rdmcdaid

Both the New and Old courses have been a favourite of mine for the past decade. While I live in Mississauga the drive to get there is always easy and peaceful if you take the back roads.

This past winter has been particularly tough throughout south western Ontario and unfortunately Hidden Lakes suffered as most courses are still cleaning up.

Surprisingly, the course was almost too dry for this time of year. The staff has done a tremendous job of clearing fallen trees and branches. The bunkers while not in mid season form were very playable and should be above average by mid season.

The staff were friendly as always. The course has new owners in Clublink however, it's too early to tell what type of impact the sale will have on the course.

The range is open along with grass tee's, I found it a little strange that their practice putting green was still covered by gigantic tarp!

The fairways were decent and free if winter debris. Only one temporary green was in play on the new course. It was number 9 on the new course.

Unfortunately, it was the best of te greens.

Winter had devastated much of the greens throughout.

I was very disappointed in the condition especially considering it doesn't take much to make a golfer happy at this time of year. The greens were dry, burnt, and had recently been seeded but the seed was too dry and was all over the burned and non burned patches of grass. The greens were anything but.

So if you're planning on playing, do yourself a huge favour and wait till June hopefully by then the greens will be back.

First off, the staff were extremely friendly and helpful.

Based on condition, the course opened prematurely.

All fairways were saturated with freestanding water and even cart paths were under water throughout the course. Drives and approaches plugged easily and quickly. Even playing lift clean and place few dry spots were to be found.

The greens appeared to have ariated last year, and did not have sufficient time to heal before winter set in. They have not been cut yet, so it was like a shag carpet throughout the course. On the plus side the greens did winter well except as already noted. They should come back fairly quickly. Unfortunately, like the rest of the course, it opened too early.

The bunkers again had not been maintained since last fall. The only sand that was playable was if you were lucky enough to have landed in a area that hand been raked by someone before you. Again far too much standing water.

Tee boxes were simply more of what's already been stated. No maintenance for 2014 except to move the tee blocks.

I am positive that as spring rolls around, the course conditions and playability will increase quickly.

After a long, cold hard winter without Golf I jumped at the chance to play! It was a mistake. As anxious as I was to play,I was very disappointed and felt as though I had wasted my time and money.

The course was well maintained and was in good shape typical of the season for the Niagara region. The course wasn't overly busy for a lazy Sunday afternoon of golf.

My wife and I live in Mississauga and enjoy travelling through out the Escarpment region. On the Canada long weekend we took the trip to Rockway Glen. We were paired up with another Golf Now twosome and were able to complete the round in approximately 4 hours.

Pace of play was steady and we were never held up or rushed. Greens were steady, medium sized and had a variety of contours and levels dependant on pin placement. Medium speed with a few unexpected breaks challenged our short games.

Bunkers were maintained and although I didn't spend anytime in them, they looked playable.

The day was warm, sunny and with little to no wind it didn't play overly long. With 5 sets of Tee's the course should be playable by beginner to advanced and still maintain a good test of the game we all love.

Carts are equipped with GPS (first generation) since the layout is relatively flat, the basics were all that was needed. The course website describes water coming into play on 10 of 18 holes, however, since my spouse didn't complain about long carries over water, most won't find the hazards too severe.

Par 72 with yardages from 5000 to just under 7000, a mid size pro shop attached to a large club house and Wine boutique/museum/retail store on site. We saved the wine for last and the staff were very friendly and had a (discount outlet) for some of the clearance wine.

Since our primary reason to visit was Golf, unfortunately, we did not do enough planning to allow us to explore and enjoy the entire facility.

I would highly recommend Rockway Glen to any GTA area golfer looking to escape the traditional 6 hour weekend round. While not a PGA Course by any means it does provide a good solid golf experience and combines it with fine dining and wine at reasonable prices.

We will certainly return and play again. Next time we will make sure we have sufficient time to experience more of the ding and winery!

Robert

I played the course on a Thursday afternoon. I arrived an hour early. After stopping for lunch in the clubhouse ( 10..00 for a pre-packaged Tuna sandwich and sport water!) I proceeded to check in. A young lady checked me in and after finding my time and reading the HOT DEAL sheet went to another staff member. She said something to him about the cart. The hot deal included the cart and he mumbled about "We never include a cart in Hot Deals" After reading my reservation, he said give him a cart and i'll have to call Golf NOW!

Definitely NOT the best way to handle the situation, especially in light of wanting a golfer to return and feel welcome. I do understand that HOT deals don't provide the regular rate of return for the course, however, in light of the light play that day, it was better than having no income.

After leaving the club house a little more than put off, i grabbed my clubs and proceeded to the starters area and picked up my cart.

Both Starters were super friendly and suggested that if I was alone, (I was) that there was no need to wait the extra hour before my tee time. The Tee was free and clear and could tee off any time I was ready!

The score card on the cart was used from the previous players. No problem as they usually have scorecards in a box at the first tee.

The box was empty so I made do with the used card and tee'd off.

The round took approximately 3 hours and would have taken less time except I caught up to a two some on the back nine that figured they need 2 mulligans each on every tee and had no intention of letting anybody through.....

Staff on the course were super friendly, except the cart staff that seem to drive up at the most in-opportune moments.... Putting, teeing off it didn't matter she made everyone on the course aware that she was there driving her noisy cart regardless of what was going on around her.

After my stale sandwich and 4 dollar sports water in the club house I wasn't prepared to spend anymore money on an inflated menu.

The course has added a new extremely large irrigation pond on the back side to improve drainage. It is the primary reason for the temporary green and almost unplayable hole. The left side of the fairway has been torn up and sprayed with liquid grass seed to help but he area is roped off and I would be surprised if it is playable (fairway) before the end of the season.

While the round provided value for my HOT Deal, I will not return at any price based on the attitude of the Pro shop staff member and the cart issue.

I have played the course many times and at regular rates, however, there are many more courses that provide much better overall experience and will not subject the paying golfer to a challenge on something as silly as a cart!

The course is a 5 minute drive from anywhere in Port Elgin, and about 3 hours from Toronto.

My wife and I were book to play at 2:22 on a Thursday afternoon.

We arrived about an hour early. The course is equipped with a driving range, putting green, however, the pro-shop allowed us to tee off as soon as we were ready. They were super friendly.

We tee'd off at 125 and were pack the clubs back into the trunk of our car at 455.

In true links fashion, find the fairway or expect to lose strokes and golf balls. The rough and naturalized areas are playable, however, it's almost impossible to find the ball even if you know where the all went in.

Few trees leaves the course unprotected and the wind at 30 kph was both chilling (temperature) and punishing as in all 18 holes, it was either in your face or a severe cross wind prevailed.

The greens were well manicured. Water only comes into play on two holes and doesn't present any knee knowers off the tee's.

Fairways were well manicured and defined, they we however, very dry compared to the recent amount of rain recently. This may also be a temporary issue with the infancy of the course or the wind?

We normally play closer to the GTA, since we had business locally to attend to we took the opportunity to explore.

The course is short even from the tips, the wind makes it play longer than as stated on the card.

If you like links style golf, with out the crowds or GTA pricing, you'll love this course.

We wouldn't hesitate to book again if we were in the area. Coming from Toronto, just to play the course again, probably not.

All in all we had a good time.