recommended courses for a poor newbie?

[LauncherLP]

I'm a newbie and i'm poor(student) but love to play as much as I can. I try to maximize the number of times I can play by looking for courses with green fees around the $30 -$40 mark and play the opportunity rounds usually starting after 2pm-3pm.

I normally shoot around 100-110 on courses like Parkview/Columbus but I have had rounds sub 100 before on parkview. I live on the Markham/Scarborough border at Warden/Steeles.

Courses I've been to in the $30-$40 range:
Cresthaven aka. Hackhaven
Parkview
Rolling Hills

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

[nearace]

welcome to the forum:)
http://www.ontgolf.ca/city.php?city=toronto
I think this also has a green fee rating .

[goshawk]

Give Glen Cedars a try. On Tuesdays this year (25th anniversary I think), it's within your price range ($40 all day). And it's a far cry better than Parkview or Rolling Pastures ever thought of getting to in condition.

[big!]

For similar quality and price, and more or less in the area, I would suggest Bushwood - they always have cheap rates after 3pm.

[LauncherLP]

Give Glen Cedars a try. On Tuesdays this year (25th anniversary I think), it's within your price range ($40 all day). And it's a far cry better than Parkview or Rolling Pastures ever thought of getting to in condition.

lol... we call it bowling hills... its like we are bowling our balls across the greens...

For similar quality and price, and more or less in the area, I would suggest Bushwood - they always have cheap rates after 3pm.

yeah i saw the deal they are running in the golfing deals forum... i think i'm gonna try it out august long weekend! I told my friend about the deercreek thing they had for a free round of golf and he got accepted! we are playing that weekend also!

thanks for all the info guys! been searching the ontgolf website Nearace suggested and I'm thinking of playing country lane... anyone tried it?

[nickelhead]

Tam O'Shanter is close to you and $33 after 4PM, $26 for nine holes after 530.

[LauncherLP]

Tam O'Shanter is close to you and $33 after 4PM, $26 for nine holes after 530.

I used to live down the street from that course... i might have to give it a try... is it any good?

[nearace]

I used to live down the street from that course... i might have to give it a try... is it any good?I like that course:)

[nickelhead]

I used to live down the street from that course... i might have to give it a try... is it any good?

I walk on to the Tam about 4-5 times a year usually on the way home after work when I'm jonesing to play a few holes. I like it enough...it's usually in decent shape and not terribly difficult so you finish feeling good about your game. I feel it is just as good if not better than the courses you've listed that I've tried.

There is a little bit of unpredicatability there in terms of the people you might get hooked up with and those playing around you. I've played with accomplished golfers there but also with a lot of "casual" golfers. Sometimes the people can be a little rough around the edges and I've seen what might be described as "major breaches of etiquette" not to mention the occasional stray ball passing within inches of my personage. As long as you don't take yourself too seriously there it should be a fun round.

[the_GREEN_Hornet]

I'm a newbie and i'm poor(student) but love to play as much as I can. I try to maximize the number of times I can play by looking for courses with green fees around the $30 -$40 mark and play the opportunity rounds usually starting after 2pm-3pm.

I normally shoot around 100-110 on courses like Parkview/Columbus but I have had rounds sub 100 before on parkview. I live on the Markham/Scarborough border at Warden/Steeles.

Courses I've been to in the $30-$40 range:
Cresthaven aka. Hackhaven
Parkview
Rolling Hills

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Just a suggestion LauncherLP....if you are a newbie and really looking at this sport in the long run, perhaps the best use of your time and money would be to look into some lessons (perhaps with goshawk or other TGN'ers) and then ingraining those lessons at a decent range...then look into hitting the courses a few times....

By the time you finish school and have a job, you'll have money to play and a better game to enjoy the game!

Short term pain, long term gain! ;)

[Special_K]

If you're willing to drive a bit a few other good deals. Winchester in north oshawa is always cheap and good for newbs....Kedron Dell is out that way and not too expensive..as is columbus, but that's actually a decent track!

[LauncherLP]

Winchester in north oshawa is always cheap and good for newbs....Kedron Dell is out that way and not too expensive..as is columbus, but that's actually a decent track!

I've played columbus a few times and had a great time although I've lost a ball on the 3rd island hole every time! Not a big fan of the fescues either lol...

[gimmeeee]

I'm a newbie and i'm poor(student) but love to play as much as I can. I try to maximize the number of times I can play by looking for courses with green fees around the $30 -$40 mark and play the opportunity rounds usually starting after 2pm-3pm.

I normally shoot around 100-110 on courses like Parkview/Columbus but I have had rounds sub 100 before on parkview. I live on the Markham/Scarborough border at Warden/Steeles.

Courses I've been to in the $30-$40 range:
Cresthaven aka. Hackhaven
Parkview
Rolling Hills

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

If you play a lot of golf, just join the GTA Golf Club. With the membership, you get to play courses that normally are $50-$60 ($60-$70 on weekends) for around $27-$35. They are currently running a mid-season special and if you join the eagle membership, you pay $450(+gst) for 15 rounds, which is basically $31.50 a round. After you use your free included rounds, you pay the GTAGC Preferred Member Rates, which is the best value ever. Why wait till 3PM to play at Parkview for $36 when you can play Mill Run at any time for $28 (weekdays) /$35(weekends) or Watsons Glen for $30 (weekdays & weekends)?

As a member who is currently very happy with the membership, I can't understand why others are not joining. There is one catch here: You have to book spots on the GTA site before booking at courses. I was hesitant to join at first because I was worried that I might have difficulty booking spots. (You can't see how many spots there are until you log in.) As it turns out, I didn't need to worry. Also, sometimes you book a spot on the GTA website only to find out that the course doesn't have a tee time, but you can usually find another course with an opening. I got the eagle membership before the season started at $900(+gst) for 30 rounds with a couple of early sign up bonus rounds, and I have already played 24 rounds.

Check out the website, http://www.gtagolfclub.ca

I am just a member of the club, and am not writing this to promote the site, although I did refer so many members that Scott (the owner of GTA Golf Club) said he might have to hire me =)

[LauncherLP]

* Free round can be used on any $35 dollar or less partner course, or as a $35 dollar credit towards any premium partner course member fee and must be used before June 1, 2008.
** Included round can be used on any $35 dollar or less partner course, or as a $35 dollar credit towards any premium partner course member fee.
Included rounds must be used within the 2008 golf season and cannot be carried over to next year.

Would be amazing barring the restrictions...

The Eagle membership comes with 15 rounds, but you gotta play another 15 rounds at regular price in order to get dicounted rounds thereafter...

I don't think I can finish the 15 rounds by June 1st...

[gimmeeee]

* Free round can be used on any $35 dollar or less partner course, or as a $35 dollar credit towards any premium partner course member fee and must be used before June 1, 2008.
** Included round can be used on any $35 dollar or less partner course, or as a $35 dollar credit towards any premium partner course member fee.
Included rounds must be used within the 2008 golf season and cannot be carried over to next year.

Would be amazing barring the restrictions...

The Eagle membership comes with 15 rounds, but you gotta play another 15 rounds at regular price in order to get dicounted rounds thereafter...

I don't think I can finish the 15 rounds by June 1st...

The "free" rounds were the bonus rounds you got for early sign up, not the 30 (or now 15) "included" rounds. I guess it is kind of confusing because the "free" rounds aren't offered any more, but notice the two ** in "15 rounds included **". I got 3 bonus "free" rounds for signing up before February 29 plus another bonus round for referring a friend, so I started out with 34 rounds. It was the 3 bonus rounds that had to be played before June 1 and I had no trouble doing that.

And where did you get the idea that you had to play another 15 rounds at regular price in order to get discounted rounds thereafter? The "$35 or less partner course" is the GTAGC rate, not the regular rate. So with the mid-season Eagle membership, you get 15 rounds for $450 instead of 30 for $900 (which is what I got at the beginning of the season), and it covers rounds of up to $35 (courses like Mill Run, Watsons, Cardinal, Maples, Westview, Glen Eagle, and Hockley Valley, weekdays or weekends) with no extra charge. After you have finished playing the 15 "included" rounds, you pay the GTAGC discounted rate, which differs slightly (between $27-$35).

It is as simple as that. There are no such restrictions. The only restriction is that you have to book a spot on the GTAGC website, and there ARE a limited number of spots. However, I have had no trouble finding a course to play unless it was this one time I tried on Sunday to find a spot to play the same day.

It truely is an amazing deal. Sounds too good to be true? Well, for once, it actually is true. It is true that the higher end courses don't offer much of a discount, but for the mid-priced courses mentioned above, the GTAGC rate is around half the regular green fee.

Also, occasionally, they have special events, such as Eagle's Nest 2for1. I paid $120.75 during Canada Day long weekend for 2 golfers, myself and a friend who is not even a member of GTAGC.

Maybe I should stop posting replies like this because too many golfers might join the club and that might make it hard to get spots. But Scott (the owner of GTAGC) says with more members, he can add more courses and more spots. I'm hoping more people will join so that courses closer to where I live can be added.


And where did you get the idea that you had to play another 15 rounds at regular price in order to get discounted rounds thereafter?

OK, now I see where you got the idea. The website says "Preferred GTAGC rate after 30 rounds". That was because originally, Eagle membership gave you 30 "included" rounds. Now that 15 rounds are included, you should get the GTAGC rate after 15 rounds.