This was a very informative thread in the 2002 season, thought I'd start one for 2003.
For all of you who have been playing, please share your experiences concerning the course conditions in the rounds that you've played.
:wave
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This was a very informative thread in the 2002 season, thought I'd start one for 2003.
For all of you who have been playing, please share your experiences concerning the course conditions in the rounds that you've played.
:wave
Calabogie is in great shape for this time of year. 95% dry, and in some spots, it was very nice indeed. The 15th green still had snow, and will likely be wet for a while yet, but other than that, definately worth the drive.
I agree with the assessment of calabogie. played sunday at 0930, dry and cold to start (hard fairways, mega-rolls on drives) but warmed up by mid round. greens are fuzzy but roll OK. definitely worth the 50 minute drive. great spring conditions
played, gatineau on saturday. wet (back nine is a big lake) and they are charging full green fee rate (35.00!!!) although they give you a free round of golf to be played prior to mid May. not worth the wet feet, damaged clubs (gatineau has rocky gems all over the fairways...) and the seriously aerated greens, not even top-dressed with sand...sigh,, wasted time and money on sat.
calabogie is the way to go this week...too bad they are so far away....
longslice
played Gatineau as well Saturday...pretty rough, wet, windy, and quite a challenge maneuvering around the snowbanks. wish I'd gone to Calabogie..
good to get out, though.
Going to Nation tomorow. Will post something here after we get back. Gotta love the spring openings.:D
Played Monday.
Only 9 holes open, $20 all you can play -- I got 22 holes in. 95% dry and fuzzy greens. Good for April all things considered. All 18 should be open for the weekend and they think that they will be able to cut the greens down a tad by then as well.
Enjoy!
Played the Nation today and it IS wet. Lots of snow still on the edges of the some fairways, around the greens, in the bunkers and select few other areas.:crying
But it is still playable and the greens are actually mostly green.
Little furry but green and puttable. We did have some rain on the 7th tee but being so close to the clubhouse, we decided to go in and have a beer while the rain came down.
Beer and lunch done........back out to the 7th tee and no more rain the rest of the day. Played a bit long but then...........who cares......we're playing. :bigcheek
GATINEAU today at 11. 45 minute wait but dried out significantly from the weekend. According to my buds!!.
They've switched the nines this season, so it's quite a slow start with a tight, water, OB 285 par-4 to kick off the round.
Still no ball washers or garbage cans BUT they've invested in a starter this year. Glad to know some money is going back into the course.
I'm sorry but no complaints allowed about the first outing of the season.
ALmost everyone we talked to was in a fine mood.
We switched into our shorts on the 5th hole!!!!! Lots of jealous looks.....
Don't know if any of you play Prescott. But was there on Tuesday (25 degree's). Course is in excellent shape. Dry conditions, greens excellent for this time of the year and $25.00 for green fees. Worth the drive. I am from Cornwall and will be going back.
Played Mt Creek this morning and it was in very good shape. Not very much staning water on the course. At leasst not where my ball went.:D
It was very windy but very playable. Greens were in good condition considering they only opened yesterday.:bigcheek
The greens were aerated at Mountain Creek so be prepared for a bummmmpy roll!
Played today very windy and not to warm. The course is very wet and muddy in some spots and the greens are better referd to as " browns" right now... very slowwww
All in all not bad but dont think the 6$ off regualr price was very fair..... given the course shape
Played Greensmere this afternoon.
Back nine was very dry and front nine only had a few wet spots. If you keep it in the fairway, there are very few bare spots and the ball did not plug.
The greens are very puttable and true (although they are slow compared to their mid-summer speed).
You have to hit off a mat on par three #14 because they rebuillt the tee-box and has not been sodded (change which will greatly improve the hole).
All in all, we were ver pleasantly surprised at the drainage of the course and the trueness of the greens. Well worth the green fee.
P.S. Played our round in under 3:30 walking. Excellent pace of play!
hey guys, I was at Mountain Creek too this morning. Other then the marshalls that played right before us, we were first on the course this year. They decided to hold off a day and open this morning. We were supposed to tee-off very 1st at 8:00am, but the greenskeeper wanted to wait till the sun came out so we wouldnt wreck the greens tramping all over them with frost on them, so we didnt get out until around 9am. I enjoyed the nice roll i got on the fairways, made for some very easy approach shots. The greens were very very slow and a little bumpy, but they looked in "mint" shape considering the time of year. All in all, well worth the $20 fee
Note to self for next round....Wear more then a windbreaker at 8am when you play a course with hardly any trees
in case anyone cares, here are some pics of Mountain Creek from today
http://members.rogers.com/darylmcintosh/mtn_creek1.JPG
http://members.rogers.com/darylmcintosh/mtn_creek2.JPG
No too bad! The course is still a bit wet, but the greens are dry.
We were sent out about 30 mins behind schedule. So call ahead!
The back nine opened up and we weren't waiting. 5+ hours
$25
Played Nation on the 18th - still quite a bit of snow in the bunkers & on the sides of some of the fairways, but otherwise, fairly playable.
Greens still have some aeration holes and are a little furry, but are about what one would expect this time of year.
Fees: $40 tax in - pretty steep, but you get a coupon for a second free round to be played before May 15.
4 1/2 hours - all in all, a good value.
Iroquois opened yesterday. No snow or frost problems at all, and the course was in pretty good shape for opening day. Some wet spots in the fairways, but mostly dry. Greens were in fine shape for April. Definitely worth the $18 price.
Ended up playing there instead of waiting out a 2-hour frost delay at Cedar Glen after discovering only the back nine was open. Anyone know if the front nine will be open tomorrow?
Played Greensmere again today and they've done a great job on the couple of areas of cart path that were pretty muddy. The greens were a bit bumpy but there won't be a course anywhere in the east with really smooth greens this time of year. They ran very good although a bit slow. Once the deep frost gets out and we get a bit of sun they'll be great. Fairways are in really good shape for the first weekend open. As for being brown as Dave B. posted, My yard at home is still brown as is probably everyones fairways and greens. They were very busy today and as we teed off at about 10:30 and were finished in just under 4 hours. Our foursome had a great day being out walking the golf course again.
Played Calabogie last Tuesday and Greensmere today and unlike the opinion of Dave B above who played Greensmere, the course was great, considering that it is only April 19.
Calabogies greens were bumpy and running about 2 on the stimpmeter. Greensmere's were much better. Sure, most of the greens are brown(ish), but so are the rest of the greens in the area. What do you expect when there is still frost way down and no growth at the surface, summer time conditions?
While there is a little mud in spots on the front side, this could be avoided by hitting the ball in the 35 yard wide fairways.
My guess, Dave B, is that Greensmere is in better shape than your game. I scored 72 with a couple of 3-putts. How about you?
This is for natgolfer, I am not friends with Dave B (don`t know him) but to say you hit 72 with some 3 putts is results of 2 things, either you don`t count all your shots or you belong to the PGA especially this time of the year...food for toughts, nothing personal...
Hey Jagrman,
I played in the foursome with natgolfer and it was an easy 72 and should have been -1 or -2. He hit 16 greens in reg and may have hit all the fairways off the tee. One of the other guys in our group was 74 and also should have been a couple of strokes better. Going to be tough taking any money of these guys this season but I'm going to do my best to get the birdies in there. Actually had two today so would have won skins on both those holes. ;)
Thanks for the confirmation, are you guys members there...he must play that one pretty often if it was easy.
Hi Jagrman,
Yes we are members. It's not that it's that easy a course it's just that they were hitting the ball so good they made it play easy. When you hit most fairways and greens you're obviously hitting the ball really well and therefore usually going to score well. I was good off the tee most of the day but couldn't do anything from the 100yd marker or I would have been in the 70's also. Oh well my goal this year is to beat him twice and he's going to make it pretty tough.:cheers
I know the feeling, I am in the same boat with my friends, good luck, pay them beers before the rounds maybe it could help =)
Hey TIGRE.
The GLEN was very worthwhile, even if only the new-9 was open.
Only $23 for 18 then they took our 2/1 from the RED BOOK. We were very happy for only $12 each!!
We tee'd off at 12.15 with a couple of members. Only one 4-some ahead of us. We could see groups on every hole.
Greens were really nice, smooth & dry. Only a little winter damage on #1.
No delay getting out again at all after 2 1/4 hours.
The old front 9 has mostly 28 year old greens & the winters are much tougher on them than those 4 year old ones!!! A couple more days of rest are prescribed.
I'm taking that advice for my driver!!!!!
[/B]but to say you hit 72 with some 3 putts is results of 2 things, either you don`t count all your shots or you belong to the PGA especially this time of the year...food for toughts, nothing personal[/B]
JAGRMAN While the 72 is not the best score I have ever had in the first round played on my home course, and I have been a member at 5 different clubs over 42 years of playing, it was certainly one of my better ball striking opening days. We (gBower and Christain-above posters) played from the Black tees at Greensmere, which provided a reasonable test considering there was minimal roll.
While I did hit 16 greens in regulation and two fringes, the longest putt I made was from 5 feet.
Another incentive to play well was that Christain routinely hits the ball 50 yards me(no exaggeration), and to score better than someone with his length, I have to be straight, consistent and have a better short game, just like Mike Weir showed in the Masters.
I honestly snickered at your implication that I must have cheated to score even par 72. Believe me-I count them all and expect others to do the same, too. The truth is that 45% of my games at Greensmere in'02 were par or better and my goal this year to to improve that to 60%. While like every other golfer I constantly work hard to improve my game, even at my age, I never put in on a pedastal, however, over the years I have competed in and still do in some cases, the local OVGA "A" events, provincial QGA tournaments, Tunis, Kent and Amateur and a couple of RCGA championships, Canadian Amateur and Seniors Amateur Championship.
My tongue in cheek shot at Dave B is about an ancient phenomenon in golf that if you play poorly the course is crappy :mad; and if you play well, it's great. :D
Have a good season.
My guess, Dave B, is that Greensmere is in better shape than your game. I scored 72 with a couple of 3-putts. How about you? [/B][/QUOTE]
Hi all taking a beating here.. I didnt realize that one had to be a member of a course or shoot a minimum score to be able to post a opinion and that is all I did was convey how I felt. Being a member you have paid your fees for the year so the cost factor is no bearing to you and your friends. I have no doubts or qualms about your scores ... good on you if you have shot that this early in the year........
In hindsight yes the fairways were for the most part dry, many of the walks between holes were not too much fun . Not bad given the time of year.
I would ask you this
If the course stayed in that shape all year would you be happy about the price of the membership you paid for if they knocked off 13% ??
I just thought that given the shape of the course, and you being a member you would agree, it was nowhere near its prime shape ( nowhere is) I will say it has some of the best greens in the area. And in MY OPINION a 6$ reduction in green fees was not a good value that is all.
The fairways at Casselview were a bit damp but playable if you allow stickhandling. No roll in the fairways and there were a few plugged balls, but there was really one one hole (#12) that was in really bad shape. Only a few tee boxes were open. Greens were slow and bumpy, but true. A few bunkers are temporarily water hazards. Okay condition for spring, although I think they could have opened up a lot more of the tee boxes - especially on the par 4s and 5s. Some of the places they had you teeing off from were pretty bad.
If the course stayed in that shape all year would you be happy about the price of the membership you paid for if they knocked off 13% ??
Of course not, but you seem to be missing the point. It's April. There is frost in the ground. Nothing is growing. In fact, when they put the cup in the ground on number 13 at Greensmere on Thursday, they had difficulty finding a place to put it because the ground is frozen 8 inches down. The grass will stay dormant until the frost is out and sufficient heat penetrates the ground to allow growth to take place. Number 4 fairway is wetter today than yesterday and was wetter yesterday than Friday, because the ground is finally thawing. Also, bent grass takes longer to "green" up than does other grasses. This condition is not just at Greensmere, but all over. Drive the The Marshes and you will see the same thing. Our extremely cold winter and early lack of snow cover caused a very deep, penetrating frost. So while we are playing golf, conditions are relatively poor. Many clubs are not open and will not be open for a week or two. At least we can play.
I just thought that given the shape of the course, and you being a member you would agree, it was nowhere near its prime shape ( nowhere is) I will say it has some of the best greens in the area. And in MY OPINION a 6$ reduction in green fees was not a good value that is all.
In two or three weeks conditions will be vastly improved, particularly our greens, which, IMO, putt better than most of public accessible courses in the area.
Your point, however, about the minimal $6 reduction in green fee, has some validity.
Played Manderly today, pretty pricey at $33.00 taxes in. The fairways are pretty damp, and quite a few of them had standing water. Not much roll on shots, and a number of plugged balls. The greens were pretty good, but still inconsistant. Some were faster than others while others were quite a bit slower. No aeration holes though. A number of bunkers had water in them. Started at 1:00 and finished at 5:15, so happy with the time, but the cart girl quit at 3:30 :(
My golf season has always started the first or second weekend that courses start opening, and this year was no exception. I played Iroquois on Friday and Casselview today, and I have to say that IN GENERAL course conditions were the worst I have ever seen for April golf.
It's not the fault of the golf course owner. As Mr. Shank noted, this winter has obviously been very tough on course conditions, with the deep frost and VERY slow spring thaw. Compared to previous years at this time, I think ALL of the courses are in worse shape. But hey, it's April and you're golfing - everything else is gravy. You can't control the weather.
But you can control what you charge people to play. Frankly, it ticks me off when I hear people saying they were dinged $30+ for the kind of course conditions they were playing in.
At $18, Iroquois was worth the price. Casselview was worth the OGC price of $20, and I'm sure Cedar Glen was worth the $23 price. Even the 2-for-1 deal at Nation seems fair to me. But to charge full price or almost full price in April - especially THIS April - seems like highway robbery to me.
IMHO, if you want to charge full price then you should wait the course conditions are better - like Stonebridge, Meadows, etc. The snow is gone, but they're not open. If you open as soon is the snow is gone, then you should discount the price to make up for the poor course conditions. IMHO, Full price + April course conditions = price gouging.
Well said & pretty accurate.
BUT the bottom line is always there & they know there's tens of thousands of us drooling for any course to open!!!
Our bottom line is sharing this info & not returning!
I just got back from my first round of the year- played at Champlain. We were lucky (no rain while we played!).
Anyway, $37 for a green fee (they give you a coupon which is valid during weekdays only till May 10th).
Course was dry in certain places and the ball rolled pretty well. The greens, on the other hand, were terrible. Hop, skip, and bounce were the words of the day. Very patchy and inconsistant. A putt over 5 feet had absolutely NO CHANCE of going in.
It took us (a threesome) just under 4 hours to play so at least the pace was good. Mind you, it is an ugly day outside and the course was pretty empty except for all the groups in front of us. :(
I don't think the course was worth the $37..... Even with the pass they gave me, the greens won't be better anytime soon.
I can't wait to play Cascades next Saturday though, the course looks great and I will be there on opening day! :D
It's 99 % dry now.. even getting roll. The only fairway that was a bit damp was #17 near the 150 yrd marker.. #13 fairway is green... These are great conditions for this time of year!
It's been a long time since Champlain could say their course was in good shape. I really used to like playing there many years ago.
$37 is very steep for that course even if it was in good shape. That's enough to keep me away another year.
Played Emerald Links yesterday. The greens are in great shape for this time of year. I was very surprsied.
The fairways are far from green but they are already dry so you can definitely play off them and even take a divot.
They are charging full price, which was $48 on a holiday.
From what I have been reading above, I could never justify $37 at a place like Champlain.
Some of these courses are getting a little high priced for the quality.
I hear ya em69....
I'll go back and use the coupon that I got (weather permitting). They'll make money off me if they decide to put a beer cart on the course and that's it. :D
Other than that, I won't go back.
We played Casselview on Saturday. The Tee boxes were a little rough, but overall the conditions on both the fairways and greens were very reasonable for this time of year.
Played Emerald Links on Monday (South and West) and didn't get too wet, the greens were very good, especially the new South course. Not very Emerald colour for the most part, but relatively dry in most places. Sticking it on the greens wasn't very hard, but putting took a lot of oomph, they were particularly slow, though that is to be expected this time of year.
Price wise, $45, I thought it was too expensive for this time of year and frankly the price seems to be getting a little high at the course even for perfect conditions. Still it's a very enjoyable course and if we were in Toronto we'd be paying a lot more to play it.
Thank goodness we live here in Ottawa where there are a number of good reasonably priced courses to frequent.
Happy golfing.