Hylands GC

[LoisDNominator]

Are there any current or past members of Hylands who would share with me their experiences, both positive and negative? Thanks

[dbleber]

I was a member there for a few years so here is my take on the course.

Pros:
2 18 hole courses
Driving range
2 practice holes
Fitting/learning Facility
Course drains well
Always in good shape

Cons:
Large membership, more so now that they opened it up to the public for memberships
Very hard to get a tee time
Slow rounds
Old boys club
Courses are not overly hard and both are pretty close to the same type of golf

I left because I got sick of never getting a tee time that I wanted and when I did the rounds were so slow that I wish I hadn't. I started playing early bird but who wants to play golf at 5:30 am all the time. The members are old, when I was there the avg age was 67, as a young golfer I didn't feel welcomed and the old boys club seemed to run the course. I miss the driving range and the staff, plus they have a great breakfast at the club house and probably the best golf course hot dogs at the turn.

[rtto5588]

I miss the driving range and the staff, plus they have a great breakfast at the club house and probably the best golf course hot dogs at the turn.

I think it says a lot about the course when the only things ex members miss are the food and staff. Opps, and driving range .

[TLB]

I was a member for 12 years but left last year to join EG. Fully concur with dbleber's comments above especially the hot dogs. I used to use up my bar coupons ($250) on hot dogs exclusively.

The slow pace of the courses (unless you are in the first 5 or 6 tee-times in the am) and increased pricing last year were the main reasons I left, as did many others, thus the open membership drive last year. I figured I could buy a lot of green fees for that kind of money And with EG, I certainly can. Costs me about one-half now of what I was paying there.

[btasse]

Yearly membership is pretty cheap compared to other courses in Ottawa.... I think it works out to about $1600 after $250 of free food tab. I think it's a great deal for the price. And yes the hot dogs at the turn are the best anywhere.

I played about 10 rouds there this year with my buddy CPGA pro who works there. Not sure that the yardage on the holes are correct. The greens are hard as a rock and slow... They do a stimp read everyday (posted on the board); i've never seen a reading above 8. Heard they keep them that way for the old boys.....

The golf course has the best set up in the city for teaching golf.

[LoisDNominator]

Well, my first year at Hylands will be my last. The greens were horrible, I never got anywhere close to a tee time I requested, while noting that the same members always seemed to get 8 am and the food wasn't particularly good. And next year, the north access to Alert Rd is being closed, adding another 15 minutes to my trip.

I was a member there for a few years so here is my take on the course.

Pros:
2 18 hole courses
Driving range
2 practice holes
Fitting/learning Facility
Course drains well
Always in good shape

Cons:
Large membership, more so now that they opened it up to the public for memberships
Very hard to get a tee time
Slow rounds
Old boys club
Courses are not overly hard and both are pretty close to the same type of golf

I left because I got sick of never getting a tee time that I wanted and when I did the rounds were so slow that I wish I hadn't. I started playing early bird but who wants to play golf at 5:30 am all the time. The members are old, when I was there the avg age was 67, as a young golfer I didn't feel welcomed and the old boys club seemed to run the course. I miss the driving range and the staff, plus they have a great breakfast at the club house and probably the best golf course hot dogs at the turn.

[dbleber]

Having 36 is great and they have a great package on paper but try getting a tee time. Who cares what they offer if you can't play or you have to play at horrible times. Good luck if you join, they have great staff and its a great place to buy clubs from with the fitting center but I'd listen to some of us past members. There's a reason why we're not there any more and member ship for me was less than $1,000.

[golfmajic]

As a current member I think it is easy to complain about things but most everything said has some truth.
Likes:
- it is close to home
- the new booking system is fair
- driving range/practice area is great
- newly renovated locker rooms great
- 36 holes great
- starters great
- pro shop staff great
- great breakfast
Dis-Likes:
- to many members
- no marshals that move groups along if to slow
- greens can be slow
- lots of blocked tee times as a result of, Tuesday juniors day or as I call it daycare day, Wednesday ladies day, Thursday mens day, Friday Tournament days and often Mondays tournament days.
- bar prices are way to high
-management seem to be focused on making a big profit from a private course to obtain there year end bonuses
- not going to like the closure of the current Alert road entrance, seems to be a knee jerk reaction to a plane off of a runway, happened a couple of times in 50 years, what to hell, over.
- oh yes the annual membership renewal program is overly paper ridden and archaic, once more welcome to a government bureaucracy, it really needs to be fixed. Any other club I ever belonged to sent me an invoice and method of payment, not a complete re-registration every year, What to hell!

Not sure if it is a lot better at other clubs in the area, particularly for the annual fees.
Just my quick thoughts, I will rejoin next year!

[fairway2k]

As a member for the past 15 yrs there are certainly pros and cons to the Club.
No doubt there is an old boys network, though anyone who belongs to a private course I would think it's true..and that goes for EG as well. Overall over the past year the gcourse has been in great shape, with fairways and greens normally impecable. They have tried to address the tee time dilema but instituting an automated lottery system by GGG golf. Not sure if that was the way to go but it is what it is. Great ealy bird situation if you really want to play early, hardly ever have I not gotten off on the weekend by 7am. If you favour late afternoon rounds this place is heaven as there is no one on the course normally after 3pm.

The course looks fairly easy but it has its trouble though water is not one of them..as well as its hard to lose a ball so that is wortha couple of hundred dollars a year for us wayward folk. I has two championship courses so while the membership seems large, most of the golf is probably played by 60% of them mostly retired mitary and their families.
The membership includes a bar credit of $250 and free unlimited driving range and practice facilities (3 putting Greens and pitching/chipping green)
The cost is the best in the city for the amount of golf course bar none and I would beg you to find a better deal at under $50 in the city.

All that being said I will not be a member this year as because of a young child I am only playing 20 times a year there and it's cheaper to play at hoc.

I will rejoin when he is old enough to carry my bag..LOL

As a current member I think it is easy to complain about things but most everything said has some truth.
Likes:
- it is close to home
- the new booking system is fair
- driving range/practice area is great
- newly renovated locker rooms great
- 36 holes great
- starters great
- pro shop staff great
- great breakfast
Dis-Likes:
- to many members
- no marshals that move groups along if to slow
- greens can be slow
- lots of blocked tee times as a result of, Tuesday juniors day or as I call it daycare day, Wednesday ladies day, Thursday mens day, Friday Tournament days and often Mondays tournament days.
- bar prices are way to high
-management seem to be focused on making a big profit from a private course to obtain there year end bonuses
- not going to like the closure of the current Alert road entrance, seems to be a knee jerk reaction to a plane off of a runway, happened a couple of times in 50 years, what to hell, over.
- oh yes the annual membership renewal program is overly paper ridden and archaic, once more welcome to a government bureaucracy, it really needs to be fixed. Any other club I ever belonged to sent me an invoice and method of payment, not a complete re-registration every year, What to hell!

Not sure if it is a lot better at other clubs in the area, particularly for the annual fees.
Just my quick thoughts, I will rejoin next year!

[BobMcBobson]

I just finished my first year as a member there, and I think it's great. I'm really surprised by the people who say you can't get the tee time you want. The new online booking system makes tee time booking fair to everyone (I'm told the old system favoured retired people who could sit by the phone and call as soon as the deadline hit). Only once all season did I get a tee time far from what I had requested. Because the membership is large, it is very difficult to get last minute bookings (this is really my only complaint), but you can still show up at the course as a single and get on fairly quickly.

Anyone who says the pace of play is too slow is either just plain wrong or only plays at 2pm on Sundays. Most of my rounds finished in 4-4:10 as a foursome, and faster as a twosome (early bird rounds are really fast). In my experience, the "old guys" that people like to complain about would put most "young guys" to shame with respect to pace-of-play.

Like a lot of other people have said, the course has great practice areas, helpful and friendly proshop and backshop staff, and nice newly renovated locker rooms. I think the price is right, especially consider the price includes your food and beverage tab whereas most courses have that as an extra to your fees. The closing of Alert Rd. probably hurts some people (it helps me), but as I understand it, it is being driven by the airport authority and there is nothing the course can do about it. It has been pushed back to 2013 according to a recent update from the club.

And yes, the hotdogs are delicious.