Isleworth Country Club

When a deep freeze decimated Florida's citrus crop in 1886, Sydney Chase and his brother, Joshua, went searching for surviving groves to supplement the scarce supply at their Sanford operation. Soon after, they stumbled upon a section of promising property in Southwest Orlando, where some 1,300 robust orange and lemon trees were thriving on an island between Lake Tibet Butler and what is now Lake Isleworth.

The sight of such bounty caused Sydney Chase's father-in-law to remark, "Well you certainly have an island of worth here. Why not call it Isleworth?"

The name stuck. And so has the worth. But this one-time citrus grove - now called Isleworth Country Club - has since taken on additional meaning: island of distinction.

How else can one describe an enclave community of estate homes that feature many well-known athletes, including Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara, Shaquille O'Neal, Grant Hill, and Ken Griffey, Jr., and numerous business leaders such as International Management Group co-CEO Alastair Johnston, to the family of elite agent Mark McCormack, who founded and ran IMG until his passing last year.

The golf course, originally designed by Arnold Palmer, has been recently updated by Steve Smyers and has been named the toughest, and longest, course in Florida by the Florida State Golf Association.