Golf!!!2!

[mrkajz44]

I mean, $40 - $60 USD is getting into that $70 CAD range at the high end. And it's not really fair to compare southern US to Calgary. I don't know for sure, but you can probably play year round down there versus 5 or so months a year up here. That has to affect pricing.

And courses still seem to be full these days, so why lower the price? Supply is equaling demand. I agree less and less people are getting interested in golf, but I feel like there are still enough golfers out there to fill up all the tee times for many years to come.

[nfotiu]

Resort/destination type courses in the US can be pricey. Some are worth it, some not.

I think the every day courses people play in cities and suburbs are fairly inexpensive in the US. Although, lots of variable pricing. Morning rounds on the weekend can get into the $100 range at nicer places, but mid week or weekend afternoon times can be found in the $30 range.

Memberships seems to be a fair amount cheaper here though. I play at an average-above average private course for $1500 initiation plus $400/month for unlimited golf for the family, pool and tennis.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

I mean, $40 - $60 USD is getting into that $70 CAD range at the high end. And it's not really fair to compare southern US to Calgary. I don't know for sure, but you can probably play year round down there versus 5 or so months a year up here. That has to affect pricing.

And courses still seem to be full these days, so why lower the price? Supply is equaling demand. I agree less and less people are getting interested in golf, but I feel like there are still enough golfers out there to fill up all the tee times for many years to come.

I was talking prices down there using Canadian dollars, but still yes I realize they have huge advantages. I was just responding to Weitz saying it was on par or cheaper than the US to golf in Calgary.

Also, I don't have the same confidence in the future of filling up courses for years to come, myself. Anecdotal, but when I'm out golfing around Calgary it seems mid 30's is the young crowd. That would be super alarming for any business model.

I guess it depends on the definition of "many years to come". 5-10 years? Probably fine. Getting outside of that though? I think we'll see a massive, massive drop off.

[jayswin]

It's just such a difficult, time intensive and pricey sport to get into. Anyone who's got better here obviously knows the payoff is a really fun sport, and great way to spend a day, but it's so hard to convince younger people with no skill to sit there and hit ball after ball, knowing that it's going to go nowhere for a long period of time.

Most people want to have some kind of fun with a new sport right away, and with most sports you can, even if you're pretty bad. Paying $50-$100 for a round of golf and then duffing it 5-40 feet repeatedly while partners explain that you have to pick your ball up and not finish holes due to pace of play has many bow out pretty quickly.

And telling them that you gotta sit there on the range or in lessons for months before you can actually have fun on a course is a non starter with most as well.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by jayswin

It's just such a difficult, time intensive and pricey sport to get into. Anyone who's got better here obviously knows the payoff is a really fun sport, and great way to spend a day, but it's so hard to convince younger people with no skill to sit there and hit ball after ball, knowing that it's going to go nowhere for a long period of time.

Most people want to have some kind of fun with a new sport right away, and with most sports you can, even if you're pretty bad. Paying $50-$100 for a round of golf and then duffing it 5-40 feet repeatedly while partners explain that you have to pick your ball up and not finish holes due to pace of play has many bow out pretty quickly.

And telling them that you gotta sit there on the range or in lessons for months before you can actually have fun on a course is a non starter with most as well.

Lots of truth to all that, but youth golf is kind of exploding around here. Our high school golf team used to be happy to take whoever showed up, now they are expecting 50 people trying out for 14 spots this year.

For whatever reason, golf seems to be a very YouTube friendly sport that has contributed to kids getting into it.

[Scoopdogg]

I would agree, golf is having a resurgence among young players and I do feel it's because of social media and other platforms. Kids love their youtube and if they see golf on their feed it usually sticks and they want to play.

My son is a golf fanatic at 13 and wants to go everyday! He has a junior membership and we take him whenever he has free time. He's already better than me, although that's not saying much as I'm not very good but it gives me pride to see him doing well and his buddies as well. There is an uprising in young golfers which is great for the game.

[Zarley]

Yeah - tons of kids taking up golf, it's great to see after a bit of a lull since the early 2000s.

My buddy was saying it's thanks to Tiktok.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Resort/destination type courses in the US can be pricey. Some are worth it, some not.

I think the every day courses people play in cities and suburbs are fairly inexpensive in the US. Although, lots of variable pricing. Morning rounds on the weekend can get into the $100 range at nicer places, but mid week or weekend afternoon times can be found in the $30 range.

Memberships seems to be a fair amount cheaper here though. I play at an average-above average private course for $1500 initiation plus $400/month for unlimited golf for the family, pool and tennis.

The thing with Calgary though is most courses are pretty good courses compared to every day courses in the USA. Some of the cheaper options in the USA I have played make fox hollow look like a resort course.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Weitz

The thing with Calgary though is most courses are pretty good courses compared to every day courses in the USA. Some of the cheaper options in the USA I have played make fox hollow look like a resort course.

Ain't nothing wrong with TPC Fox Hollow.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Bandon Crossings

We made the hour and a half drive from Florence down to Bandon and then the 15 minute drive out of town to a course just off the highway but shrouded in trees. Driving into the parking lot you got the impression of another old school country course, but on this occasion the first impression was dead wrong. This course is a tremendous design that makes you think your way around the course. You're not going to be able to use brute force to take this design down. In fact, you're better off laying back on some of the tee shots and giving yourself a good look at the terrain coming in. If you pound away there are many hidden features that leave you wishing you had practiced some restraint and played the golf course you could see. The risk reward is still there but many times the juice is not worth the squeeze. Birdies come from hitting the right part of the devilishly subtle greens and making a putt from the right location. The greens are incredibly fair and roll as true as any I've played. This walk amongst the pines was a wonderful experience and one I would recommend to anyone. Bring your A" game and use that 150 target pole to position yourself going into the greens and you'll have a great day of scoring and en even better day on this gem of a course.

[malcolmk14]

Yeah, the prices are outrageous. It was like $127 today at Glen Eagles with a cart. On a Monday? At Glen Eagles? Couldn’t believe it.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Bandon Dunes - a story of five golf courses.

Well, this was a very long time coming. I've been wanting to take on this collection of five courses for a few years now (back when it was just three). I managed to get a couple slots in a traveling tournament series which got us access this year, instead of looking out to 2024. So, we were lucky to be here and happy to get a crack at these courses, even if we were scoring by Stableford.

First course played was Old MacDonald. We started out at 8:40 to a slight breeze of 10 MPH (16 kph) in our faces and hitting into the wind. It looked pretty inviting and nothing to be concerned about, right? Wrong. The combination of wind, cool temperatures, and humidity from being on the coast, made the air a fight to work through. The fairways were cut short and crowned, forcing balls not hit right down the middle to funnel to the heavy rough or the fescue. Coming out of the rough was ugly as the balls just always managed to sink to the bottom where you were forced to chop out or experience the hosel rocket as the club twists in the heavy grass. If you didn't have the perfect distance, you were subject to bunkers carved deeply in the sandy soil, many of them forcing you to pitch out sideways of risk multiple shots trying to climb impossible walls. Once on the greens you were treated to big swales and grain like you've never dreamed of. This is NOT a golf course for anyone but advanced players. And this was before the real winds kicked up. By time we hit the middle of the course the winds had picked up to a constant 20 mph with gusts into the 30s. What was already a dangerous course became a Levithan with no intentions of being tamed. I worked a shot in from 140 yards that took a 70 yard hook into the middle of the surface, only to see the bounce and wind take it off the elevated green into a pit of despair they called a green side bunker. This was how Old MacDonald treated everyone that day. The design was a photograph at every turn, but the environmental conditions made it torturous to play. Finished the day at -8 in Stableford and wondering what I had got myself into.

The afternoon round was an option round on Sheep Ranch. Of course you have to play it, even if the wind is blowing, right? Bad decision. Sheep Ranch is the furthest north and most exposed course. It is also the only course that doesn't have a bunker of the five. What is doesn't have in sand it doubles down in mounding, fescue, and blind shots. As we took to the first tee the starter recommended we play up a box to account for the winds that were coming in. Coming in? We were playing in 20-30 mph as it was, it couldn't get worse, could it? Oh yes. Oh yes it could. By the third hole we were now playing in a constant 25-30 mph win with gusts at 40+. Playing down wind was awesome. I hit 3 wood off the tee on a blind 370 yard par 4 that ended up on the front of the green. So much for playing it smart and laying up. Conversely, hitting back into the wind, I crushed a ball that barely made 200 yards on a 380 yard par 4. Driver wedge was not happening. The course itself was my favorite design. Another shot makers course where you had specific targets to hit and one where you could honestly play a bump and run game to fight the wind. It was every bit as picturesque as Old MacDonald, but in a very different and more stark way. If I was to go back, this is the one course I would have to play again.

Day two saw us start on Pacific Dunes. This is kind of a hybrid of Old MacDonald and Sheep Ranch. The same difficult conditions of Old Mac but with the ability to play the bump and run game. The severe elevated greens that were a consistent feature of Old Mac were missing, presenting a course much more in line with the environmental conditions you had to play. And yes, the environment was again a factor. Winds just as difficult as the previous day. What made Pacific more interesting was the number of holes that played along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Raw and exposed with zero bailout in one direction. We had started with so many holes into the wind that by time we got to one that was straight down wind that you were pretty much in the "#### it" zone and you only cared about hitting a straight ball. All the frustration of fighting the wind can disappear with one swing with a 25 mph wind behind you. One a 450 yard par four I swung out of my shoes and put my drive a couple yards short of a greenside bunker, for only the third 400+ yard drive of my life. Who says being pissed off can't have its advantages? That one shot righted a sinking ship that was lost in a maelstrom of depressing missing approach shots and got me back in the game. Confidence was restored and the body refreshed, allowing me to continue on. Finished the day at -4 on Stableford, which was an improvement over the hellish performance the day before. Another brutally beautiful course that was only made a nightmare scape by the windy conditions.

The afternoon saw us do another optional round on Bandon Trails. Probably the easiest of all the course, but also the most sheltered as the pine trees coming into play the most. This is a course that makes you appreciate Bandon IMO. Wonderful layout with some of the fairest greens and bunkers on property. Still a picture post card at every turn but has that dark underside just waiting for you to make the slightest mistake. I think this set me up for the final day.

Last round was on the eponymous Bandon Dunes course. Very much like Old MacDonald with deep bunkers and a lot of elevated greens which forces you to put the ball in the air. What made this one a little different was the rough was being let go for a major tournament rolling through in another few weeks. The fairways were dry and hard and the sloped fairways had your tee shots searching for trouble. The best example was the very first hole where I piped a drive right down main street only to find the ball rolling out through the fairway and to some narly #### next to an aiming bunker and being forced to hack out sideways. Caddy said it was a terrible break. Not the last time I would hear that on the day. The greens here were like Old Mac, with lots of Buicks and Chevys buried to make the impossibly fast greens that much more impossible. The winds calm for the first three holes, but then unleashed on us for another day in the 20-30 mph range. Those greens became that much more treacherous as I had two balls on different holes roll away from me as I addressed to make putts. This was the last course we had to play, and about a third of the way through it I was thankful to arrive at that realization. Scoring was the most difficult this day and even though I struck the ball the best of all rounds at Bandon I still missed my quota by two, even after lipping out eagle on the 543 yard finishing par five and taking the kick in birdie. The golf course won again.

There were a lot of positives in this visit. Even though everything was so brutally tough I still only donated four balls to monster called Bandon Dunes. I actually came home with 17 more balls than I went with, so this was a positive. I didn't play my best, but still managed to finish 7th overall in a very strong field. The golf at Bandon Dunes Resort is a grind, and you have to play consistently, even if it is consistently mediocre. I'll take a lot away from this visit as it was as much a game of mental gymnastics as it was a physical battle against a series of golf courses. I come home battered and bruised mentally and emotionally, but the only physical markings will be a wind burn that left everyone beet red.

To make the long story short, here are my overall impressions of Bandon Dunes Resort. I would say OOO! Overpriced. Over-done. Over-rated. Yes, the golf courses are beautiful and the facilities are well thought out but you have to consider may other factors Is the juice worth the squeeze? I don't think these courses lived up to the $275 a round, especially when you factor in that you NEED the caddy to know where you are going and the places where you need to aim. When you add in another $150 to $200 bucks for the cady, that makes the courses come not even close to that total cost. They have marketed the hell out of the property but made sure to keep the dirty little secrets to themselves. The courses are really over-done with the massively deep bunkers and the elevated greens. I get they were trying to emulate Scottish golf, but as soon as you throw those elevated greens into the mix, you're altering the very spirit you trying to create. You then have to ask, are the courses playable? Add in the hellscape winds and the courses become unplayable for all but the very best players. If the courses aren't playable and enjoyable for all, then aren't they over-rated? In then end I'll ask myself was it worth it? I don't know. I'll figure that out years from now as we reminisce about our experiences at Bandon Dunes.

Final stop, Florence Golf Links.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Started our way back to Portland by back tracking to Florence to stay for a night and play a round before the four-hour drive to PDX. This round at Florence Golf Links would be our last round on this trip and I only booked it because it the only course in the vicinity that had anything resembling a reputation. When we arrived the place was empty and the club house (a large building up on a bluff) was looking a little worse for wear. We checked in and were told we could go out early if we wanted to, which is normally another warning sign. Off to the tee we went without a warm up and get hooked up with a couple locals who did not look like golfers. The one guy wore two batting gloves and had skater tats everywhere. Once again in Oregon, looks can be deceiving. Turns out both of these young guys had played on the high school golf team and could get the ball around. Better yet, they knew the course really well, which would be a huge advantage.

As we stood on the first tee the place really started to look like a diamond in the rough. The conditions were excellent. The tee boxes pristine and the fairways in better shape than Bandon. As we worked our way around the wooded section of the course we found the design to be extremely challenging but also beyond fair. The hazards were clearly defined and reachable, but also with bailout areas for smart players to take advantage of. The greens were some of the best we played, being receptive but extremely quick, especially if you found yourself above the hole. Each hole made it feel like you had the course to yourself, which is a testament to the designer, who just happened to be Rees Jones! After the front nine through some trees you get to play a little more traditional links style golf out on a plain surrounded by sand dunes and a huge pond where the final three holes played. The contrast was cool and made it that much more interesting. What we thought was going to be a throw away round turned into the truly hidden gem of the trip. A fantastic layout with some of the best conditions south of Portland. If you're even driving the Oregon coast, do yourself a favor and stop in for a round here. You will not regret it!

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Yeah, the prices are outrageous. It was like $127 today at Glen Eagles with a cart. On a Monday? At Glen Eagles? Couldn’t believe it.

Yah prices have Inflated a bunch this year. The good news is it’s easy to get on basically anywhere so far.

Gleneagles is also the same price no matter the time of week now.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Yah prices have Inflated a bunch this year. The good news is it’s easy to get on basically anywhere so far.

Gleneagles is also the same price no matter the time of week now.

Yep and the prices will stay high as long as people are willing to pay them.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Yep and the prices will stay high as long as people are willing to pay them.

Come to Nanton for a round then. I also understand it's too long a drive for some. Or that it's not long enough

Weekday $45 9 holes- $28
Weekend $59 9 holes $39

Twilight rates

Twilight (4pm - 7pm) $40.00
Supertwilight (After 7pm) $30.00

https://nantongolfclub.ca/golf-course/

[Dion]

Played 36 holes today. Started with 18 in the morning/afternoon and another 18 for Mens League.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Dion

Played 36 holes today. Started with 18 in the morning/afternoon and another 18 for Mens League.

I love playing 36. Haven’t managed it this year, but I think I can make that happen a couple times this summer.

[ryeguy252]

anyone play Kananaskis recently, ie. mount kidd? wondering how the course condition is this year

thanks!

[Slava]

Originally Posted by ryeguy252

anyone play Kananaskis recently, ie. mount kidd? wondering how the course condition is this year

thanks!

I have and it’s in good shape! The rough was thick and everything was quite lush. They were dealing with a “problem bear”, but that’s no concern. It was a little unnerving having 4-5 trucks circling and following you down the fairway, because you feel like bait! But it was beautiful, as always.