Course Conditions

[GarthM]

Played there 2 weeks ago and it was in respectable shape except for the 18th green which is never in fabulous shape. Fairways were pretty full and the greens rolled nicely if a little slow.

Watch out for the rough as it is probably really thick with all this rain.

GarthM

[faldo]

Played on the 30th.
Still very, very soggy. No carts allowed...
Ponds almost overflowing & rough is to be avoided all costs.
We think it's too wet to try to cut down the rough.

GREENS were excellent, quick & true

[el tigre]

Played Metcalfe on May 30th. Fairways are in decent shape - all the bare spots from earlier in the year have be re-sodded and are growing in nicely. Only a few patches of casual water.

The greens are still a little bumpy in spots, but improved from earlier in the year and definately playable. They're better than a lot of other courses I've played this year.

Played Cloverdale today, and I agree with faldo. Fairways soggy, greens are excellent, rough = kiss any thoughts of par goodbye.

[LionsRoar]

Not too much to say here. Both courses were really wet when I played them this past weekend. I've never played them before so I don't know whether they'll dry out quickly or not. Standing water was all over the place on both courses. To be fair, we had a lot of rain the previous week.

Greens and tee boxes at Smiths Falls were in good condition.

Greens were good at Lochmar and the tee boxes needed a little work.

[fireice]

PLayed Glen Mar for the first time yesterday. The rains subsided after the first hole so that was good. Greens were pretty good although a few holes still had some good winter kill going on. Boy the rough is thick there as I didn't hit too many fairways (Can you say lots of doglegs). The course was fairly green I guess most are with all the rain lately. Nice course I'll do better next time.

[jeffc]

played there last weekend. The greens were some of the best I've played on in a long time. Smooth, fairly fast and true. A true pleasure to play on. The rest of the course is in pretty good shape considering the amount of rain and the low elevation of the course. A few soggy spots but otherwise quite good.

[Deep red]

Played there yesterday. The course was in very good shape. The greens ran true and the fairways were well kept. It was a great value for $25.00 and i think i only saw 15 other people on the course while i was there. I don't know how it plays the rest of the year but for now it is fine.

[The Shtick]

Are we thinking about the same course??

I played in the "B" class Field Day #1 tournament there on Monday morning and talk about your casual swamp! Even some of the bunkers were filled to the top with water! It was a total waste of time for me unfortunately. And I wasn't very impressed with the layout either (but that was just a personal rant).

3 1/2 hours to play the front. You couldn't walk in a straight line to get your ball and people were loosing balls in the casual water everywhere. Needless to say, I walked off the course after 9 holes (DQ'ed myself) and just made it home in time for dinner.

[Deep red]

Originally posted by The Shtick
Are we thinking about the same course??

I played in the "B" class Field Day #1 tournament there on Monday morning and talk about your casual swamp! Even some of the bunkers were filled to the top with water! It was a total waste of time for me unfortunately. And I wasn't very impressed with the layout either (but that was just a personal rant).

3 1/2 hours to play the front. You couldn't walk in a straight line to get your ball and people were loosing balls in the casual water everywhere. Needless to say, I walked off the course after 9 holes (DQ'ed myself) and just made it home in time for dinner.

Not sure???

It is south of Ottawa just east of Kempville. I saw no water in any of the bunkers and i played the whole round in less than 3.5 hours.

[The Shtick]

That IS the course that I played. And you saw NO water???

The pace was bad considering that we were 120+ players walking in zig-zags to get to our balls.

Just the scores alone justify how bad the conditions were.

www.ovga.org and click on tournaments, then 2003 results. The best score was an 84! Very sad.

I have no offence towards your comments but I can hardly believe that the course has changed that much in only 4 days!

[Deep red]

There was NO water in any of the bunkers. There was no casual water anywhere that i hit into and i have a 24 handicap so it was not down the middle every time. There were some damp areas but nothing out of the ordinary. They (i) had a power cart out and with the exceptions of very few areas you could travel at will. On one of the par 4 holes there was an area staked out on the far right that looked like it should nornally not be, but other than that it was dry.

Anyway i am off to Manderly have a great day.

[foxman]

I am member at Nationview and Deep red is right.The course has really dried out in four days [I was really surprised myself how dry it was from Monday to now ] And The Shtick you are right the course was really wet on Monday.The course has been in really good shape this year.

[el tigre]

Played Champlain today, and it was in pretty good shape. Fairways were soggy in places and some had quite a few dandelions sprouting through, but they were generally OK. The greens were in great shape - the best that I've seen them in a long time. Definitely playable.

[curls]

Anyone played here recently? Going on Thursday and wondering if it's a nice course and what kind of shape it is in... I've neve rpalyed there before so I do not know what to expect.

~Eric

[Curious George]

Cartier gets away with overcharging because of its proximity to downtown. In my opinion, it is not worth it. I don't know about current conditions, but its a flat and somewhat boring course.

[NoBack]

the greens were not the best last friday. They were hit just like most in that area im told. Course is a nice little track though. I enjoy the walk and the scenery along the river holes.

[ShaneOttawa]

Originally posted by Curious George
Cartier gets away with overcharging because of its proximity to downtown. In my opinion, it is not worth it. I don't know about current conditions, but its a flat and somewhat boring course.

I agree in a limited way. The Chateau Cartier front is one of my favourite nines in the city, and I particularly like the stretch from #4 thru the tee shot on #12.

Then, from the second shot on #12 thru to the 14th green is some of the most boring, repetitive golf terrain in the region. Its not 1/2 the course, but it feels like it, perhaps because those holes are similar to the earlier (and superior) holes at 2, 7, 8 and 9.

Meanwhile, I'll stack #5, 6, 10, 11 and 15 against any in the city. I stopped complaining about #17 when I figured out which club to use (my 5I hits and sticks the elevated green like clockwork) - but I'll also concede that #17 is overly-unfair to short hitters.

And yes, Chateau Cartier is definately cashing in on its central location.

[Curious George]

Didn't mean to knock it, it's just my opinion. I'd rather go a little farther, pay $10 less, and have just as much fun. My complaint about 17 (and I can hit it easily): it's not real golf, it's a novelty hole.

I agree, the holes along the river are scenic; but I still find the course a bit flat and unchallenging.

I notice the rates are $43 +; there was a time when they tried charging me $60 for a round. Was it my imagination, or was it just a special time for them?

[ShaneOttawa]

Originally posted by Curious George
Didn't mean to knock it, it's just my opinion. I'd rather go a little farther, pay $10 less, and have just as much fun. My complaint about 17 (and I can hit it easily): it's not real golf, it's a novelty hole.

I agree, the holes along the river are scenic; but I still find the course a bit flat and unchallenging.

I notice the rates are $43 +; there was a time when they tried charging me $60 for a round. Was it my imagination, or was it just a special time for them?

I think they jacked up their prices shortly after the new owners came in a few years ago, only to roll them back because they'd gone too far with the green fees.

I think we basically agree about the course, although I'm willing to go there for a few rounds per year simply because of that stretch of good holes that abruptly ends after #11. As for 17 - yes its goofy golf that I personally enjoy because I've figured it out, but its waaaayyyyy too unfair for short hitters who have no chance of hitting the green even if they treat it as a par 4 and hit their tee shot to the base of the wall, er, hill. Too many people can't hit the ball that high.

[stanley]

[gwil]

Played Pakenham yesterday as it was ladies night at Sandpoint.

The course is very dry and hard. The tee boxes are not even close to level, makes it difficult to setup when driving. Some of the fairways (#3) Island, have no grass in places. Overall I thought the course was in really bad shape and not well maintained. The ball bounces 3-4 feet in the air after impact...not real golf.

Sandpoint however is in awesome shape for those of you who have not had a chance to get out there this year.

[ShaneOttawa]

Originally posted by gwil
Played Pakenham yesterday as it was ladies night at Sandpoint.

The course is very dry and hard. The tee boxes are not even close to level, makes it difficult to setup when driving. Some of the fairways (#3) Island, have no grass in places. Overall I thought the course was in really bad shape and not well maintained. The ball bounces 3-4 feet in the air after impact...not real golf.

Tell that to the Scots

[Curious George]

Agree, I was at Packenham, and the greens had a lot of damage. I had a similar experience at Calabogie: while the rest of the course was nice, the greens were thick, uncut and like putting on a fairway. I was very sad, as I used to love this course. Didn't help that I played Eagle Creek the day before (I dreamt about those greens).

[Sean Rea]

Our organization is thinking about holding a tournament at Poplar Grove. Anyone played there recently?

[stanley]

Keep your eyes on balls flying all over the place. Can easily get hit.

[powerlefty]

Regarding Pakenham, I have always found the greens to be very good - quick and true. Having said that I did notice some inconsistencies this year - very bumpy about 3 weeks ago and smooth but very brown in places last week (they putted true last week though).

It is true the fairways do dry out and get hard in the mid-summer heat which I beleive is attributable to the clay base. After a few holes though, you get use to it and play 'links" golf and run the ball in.

Unfortunately this year, I have noticed a few more weeds in fairways and tees than in past years (notwithstanding #3 on the Island course which has always been bad and which is due to the highway garage on the hill adjacent). Hopefully they can get this under control because the layout there is good and the course is fairly close to Kanata.

[faldo]

We played at 9.30 yesterday & found at least 12 of the greens had just been top-dressed. Very clear putting lines evident in the dirt all day (Sigh). Otherwise just fine.
Suggest waiting a few days before booking.

Also played Eagle Creek at 4.15 yesterday. 1/2 price after 4pm every day...Made it by 8.45 but losing daylight every day....
We brought 2 guys from the office that had no idea there was any kind of GOLF like that in the Ottawa area. They also had no idea there was that much sand anywhere!!
They were in heaven at the Creek. I'm sure they had pleaseant dreams last night.

Caiao,

[Curious George]

Both Calabogie and Packenham are GREAT courses...it would be shame to see them go downhill...but...