public play. Floodlit Trackman range with covered bays, indoor studio and a putting lab if
anyone still needs remedial work by Saturday. Roughly 25 minutes north-east of the house.
StatusBeing worked on — not secured
Target tee time08:45, Saturday 19 September
CoursePar 71 · up to 7,250 yds · parkland
Opened1957 · Florida Citrus Open 1966–82
AccessSemi-private, public play welcome
ClubhouseNew dining room & banquet space
Two things to raise when you call. Ask for 08:45 and 08:54 so both fourballs are covered,
the way you did at Royal St Cloud. And ask which holes are affected by the renovation work — their own
site says bunker and green rebuilds plus new tee boxes are underway, and temporary greens on a paid
Saturday round would take the shine off it.
Photos via
GolfPass — Rio Pinar's own site has no course photography. Loaded from
images/rio-pinar/ if present. Their
Instagram has more.
Still to lock in
Friday 18 SeptRoyal St Cloud, 08:36 & 08:45 ✓
Saturday 19 SeptRio Pinar 08:45 — requested
Saturday dinnerRio Pinar or Lake Nona — deciding
Don Julio, Thu 17Not booked
Have a fallback ready before you stop chasing Rio Pinar. A weekend morning block for eight is the
slot that sells out, and if it falls through late you have no Saturday golf. Royal St Cloud has a third
nine you won't have played and already has your group on file — worth a provisional call while Rio Pinar
is still open. Send me whatever confirms and I'll drop it in.
Basecamp
10226 Hatton Circle
The House
Eagle Creek community, Lake Nona
10226 Hatton Circle
Orlando, FL 32832
United States
Ordering from Amazon? Copy the address below exactly as written — and set delivery to arrive
16–20 September. Anything landing after the 20th arrives to an empty house.
To Eagle Creek clubhouse~5 min drive
To Don Julio (Eagle Creek)walkable
To MCO airport~15 min drive
To Orlando Vineland Outlets~30 min drive
Where it is
Live Google map
Who's coming
Four couples · eight players
Food & Drink
Steak, Mexican, home cooking, one still open
The week's dinners
Tue 15 · arrivalNothing planned — you land at 20:50
Wed 16🥩 BBQ steaks at the house
Thu 17🌮 Don Julio, Eagle Creek — walkable
Fri 18🍳 Cooking something good at the house
Sat 19Rio Pinar or somewhere local — deciding
Sun 20 · departureEat before the 19:30 airport run
🥩 Cooking at the house
Wed 16 & Fri 18 September · Hatton Circle
Good old BBQ steaks on the Wednesday, then something better thought-out on the Friday once you've
seen what the kitchen can do. Two dinners for eight is a real shopping run — do it on the Wednesday
while you're already out, not at 18:00 on the way back from the 18th.
Buy for both nights on Wednesday. Thursday you're at Don Julio and Friday you're not home from
Royal St Cloud until mid-afternoon — neither is a good day to discover the fridge is empty.
🌮 Don Julio Mexican Kitchen
Thu 17 September · Eagle Creek location · walkable
Address9776 Eagle Creek Center Blvd
Thu hours11:00 – 22:00
Known forMargaritas, birria, tequila bar
BookingNot yet made
Thursday closes at 22:00, an hour earlier than the weekend. It's also the outlets day, so whoever
goes shopping needs to be back in good time.
Call ahead, and name the branch. There are four Don Julio locations in Orlando — you want
Eagle Creek / Lake Nona, not Chickasaw, Lake Mary or Waterford Lakes. Party of eight with no
reservation is a long wait. Upside: the wait is at the tequila bar, and you're walking home.
🍽 Saturday night — still deciding
Two live options
If it's Rio Pinar, make it a late lunch, not dinner. Rio Pinar is 25 minutes north-east. You'd
finish the round about 13:45 and drive home — going back out in the evening is a 50-minute round trip
with two cars for a meal you could have had while you were standing there. Eat in their clubhouse
straight off 18, or eat locally in the evening. Doing both is the one combination that doesn't work.
Worth remembering the Rio Pinar tee time isn't confirmed either, so a dinner plan that depends on it
is doubly provisional.
Option A · Rio Pinar clubhouse
New dining room and banquet space. Zero extra driving if you do it as a late lunch. Only works
if the tee time lands.
Option B · Lake Nona Town Center
Ten minutes from the house and where the choice actually is — Chroma Modern Bar + Kitchen,
Nona Blue Modern Tavern, Bosphorous Turkish, Park Pizza with its own brewery, or Boxi Park
if you want twelve food containers, outdoor games and live music. The Belfry at Eagle Creek
is the five-minute, no-thought option.
A table for eight on a Saturday night wants booking, whichever way you go.
Practical
Worth reading before you pack
Weather
Mid-September Orlando: highs around 32 °C, brutal humidity, and near-daily afternoon thunderstorms.
Your 08:00 and 07:45 tee times are the right call — afternoon rounds get suspended for lightning.
Hurricane season
10–20 September is the statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. It very probably won't affect
you, but check that at least one person's travel insurance covers trip disruption, and know Icelandair's
rebooking policy before you fly.
Entry & admin
Icelandic passports need a valid ESTA for the US — check every one of the eight is current, not
expired, and matches the passport being carried. Approvals are usually instant but can take 72 hours.
Shopping — Thursday
Two outlet malls, both about 30 minutes from the house. Vineland Premium is the better one; International
Drive Premium is bigger and busier.
Golf kit
Mini-Verde greens run fast. Bring more balls than you think — 60+ bunkers and bulkheaded water on a par 73
with five par 5s. Soft spikes, sunscreen, and twice the water you'd carry in Iceland.
Cars
Eight people plus golf bags does not fit in one vehicle. You need at least two large SUVs or a minivan
plus an SUV — book with confirmed golf-bag capacity, not just seat count.
