Calgary and Surrounding area - Golf Thread

[corporatejay]

So this season my friends and I decided to make a real go of playing golf on a regular basis. I went out and got a real set of clubs and decided to invest some time in playing (as opposed to the 10 9 hole rounds a year I usually play).

We have all subsequently become addicted to the sport. I can't stop thinking about playing and would probably play everyday if I didn't have to work.


That being said, we're starting to look for some decent courses at a good price. While city courses are a great value, they are near impossible to get on most weekends/evenings and frankly they get the job done but are nothing to write home about.

I've heard good things about D'arcy Ranch, Heatherglen, Heritage Pointe, and others, but was hoping this would be a good spot for people to share their golf experiences as well as perhaps discuss clubs/balls/apparel.

I'll put the first question out there. I noticed that Golf Town had some Nike ONE balls on sale 2 for 1. Problem is 12 Nike ONE balls costs about 50 bucks, so even on sale, you're looking at 2 bucks a ball. Has anyone found these to be remotely worth it? What about Titileist PROV1s?

[4X4]

I played Heatherglen on Sunday for the first time (Jeebuzz!). I was actually quite pleased with the course. $80 for green fees and cart. There are 27 holes, but the $80 buys you 18 (duh). I played the Hills 9 and the Creek 9. For the price, pretty decent course, and the proximity is good as well.

[corporatejay]

I was trying to decide between there, D'arcy , Glen Eagles, and Sirrocco. I'm not a huge fan of links courses and Heatherglen seems to be the cheapest. I think I'll give that a go.

[Ethaniel]

Corporatejay,

Not the greatest course out there, but a fantastic price.
Beaver Dam Golf Course north of the city is $36 without cart, $51 with cart.
Great course considering the price.

When it comes to golf balls it is always an interesting debate. I am at the point now of a 80 - 90 average score golfer that I do notice a difference in the high end golf balls, but I don't go out of my way to buy those golf balls as I usually find them or are given some (oil work is great for this).

I use any golf ball that isn't complete garbage.

[wooohooo]

Heatherglen is a pretty nice course, but I played it years ago so I barely remember it.

But on balls, I do notice a significant 'feel' of the ball. It feels a lot better to use the ProV1 than say... some cheapass Ram balls. Whether this affects my game is debatable. It might give me a few more yards or give me more spin but because I'm not good enough to be able to work the ball enough it probably doesn't do a single thing. However, if I'm going to spend $80 bucks on a round of golf, might as well spend an extra few dollars on balls that feel like awesome.

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by Ethaniel

Corporatejay,

Not the greatest course out there, but a fantastic price.
Beaver Dam Golf Course north of the city is $36 without cart, $51 with cart.
Great course considering the price.

When it comes to golf balls it is always an interesting debate. I am at the point now of a 80 - 90 average score golfer that I do notice a difference in the high end golf balls, but I don't go out of my way to buy those golf balls as I usually find them or are given some (oil work is great for this).

I use any golf ball that isn't complete garbage.

My dad played Beaver Dam with his brothers one time and said it was pretty insanely hard. He lost many balls as the fairways are narrow and the roughs are very rough... and it was intensely windy that day as they could barely stand haha

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Heritage is my "home course" by default given how much I play there. It's in great condition, and they've made some great improvements to the club house. Their greens are ALWAYS lightning fast - make sure you hit the putting green in addition to the best practice facilities in Calgary before the round.

Lynx Ridge is in decent shape, but has a few fuzzy greens. It's still a relatively new course, and being in the far NW is prone to rain and wind storms.

Anyone played Wintergreen this year? Have they finally figured how how to prep greens for the winter so they don't die each and every freaking year? I heard Greywolf is crap this year with winterkill....

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Heritage is my "home course" by default given how much I play there. It's in great condition, and they've made some great improvements to the club house. Their greens are ALWAYS lightning fast - make sure you hit the putting green in addition to the best practice facilities in Calgary before the round.

Lynx Ridge is in decent shape, but has a few fuzzy greens. It's still a relatively new course, and being in the far NW is prone to rain and wind storms.

Anyone played Wintergreen this year? Have they finally figured how how to prep greens for the winter so they don't die each and every freaking year? I heard Greywolf is crap this year with winterkill....

How much is Heritage?

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

How much is Heritage?

140. It's a nice course, but I've found it really tough.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll have to check them out. I have a box of top flites (water/ravine holes) and a few Callaway Warbirds that I play with. I might pick up a box of Nike ONEs and see how I like them.

[Dion]

You might want to try Nanton - it's my home course. It's in excellent condition due to the great grounds crew they have. Greens are in awesome shape as well as the fairways. Front 9 was redone in parts a few years back and a new elevated tee box was added to hole #10. Great value for the money.

Tomorrow will be round #21 for me

http://www.nantongolfclub.com/

Green fees are $36 - Monday thru Thursday, and $52 on the weekends. Carts are $32 for 18 holes. It's also not that difficult to get a tee time during the week.

Hole #10's new tee box



Hole #13.

[Five-hole]

I played Heatherglen 2 weeks ago and wasn't that impressed. I thought the Hills 9 was rather monotonous and the Grove 9 was in pretty bad shape.

I played Lakeside (in Chestermere) back on that first day in June it got really crappy out. The weather was horrid but I liked the course a lot. Price was reasonable and the course was interesting.

I'm playing Springbank on Tuesday. My "home" course is Mabel Lake G&CC in BC but I only play when I get out to see my folks. Give it a go if you're by there ... green fees are very reasonable. It's only 9 holes but it's got some nice and varied terrain.

[wooohooo]

Holy cow that Hole #13 looks ridiculous. It might just be the picture but the fairway/green look very narrow.

[Rerun]

Maple Ridge is the best deal in town at $44.

Its also pretty nice, particularly for a city course. Challenging in spots.
Tee boxes are in good condition, fairways are in good condition, greens are in good condition.
I love the 11th hole Par 3... 221 yds from the blacks to the green, all downhill.

Also, its usually pretty easy to get on as a walk-on on the weekend if you are a single.

[EddyBeers]

I personally have always like Water Valley for the money, it is 60 bucks on weekends. http://www.watervalleygolf.ca/courseinfo.html

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by EddyBeers

I personally have always like Water Valley for the money, it is 60 bucks on weekends. http://www.watervalleygolf.ca/courseinfo.html

Water Valley is very nice! Good value for money. Nice layout, good condition, lots of fun.
I played there a couple of times last year and really enjoyed it.

[edn88]

Heritage Pointe is probably the nicest public playable golf course in all of Calgary, and is one of the toughest. Sirocco is right up there as well - plays very tough, and now that it has grown in is becoming one of the top public play courses. Gleneagles in Cochrane would be third on that list.

I play at Elbow Springs, but wouldn't recommend it this year - normally the greens are fantastic, but are quite beat up this year, and they $90 weekend green fee is a little steep compared to other quality courses out there.

Speargrass, although a little way out of the city, is good value for a decent course.

[ShotDownInFlames12]

Speargrass has good deals on Mon and Tuesday nights and is a decent course. It's usually in good shape and it's not too expensive.
Boulder creek and Silverwing have deals running all the time. Played Silverwing this year and its probably in better shape now than when i played it (May)

Sirocco is a waste of time and money IMO. very nice course, but expensive for what you get. I always forget that it's cart path only (not even 90 degree rule) and get a cart when half way through I say that it would have been better to walk. If you are a beginner starting out, wouldn't recommend it, or would recommend bringing a lot of balls, cause if you don't hit it right, you're taking a drop.

Mapleridge is the only city course I like, decent course, good value.

Chestermere has a deal where if you tee off between 6-8am it's 29.99 great deal for people who start later in the day.

As for balls, unless you play a lot and don't lose many balls, you're better off with cheaper Callaways (hx hot, warbird etc) you're not going to notice a huge difference playing Nike Ones or ProV 1st or itours, and you can usually get 2 dozen for the same price. When you notice you're not losing as many, consider upgrading. I play ProV1s or Taylormade TP Blacks and I wait till last years balls go on sale and stock up for the season.

[MaDMaN_26]

I liked Darcey Ranch, I have not played it this year so I am not sure about condition...

Make sure you get a cart though, not sure if your group is the kind that likes to walk a course once in a while but don't do it there... place has more hills than foot... ... ... (get it foothills? terrible joke I dont know what I was thinking )

As a side note I think this site is quite handy, but I didn't play much last year so have not looked at it lately... I think it is still up and running ... keeps track of your handicap and tells you all about courses you might want to play.

http://fairwayfiles.com/

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Also, its usually pretty easy to get on as a walk-on on the weekend if you are a single.

I wouldn't say it's easy to get on. I play there most Saturdays and i've had to wait a minimum of 2 hours to get on.

[ricoFlame]

innisfail is the best course in the province. super bang for your buck.