WDM1980

I played here for the first time in mid-May and came back for a second round early June. Finding a public course in Toronto where you can tee off in the afternoon and not worry about a five hour round is a tough task. You can pay more and driver further, but if you're looking for a decent golf course with variety, challenge, and good conditions, why pay more or driver further?

I gave the course 4 stars and feel slightly guilty about that because there's nothing bad about the place. It's a good course, with a fast pace, good conditions, and a relaxing atmosphere. It's just not great. I'll still keep coming back though.

Pace and general notes:
My first time playing I got paired up with two-ball and we got around in about 3.5 hours. The second time, I played solo and got around in less than 3 hours - both times were early Saturday afternoons. The staff are great as it is still a private club that welcomes public play. The atmosphere felt like a quiet private club - not a high level public track with in-your-face service that I find usually goes to far. It was relaxed, welcoming, almost homey - so pretty much perfect. The range is ok though irons only - good for a quick warm up.

Conditions:
The greens were great. Despite a later tee time, the putting surfaces were rolling true and very quickly. The fairways, rough, and tee boxes were in good condition, though the excessive rain had caused a few issues - nothing that hindered play, but it was soft in some spots.

Course layout:
It's an older course that has matured through the years. That means it has smaller greens and the fairways have tightened as the trees have come in. For your first time you'll want to get paired with a member or someone who knows the layout. The blind tee shots on 3 and 18 aren't bad, but it helps if someone can point you in the right direction.

Hole notes:
4 is a scary par 3 from the lower tees as you can only see the flag; it's scary from the upper tees because you can see all the water.
5 and 6 - harder than you think because of tight landing area
8 - hit to the top of the hill - 210 from the white tees - aim at the 150 from there. If you're off the fairway and closer than the 150 for your third shot, you've got no chance
11 - you don't feel the wind from the tee, but take an extra club
12 - long hitters need to be between the willow and the fence - balls hit at the willow can easily find the pond
15 - pond in front 50 yards from middle of the green
17 - if you are confident with your driver, go over the edge of the pond to have a shot at the green, otherwise take a shorter club then layup to the 150 - it's a long drop to the creek after that

I've played here several times, I've never been liked the course that much, but the price is a good draw.

General notes - pace, etc:
The clubhouse is simple and does the job. It's not fancy and they don't try to be. They know they're a cheap course but still treat customers well and offer decent value. In the mornings the pace can be decent, unless you get caught behind certain entitled groups. Other times of day the pace can be ok or pretty slow. There's a range, but you need to bring your own balls, so generally either warm up elsewhere or don't warm up.

Conditions:
The course conditions are generally pretty good. Greens are consistent and moderate speed; however, apparently no one fixes ball marks. I was fixing five per green - those where just the ones near my line. Fairways and rough were in decent condition - all the rain helped ensure they were green. The bunkers were a weak point - they needed stirring as it was like hitting off of clay.

Course layout:
This is the part that keeps me from coming back for a fast weekend morning round. I find the course dull. Straight hole - with a bunker or two around the green. That's the formula. There are some dog legs, but for the most part it's monotonous. The fescue that comes in on some holes doesn't help with pace - it's not horrible, just an annoyance.

Straight holes - maybe a bunker or pond out of play:
1, 2, 3, 6, 9 (mostly straight) 10, 12, 14
You'll be dying of boredom by the turn. I was and walked off after 9 on my last visit because it was slow and boring.

I played this course on a frost delayed morning after Thanksgiving (Canadian). The staff were great at keeping us informed of the starting times and the free coffee helped keep me warm on the range, though did little to help my mediocre play.

Smuggler's is a lot of fun. Weaving its way around the Canadian shield, you get quite a Muskoka golf feel without the long drive up north and crazy prices. The rock and wetlands make for an interesting round as you have to play carefully to avoid bounces off the rocks and into the woods. The opening hole is a great example of the risk/reward of the course - hit it <210 off the tee to stay short of the rocks or try to carry it >235 to give yourself a short iron into the green on a par 5. Other great risk / reward holes include the par 5 4th, par 4 12th, and par 4 17th.

Conditioning was great - even late in the season. The range is ok - nothing special. The clubhouse is small, not grand, but provides a comfortable and friendly atmosphere. It's a walkable course - I did it without problem. There are some hills, but if you're used to walking, it won't be a problem - and it's far better than being stuck on cart path only.

This course belongs in the top 100 in Canada.

Copetown Woods, a relatively recent addition, is a carefully thought-out facility and run quite well.

The club house, practice range and green, and first tee area are well placed to keep things flowing well for golfers. The pro-shop will have you in and out to the tee or practice quickly.

The course is a mixture of heathland and sandhills styles - so the areas well off the fairway are either long grass (fescue style) or waste bunkers. The fescue will eat balls - if you find your ball in there, just pitch out. The waste bunkers are great for preventing people from having to look for balls in fescue all the time. When I last played, they had obviously been watering heavily despite the driest summer on record. All the ponds were 1-2m below their spring high water marks - I'm not sure how much longer that can be maintained. Even still, the course was not excessively spongy.

Greens were in excellent condition - running fast and true. Green-side bunkers had the right amount of sand, even if I didn't hit the right amount of sand all the time. Fairways, tees, and rough (excluding fescue) were mostly green, though showing signs of the dry heat - nothing to complain about. The fescue is mean and nasty - they don't feed it enough because it ate a few too many Titleists.

In general, the course is pretty straight forward. The slope rating, even from the blues, tells you that you should have an easy round. That will only happen if you keep it in the short stuff and the wind isn't being mean to you. A few holes are near giveaways in that they're pretty easy - 1, 8, 12, 13, 15 while others will make you wish you had played smarter - 2, 5, 6, 10, 18.

The only complaint I have occurred on my most recent visit - we teed off around 9 on a Saturday and found out a few holes in that there was a small tournament ahead of us - only a few groups. This slowed play a bit and resulted in a round just over 4.5. I wish there were some notice about tournaments going out on the course - especially on a weekend morning when you don't expect them. All my other rounds there have been around 4 hours, many times less than that.

Piper's Heath has an amazing location very close to downtown and next to the suburbs. It wasn't a forested area or one with any elevation change, so they made a heath-lands-style course (don't call it links - it's not). It was a great idea. Then they ruined it.

The over-all layout is decent - challenging but occasionally forgiving. It's fair and fun, but can also kick your backside for wayward shots. The back nine opens and closes with obnoxiously long par 5s. In the middle, an interesting mix of holes, including another long par 5. They need a set of tees between the white and blue - blues are too long for most and whites take too much of the challenge away.

The conditioning is always green and lush - far too green and far too lush. In the midst of a long period of no rain - part of the driest summer on record - the course remains spongy and green. It just doesn't seem right - out of place when most grass everywhere is brownish that this course should be excessively soft as if it had rained every day for a month. A heath-land / "links-style" course should be firm and fast. My drives were leaving pitch marks in the fairways and a ball landing short of the green would never bounce on as you get in real links. It's a "links-style" course that doesn't play like one - very odd.

The pace slow. It's just plain bad. If a group is slow, they'll be asked to hurry along, but that's all. The course has excellent customer service to a fault - they never want to upset anyone. So, they won't tell you to pickup and move on because you're 2 holes behind and irritating everyone else on the course. During one round there, the course attendant told us that this one group was slow - they were behind on the front and asked to speed up, then took 10 minutes a the turn, and by 14 were 2.5 holes behind. All they had done was "ask them to hurry along." The cost of that excessive niceness was to irritate all other players on the course. You'd think the mornings would be better; unfortunately, they run double tees; so, the crossovers get messed up and the 8:00 tee off can end up behind the 10:00 tee off - meaning they all get the 4.5-5 hour round, minimum.

Drive another 10-15 minutes and you'll save yourself an hour on the course.

I hadn't been back to Hunter's Pointe in many years. When I finally went to see how the renovations had gone, I was impressed by the changes needed to avoid the highway. Conditions were good - nothing to complain about in terms of the layout or the conditioning.

The round was slow - horribly slow. The front nine took us three hours to complete. At some point the marshal mentioned that there was a group a few ahead of us dragging things down and that he was keeping an eye on them. As is the case with most courses, that was the extent of his action. They watched while we trudged through a painfully slow round and did nothing to fix it. An 830am tee time should not result in a round of 5:30. No apology from any staff came and the marshal stopped making eye contact with us for the last eight holes. Sure it's cheap - best golf rates anywhere when measured on an hourly rate. Save your time - pay an extra $15-20 and go to Legends on Niagara or anywhere else.

Dragon's Fire is a relatively new course opened with promises of a great golf course at good prices. It sounds great but it's not. The execution was poor and management is not connected with the reality facing them.

The course itself is dull, annoying, and frustratingly difficult at times. It opens with a driveable par 4 then a par 3, so right away you're going to have delays. The first two holes are decent and can be played multiple ways, but starting the course like that guarantees waiting on both tees. After the second hole there are three par 4s all pretty much the same - straight-ish with a bunch of bushes or bunkers to make it sort of curve. Then the 6th hole at the end of the property- a tight par 4; next you come back up the property with 7 and 8 - two very similar par 5s played uphill and very long. The back 9 is pretty much the same - two more very long uphill par 5s, a driveable par 4, 3 par 3s, and the 18th - a par 5 around the pond. There's a feeling of sameness and repetition - "didn't we just play this hole?" is a phrase you'll hear often.

The pace is slow, drearily slow. We teed off at 930 and finished in well over 5 hours. It was a slow start and never got better. We asked the marshal on the 6th hole what was going on, he said he'd try and speed things along. After that, he never spoke to us or made eye contact. I believe it's because he knew there was nothing he could do and that we were doomed to a long round.

There are so many courses around the area. I hoped that this course would be something refreshing and fun. Instead it's a death march where the only happiness you'll find is in driving out the parking lot knowing you won't have to come back.

Portstewart managed to be my favourite all around experience of my trip. The golf staff set me up with a last minute game with a few members who warmly welcomed me to their group. From the high first tee, the views across the dunes are stunning. The course meanders through the dunes, though it lacks the wild twists and elevation changes of Carne and Enniscrone. Everything about it is well balanced. It’s tough but not excessively punishing; it requires well placed drives to setup the ideal approach, but you can still be creative and make a decent score without the perfect shots. The ebb and flow of the course won’t frustrate you and wear you down. The modern club house and facilities are beautiful but the club keeps the welcoming Irish charm. With two other courses on the property, this seems to be a stop suited for everyone.
The front 9 is wilder and more of a challenge than the back, but you've got to remain altert and focused to score on the flatter and seemingly more straightforward 9.

The once and future site of the Open Championship and ranked 16th in the world was also the most expensive stop on my trip by far.
Portrush seems rather ordinary at first – a nice club house and locker room, but not Royally nice. The starter’s building changes that impression. The red blazer with club tie and grey pants donned by the starter and the caddies milling about give it a formal “you just paid a royal sum to be here” atmosphere.
The course is tough; rough comes in right where you don’t want it to and the green complexes seem to ensure balls bounce anywhere but onto the green. I played in the only really foul weather day of my trip – persistent rain for 6 holes and a stiff wind after the rain stopped. It lacks the views from vistas of some dunes courses and doesn’t run along the beach, but the challenge of the course is undeniable. The opening and closing holes were straight away par 4s with plenty of risk / reward opportunity that seems to come with major venues. There are few blind shots here, only tough lies, tight approaches, and punishing to mishits.

Go to an island just a little left after the middle of nowhere; at the far tip of the island, on the most unlevel rocky section, put a golf course; people will come to play. That’s Cruit Island Golf Club (Cruit pronounced “Critch”). Whenever I mentioned my planned route, every golfer who knew of the course, and even some non-golfers, told me I had to check the place out. They were right. I wish I could’ve played there all day. “Easy,” “straight forward,” and “simple” do not describe the course at all. “Wild,” “fun,” and “crazy” fit much better. The blind shots on 5 holes scare you and have you guessing at clubs the first time around and the 6th hole par 3 is all carry from one rocky peninsula over another, to the green surrounded by the Atlantic – I didn’t even mind the 3 putt bogie. It was such fun, I wish I’d stayed all day for the extra €10.

Narin and Portoo is relatively flat and somewhat protected from the ocean by a barrier of dunes. The rough is still tough and you must keep your shots online. Views from the 9th tee are great, just don’t forget that you’re shooting OVER the 8th green towards the fairway and are totally blind to the 9th green. The course was lengthed some years ago to a par 72; that involved stretching out the back 9 with 4 par 5s including 3 consecutive through 13-15. The views off of 15 tee that curves around the beach will be among the best golf photos anywhere. Conditioning was ok, but some patchy spots on the greens were annoying. Narin’s clubhouse is simple without the great views, but the food is amazing – more people came in for the food on Friday evening than came to play golf during the day.

Murvagh, as it’s known locally is a pleasant, relatively flat, and much more forgiving course than Carne and Enniscrone. There is a barrier of dunes which block the view of the sea from most holes, though you can usually hear the waves just beyond. With the absence of dunes to weave around, the course is far less intimidating than others. It felt more like a pure links course rather than a wild ride through the dunes as it has all of the characteristics of a links with the undulating and fast fairways leading to firm greens protected by pot bunkers. You can score well, but need to be creative in your approach to the greens and you must keep the tee shots in the fairway. From the 6th tee on top of the dune, you have a great view over Donegal Bay – look at the oyster farm only a few hundred yards away and remember that as you try the oysters at Castle Bar in Donegal Town (the course is called Donegal, the Town is Donegal, the county is Donegal – leads to some confusion at times.) The club house is nice with the restaurant on the second floor able to see the entire course.

Tom Coyne said this was his favourite course on the island; many agree with him that it’s the best. It’s surely a beauty that I will visit again, I’m not sure about the best, but up there.
All three 9s seemingly have the same approach to design – they found these crazy dunes, cut the grass and put flag in the midst of a quasi-flat spot. The course is wild - up and down, left and right, blind shots off the tee and to the green, and plenty of challenge. Land your ball in the wrong spot and you’ll have a blind shot up a dune that seems as tall as Toronto’s skyline. The rough is tough, but not as wild as some; the fairways seemed a touch more forgiving than other courses. Views near the ocean and from the many high points on the course are amazing – those dunes are tall and provide panoramic vistas that mean you don’t care where your shot ends up.
Hacket course (opened 1993) – the original 18 – the front 9 is much more subtle and tame than the back. Anywhere else, it would be a spectacular 9 holes, but it’s followed by the back 9 and that makes it seem rather ordinary. The back 9 provides much more elevation changes, tougher shots, and greater views as it goes out along the ocean and into the highest point in the dunes.
Kilmore 9 (opened 2013) – this new 9 starts between the front and back and crosses the back 9 between and over the same tall dunes. The holes are wild and terrifying at times – the 213 yard par 3 7th has you teeing off from the top of a dune to a green a top the same dune, with only the walking path connecting the two. It’s not an island, but may as well be one – I wasn’t going to climb/fall down 30m of dune going after a ball.
Conditions on all three 9s were similar – not lush and green, but like all links very firm. The greens weren’t in the best shape – multiple grasses seems to have taken hold making putting tough at times.

If you're only doing 18, play the back 9 of the Hacket course and the Kilmore 9. [But really, you came all this way, play all 3.] Keep fueled up, the walk is a great workout that will give you your leg and glute workout for the day and completely justify the seafood chowder in the bar (best in Ireland).

This is a tough beast set next to the holiday town of Enniscrone. Set mostly among massive dunes next to the ocean, the course is full of blind shots and twisting holes to drive you crazy. If you miss the fairway you’ll be in the thickest, most ball hungry rough on the island – damp grass and moss abound; you could step on your ball and not find it. It’s not for the meek or wild driving. From Holes 5-8, you get a break as it runs parallel to the Scurmore 9 hole course – flat and relatively dune free. The remaining holes have you weaving around the dunes. Holes 11-13 I called crazy corner – a scary par 3 and two blind tee shots on dog leg par 4s. Holes 15-18 are great. Get your best pic from the 17th tee box looking back at 16, send it to your golf buddies, they will swear at you.

A full out North American-styled resort with its hotel attached, Rosapenna stood out among all the courses I visited, and not in a good way. Once you make your way to the “Golf Pavillion” – which sounds like part of a Disney resort – you can wander into the golf shop where a disinterested staff member will take your money and send you on your way. Every other course seemed genuinely happy to see me and found me a game. Rosapenna’s golf staff told me “the course is empty, no other players, sorry.” Even the food in the expansive lounge seemed devoid of character. The place had no soul; that made it feel less like I was playing in Ireland and more like a tired resort. Golf pavilion experience aside, the course was good. The Sandy Hills Links is the newer 18 hole course alongside a Tom Morris 1893 design. It weaves its way through the dunes – definitely a resort course with wider, more forgiving fairways and fewer blind shots than most courses. The conditioning was fine, but the sand in the bunkers seemed odd, like it wasn’t native to a damp links course. Rosapenna recently purchased the St Patrick’s links directly adjacent to the resort. It’s been closed a few years now, but will be added to their collection giving them a total of 63 holes on the property.

A golf course for the Irish, it’s cheap and it’s fun. The course starts on the top of a hill leading up to Knocknarea. You’ll be surrounded by chances for pics both of Knocknarea behind you and the Atlantic Ocean in front. Only a few blind shots, so you don’t have to play it twice to really get it. It’s down the hill to the water, then back up, and repeat. Some dunes, but you’ll never feel like a shot hit marginally off will be lost. The 7th runs along the beach with great views from the tees. Great value, greens aren’t perfect, but that’s what you get for the price.

Hidden Lake's courses are both fairly easy. This time out I played the Old Course at a pretty decent deal.

Historically, I've avoided this facility for anything but an early round due to the horrid pace of play that I've experienced before. With a 1pm tee time, I was paired up with three gents, all riding - I elected to walk - and it's an easy walk. We walked off the 18th green at 5:05 pm. That's right! A 4:05 round on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the height of the season. I was shocked and rather happy with that time, not so much with my score.

The old course is a classic style course - smaller greens, tighter fairways. It's still very easy as the facility keeps fescue and longer grasses down, so if you're hitting way offline as I was, you'll still be in play. The sand was amazing - I've played at much higher end courses and been disappointed by the sand - not here; it was just the right depth and firmness to be playable. The greens were rolling true, but not so fast as to make putting an exacerbating experience.

I'll likely be back and will hope for a similar pace of play experience.

We stayed in the Cacapon Resort State Park over easter weekend. Having come down from Canada Friday morning, we wanted to come far enough south that we were to be sure of no snow. If you go, stay in one of the cabins - same price as the lodge, but you get a kitchen and fireplace which is great for evenings of drinking local moonshine.

I was the only golfer in the group, so planned on going out as a single and possibly getting paired up.

The prices are unreal - afternoon 9 holes for $13, $35 for 18 on a weekend morning, range balls for $3.

The course was still recovering from a tough winter - they actually had snow. Despite that, the tees, fairways, rough, and bunkers all looked in great condition given that it was very early season. The greens were long as they didn't want to hurt the grass; however, they still rolled true.

The layout is great - it has a wide variety of holes; dog legs, straight away holes, all of varying distance. The front 9 starts fairly wide open, and then wanders back into the trees. At no point does it feel too tight; there are the woods framing some holes, but it's forgiving enough to leave some room for error. There's very little water on the course, only in play on 4 holes. The back nine is entirely set the woods, except for the 10th tee and 18th green. While a few holes run parallel in a back and forth fashion, they're all different as they go gently up and down lower edge of the mountain ridge.

There weren't any leaves on the trees when I was there, but I can imagine just how beautiful it can be. On the 11th hole of my first round, a deer was standing 2 yards off the green grazing and watching me as I quietly putted out. Getting a birdie was nice, having that audience was even better.

I easily walked the course all three times I played. There are no big hills or long gaps green to tee. Even on the busy Easter Saturday, my slowest round was just under 4 hours walking in a foursome. In a two some, we got around in just over three hours.

The clubhouse and grill are pretty basic no-frills setups. The breakfast sandwich was great and I'd go back just to have another Reuben and fries after my round.

If you want a low cost get away weekend with golf and other activities, Cacapon is a great option.

It's not a 5 star course or experience; you don't get the over-the-top service, the perfectly groomed course with tour speed greens. If you want a serene weekend away from everything this is for you. It's a great easy escape - it's simple, it's inexpensive, it's relaxing.

Bella Collina is unique in the Orlando area. The hilly terrain defines the course and the fact that it's in the hills far above Orlando gives it extra challenge with the wind.

This course is all about the experience. One through the gate, the cobblestone-like roadway tells you this experience will be different. The clubhouse, with it's underground parking gives you the sense you've been transported far away to Tuscany. From beginning to end, the service is perfect - not in your face, but they take care of you from the guy that will meet you at your car, to the starter, to the 19th hole.

The practice facility is great - go and practice your low punch shots and make some putts.

The course is tough, but doesn't feel tricked up because the challenge is the terrain. The only level lie you'll find is on the tee box. After that - it's up, down, and side to side. Think about each tee shot to keep your ball from rolling into trouble. Put the ball on the right level of the green so it doesn't roll off. It has two driveable par 4s, and others that feel like par 5s - a solid mix.

Enjoy all the views - they're spectacular and terrifying. It was less than 50 degrees and windy when I was there, I'd love to try it when I wasn't shivering and when my game was on.

Apparently this course may go private soon - play it while you still can.

I knew I wanted to play here after seeing all of the reviews and rankings. The price was a little scary, but I got a last minute deal that made it much easier to say yes. After playing, I can say that even at $125+ it's worth it.

Service - well, it's the Waldorf, you get exactly what you expect.
Facility - great range, nice practice green - spend time on it to get the speed.
Course - the conditions are perfect. Even though I played late in the day, I found divots filled and greens smooth; I saw there was a team out there filling divots and fixing greens when there was a gap on a hole.

Another golfer I know said he disliked the layout because it was a "what you see is what you get" course. That's true, but I find that a positive thing. There aren't any tricked up holes or difficulty created by ultra tight fairways, blind shots, or forced carries. There are some dog legs, but many of the holes are fairly straight. If you can't hit the driver straight, keep it in the bag. Even if you're hitting it straight, there's a lot of challenges awaiting you - strategic bunkering and hazards to keep you thinking. You will wondering just what sort of being worked with Rees Jones in designing this course. Once you've managed to get around or out of the bunkers and you're putting, the challenge is still there. The greens are fast (really fast - 12 on the stimp) and undulating.

Play this course, you'll enjoy every second of your experience.