Tiger's Windermere

If you have watched any major golf tournament in the past few years quite likely you have heard the announcer on the first tee say: “From Windermere, Florida…Tiger Woods!” Why in the world, when he could live anywhere in the world, would Tiger Woods decide to live in one of the smallest communities in the state of Florida. What is so attractive about Windermere?
Well…since it is also my home, I will acknowledge my prejudice right up front by saying that it is a wonderfully private and all accepting community. Windermere is an isthmus surrounded by seven lakes known as the Windermere Chain. It is located about 12 miles southwest of downtown Orlando and at one time was a place for summer lake homes for those living in the surrounding area. No one paid particular notice to the area until two things happened: Walt Disney World and Arnold Palmer.
When Disney began to move California executives into the area they all seemed to immediately discover the quiet and secluded neighborhoods of Windermere. Not long after that Arnold and his partners thought the area would be just right for an upscale golf course and Bay Hill was built nearby and followed a few years later by the Isleworth community and golf course that attracted some of the greatest golfers in the world. Why? Well, to begin with, it was gated, patrolled by security, close to a world class airport and in the state of Florida which has no state income tax. Put all of this together with year around golfing weather and you have a natural athlete magnet.
In addition to golfers many other athletes, entertainers, business executives and just plain folks have decided that this is a pretty nice place to live. All of this to say that Windermere is a melting pot of old-line Floridians, newcomers, wealthy and the not so wealthy, and some just getting by. What makes the place so unique is that nobody cares how much you make or what you do…a neighbor is family and family overrules everything else. It is a true community, which is why when the media descended on the area after the Thanksgiving mishap of Tiger Woods, no one was enthralled. We couldn’t wait for the storm to blow over and these “media types” went away to smell out another carcass.
Tiger lives here. This is his home and those who live in the area respect his privacy and hope that his life and the lives of his wife and children have not been permanently scarred. This community wants to be a healing agent. We don’t throw stones, we offer security and peace.
Maybe that’s why once you move it here you don’t want to leave.