New to Ottawa.... help me out

[eagle_29]

Hello everyone,

My name is Luke. I have just moved to Ottawa from Toronto. I went to school for Professional Golf Management and graduated the 3 year course and have worked in golf at a couple different golf courses. I worked in the Proshop at Timber Ridge GC in Brighton for 2 years and then worked at a private course called york downs in Toronto for a couple of years.

I have since left the golf industry just this season to pursue another opportunity and that lead me to Ottawa so I do not know the area at all and am looking for both the nicest golf courses to play but also the cheapest and best value ones so if someone could help me out there that would be greatly appreciated. Im located in Nepean near Bayshore if that helps for location purposes!

Look forward to some insight!

Thanks in advance

Eagle

[DenisO]

Welcome to the forums. Checkout discount programs like ExecutiveGolf, ReservationMasters, and Corporate Golf for really nice discounts on good courses, you buy a membership and usually get about 50% off of greenfees.
Regarding courses that are really nice at a good value (I can only speak in terms of going through one of the discount programs), I choose Outaouais, Casselview, and Le Sorcier.
I live in Kanata so I'm even more west but I still make the drive out there just because I like the courses.

[Shushu]

Left the golf Industry!!!...are you crazy??? I beleive it's everyones dream to be in the golf industry somehow on this forum.

I guess it depends on how cheap you want to go and how much you can get out. There are a few options for memberships if you plan on getting out a lot. Executive Golf and Reservation Masters are both highly recomended by golfers I know depending on the courses you like to play. These give you some substantial discounts at good courses. I myself have been out 15 times this year....spent roughly $900 on rounds so far. But saved roughly $350 (if I would have paid the full amount).

If you don't think your going to be able to get out that much then there are still good courses at cheap rates around here. (at least compared to Toronto Prices that is)

A few I'm partial to:

Le Sorcier: $70 cart included (a bit of a hike from Bayshore but a fun track)

The Canadian: $50 (Pretty close to you)

Cedarhill: $50 (very close to you)

Greensmere: Haven't played this year...but haven't been disappointed yet...(4 nines to choose from)

GlenMar: Forgetting the prices but a nice track

Metcalfe: $43

The Meadows: $40 (4 nines to choose from)

PM me if you have any questions about other stuff.

[DenisO]

Good call on Cedarhill and the location. Takes me no time to get there and a really nice course, although very easy as well.
How come you decided to leave the golf industry? I'd love to be involved someway with it, hoping my website & application development skills will get me there soon

[cleek]

the one thing for sure you will find is golf is alot cheaper in this neck of the woods ( compared to the GTA )

I am partial to Renfrew, Smiths Falls, Perth, Mississippi and a bit closer to home Glen Mar ( all are west of the city ). These are older mature courses & in great shape + they are reasonably priced ( under $50 ). Driving distance would vary from about 60 minutes to Renfrew to ~25 minutes to Glen Mar from your locale.

Any way you slice it there are numerous nice & affordable tracks in Ottawa and the surrounding areas. As some of the other lads have mentioned there are some really great discount golf providers around too ( I am with Corporate Golf myself ) . Enjoy !!

[AEberhard]

I live in Kanata just a little more west of you. Some of the higher end public courses for the W\west end are The Marshes and Loch March. Personally I perfer Loch March, it's more scenic and cut through the tree's and plays easier I find. The Marshes is through a business park and a sub-division, it's still a really nice course with some amazing holes, but not my style. Loch March is $70 plus cart which is $30, and the Marshes is $110 with cart. ( these are prime time prices )
For a nice mid-level course I would have to say Canadian and Glenmar are my faviourite for the price. I haven't played Greensmere, but they have two 18's and I think they run at $45 for prime time plus cart if you want one. Glenmar is one 18 with some pretty fun holes and it's a good price, $40 taxes in any time, so it is great price for a prime time game. Then there is the Canadian which is just full of dog legs, I like the pricing here because it changes by the hour. Prime time is $48 with shared cart or $45 if you walk, http://www.canadiangolfclub.com/fees there is all the hourly fees. Overall I like the Canadian for twilight and glenmar for primetime.
Enjoy golfing here in Ottawa!

[Foddz]

A little bit of member's bias here, but Greensmere's an excellent value, both for memberships and for green fee play. I have also enjoyed a number of courses in the west end and west of the city, including Canadian, Pakenham, Arnprior, Renfrew, Cedar Hill, Loch March, Marshes... these are courses I would recommend to anyone, depending on your price range of course.

I think all these places have websites linked from the 'Featured Courses' section of OttawaGolf for info on their location/green fees/cart fees/etc.

You'll love golfing in Ottawa. Tons of great courses around and all of them a bargain compared to GTA prices.

[ElBo1]

I've been golfing around these parts for over a decade, never gotten a membership (except when I was really young and they were really cheap), so I've always been looking to get the most bang for my buck...

Here are my suggestions:
-Cloverdale: a little far removed to the south fo the city, but for the price it really is a gem links style course
-Hammond: far removed to the east of the city with only 18 holes, but I enjoy the layout and elevation (haven't played it this year due to injury but I hear it hasn't really been maintaed well this year)
-Meadows: Twilight special is reasonable, layout's pretty good, not much elevation, one caveat is that a high percentage of the greens are covered in feces from the Canadian Geese that call the course home.
-Nation: far removed to the east, but very well mainted, nice elevation changes, and probably the best bang-for-buck in the region
Now my personal favorite:
-Smugglers Glen: a nice 1.5 hour boot to Ganonoque but the trip is worth it, reasonably priced and an excellent course.

Honarable mentions:
Calabogie, Cascade, Casselview

Have fun! This city has lots to choose from

[TLB]

The EG courses that I have played regularly over over the past few years, in rough order of preference, are:

Outaouais
Cedar Hill
eQinelle
Le Sorcier
Metcalfe
Hammond
Buckingham
Chateau Cartier
Casselview

While I have not golfed them yet, I hear from many that Smuggler's Glen and Montebello are outstanding

[cobra]

Courses I recommend:

Loch March (Kanata)...best greens
Equinelle (Kemptville)
Le Sorcier (Gatineau)
Stonebridge (Nepean)
Marshes (Kanata) most expensive in the region
Montebello....hours drive but very nice
Emerald Links (Manotick)...try to play East & West
Brockville G&C....hours drive and very nice
Upper Canada....hours drive