Orange County National - Crooked Cat or Panther Lake

I played Crooked Cat a 4-5 years ago and really enjoyed it. One of, if not the, nicest public courses I have ever played. Didn't have a chance to play Panther Lake but from what I have read it is just as nice. I think Panther Lake is supposedly a little more scenic if that's the sort of thing you look for.

Looking at their website it looks like the re-seeded the greens at Panther Lake over the summer. Might want to check into that before making a decision. http://www.ocngolf.com/golf-course/panther-lake-course-information

I played Panther Lake a while ago 6 or 7 years ago.  Real nice layout good bit of water with some forced carries and some nice risk/reward holes.  I played real well on it so maybe that's why I like it so much.  Real interesting par three holes. 

I've played both twice and Panther Lake is the way to go in my opinion. Crooked is fun but doesn't offer the amazing selection of holes and scenery that PL does. 

I loved Panther Lake, but didn't get to play Crooked Cat. Everyone in the club house said that if they had to choose one they'd choose PL.

Unfortunately for me, I played PL on an extremely windy day, and at that point, I had only been playing golf for like 8 months, so I had an awful round. I wouldn't say I got to experience the course, but it was really nice, and I had a lot of fun. My friends who are decent players all enjoyed themselves and made some sweet, sweet birdies that day that I'm sure felt great considering the conditions. 

It's always cool to play a course that was used for Q-School.

The range was ridiculously cool too. 

I think Orange County National has hosted Q School also...I haven`t played there but they have a nice driving range.

Panther Lake

I also prefer Panther Lake.  I find it to have a greater variety of unique hole designs, with lots of water hazards, sand, scenery, and elevation changes.  Crooked Cat has a lot of holes that play similarly, and only two strong water holes (12 & 13?).  I don't actually dislike the cat, but probably choose panther about 3 times to 1.  Wind is frequently strong at both, so if you aren't playing the correct tees for your game you will be destroyed.

Try to play both if you can. The consensus of my group may have been a very slight preference for Panther Lake, but the vote was tighter than the last Presidential election and we were happy with both choices which was not true of the election  Don't sweat it if you can only play one. Play whichever one you can get the best tee time.

Here are photo tours of both courses from two winter rounds at each course.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157631977226893/  Crooked Cat

http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157631960033069/  Panther Lake

 Crooked Cat #12 from tee

Panther Lake #7 from tee