Rio Pinar Golf Club

Overview: Rio Pinar Golf is an 18-hole parkland course in east Orlando, on El Prado Avenue. Mark Mahannah’s original 1957 design is framed by mature pines and oaks, with tree-lined corridors, bunkering and medium-sized greens shaping a traditional Central Florida test. The championship card reaches about 7,001 yards at par 72. Though the course has received later work, its core character remains a classic inland layout where placement matters and the broad, flat Florida landscape is given structure by trees and water.

History: Rio Pinar opened in 1957, designed by Mark Mahannah. In 1995, architect Lloyd Clifton updated the layout, with improvements to greens, bunkers and fairway definition. The club’s history is closely connected to professional golf in Orlando: from 1966 it hosted the Florida Citrus Open, later known as the Walt Disney World Golf Classic, for a long run before the tournament moved. Current ownership and operations continue under Rio Pinar Golf, with the course remaining a public-facing local golf facility.

Did You Know? Rio Pinar’s tournament story began with an inaugural event organized by the Orlando Junior Chamber of Commerce and a fundraising exhibition featuring Arnold Palmer, according to the club’s historical account. The course then hosted PGA Tour golf for many years, helping put Orlando on the professional golf map before the area became known for its resort concentration. The pairing of a mid-century Mahannah routing and later Clifton updates is visible in the course’s balance between mature tree-lined golf and modernized playing surfaces.