Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

[mak322]

Hi,

My friend invited me to visit the Don valley golf course in Toronto.


He is speaking so high of the course. I am a regular at the Chester Washington course here in California.

I will be probably coming this summer. I hope I will be able to play at the course.
Please, share your experiences about this golf course.

[Fore Warned]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

Hi, welcome aboard.

You are going to get some divided opinion from this board on the Don Valley course. First off, it is a municipal course, albeit, a pretty good one, in my view, and fun to play. Some may say its an easy course, but for the high handicapper like me, there is challenge enough, with opportunities for good holes.

However, it is not a destination course one would travel half way across the continent to play. From your picture, don't expect conditions to be anywhere near the quality Chester Washington course which you play. This is not a country club. It's more of a gritty urban scene.

The clubhouse is very old and in need of complete reconstruction. The parking lot is a bit of a mess, with soil storage at the far end. There are two dilapidated swing practice bays, but the chipping and putting practice areas are OK.

As a muni in the heart of the city, the course is accessible by public transit via subway, so it appeals to a lot of people in the city who don't drive cars. It is usually quite busy, and at times it can be slow as a result.

It has some interesting and varied holes, many of which skirt or cross the Don Valley West river (which eats balls by the way). Many holes on the back nine are quite hilly, as they go back and forth up and down the valley slope. Some find walking that part of the course difficult. Parts of the course are quite picturesque, like a bit of a natural space surrounded by urban views, as tall buildings peek up over the forested canopy of the valley. Not so pretty is crossing under the 14 lane Highway 401 bridge to get back and forth between some holes.

Anyway, I find it a fun course to play occasionally. If you come all this way however, there are a host of really great courses you and your friend could look into if that is of interest. Look to other threads on this board which discuss and rate local courses.

[Pimento Cheese]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

Some of us have a soft spot for Don Valley because it's local for many, and the first full sized course a lot of us became familiar with. It's not generally considered a gem, but it's easily my favourite of the Toronto municipal courses, and I think the most challenging.

I like the layout, for the most part, though there is one hole that I loathe -- you need to use an on-course periscope to see where the green is for your approach shot.

The hole you've posted a picture of is 13, which is a hole that gives me trouble. Par is a good score on that hole. The green is tucked in behind the water and if you don't have a good approach angle, shooting over the water can give you trouble in front and behind the green, so a layup is often a good call and gives you a lot of green to work with on your pitch. Like most golf photography, that photo makes it look a lot prettier than it is. (Are those fountains ever in use? I can't remember ever seeing them on.)

A few years back the completely overhauled the 3rd hole from a nothing hole to one of my favourites.

It's noted for slow rounds -- the course is often packed, especially on weekends -- though it seems to have been better the past few years (though I think that's because the course has been less busy -- someone who's played it more the past two years might confirm or refute this). It's not, however, noted for its maintenance and greenskeeping and it can have some ugly spots early in the season. It's usually June or July before the course is looking good.

It's a little on the hilly side for some, though I like a hilly course. At the end of your round there's a tow rope to help you up to the clubhouse. Even I find myself using this, and I'm an athlete.

If you're doing post-round eats, there isn't a lot right near the course, but there are restaurants and pubs over on Avenue Road.

It's dear to my heart because it's the course I did most of my learning on, though I'm a bit surprised someone would rave about it to an out-of-towner. It's not generally on anyone's must-see list.

I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on it if you do end up playing it when you're here.

[401par4]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

Play DV fairly regularly and mostly agree with above posts. Especially the hilly finishing holes... A very good muni but don't think I would plan a trip around it.

Photo is actually hole 12, a great par 5 (apparently a fave of legend George Knudson).

Disagree with Pimento about new hole 3 -- the old was a strong par 4, the new is a goofy par 5....

[Pimento Cheese]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

Play DV fairly regularly and mostly agree with above posts. Especially the hilly finishing holes... A very good muni but don't think I would plan a trip around it.

Photo is actually hole 12, a great par 5 (apparently a fave of legend George Knudson).

Disagree with Pimento about new hole 3 -- the old was a strong par 4, the new is a goofy par 5....

Oops, my mistake. That's right, it's 12, not 13. 13 is the par 3 where I once took seven strokes to get out of the bunker on the front right and it's not that tough a bunker.

[Blackboxalgo]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

played a bunch of rounds at DV mainly because it's down the street from me and accessible by subway for my downtown casual golfer friends who won't (or can't) travel out of the city to play. And that's exactly the reason why it's very busy with slow rounds all the time. Less to do with course quality, view and overall experience and more do with the prime location in the city that everybody has access to.

If you manage your expectations you'll have a decent round there. Some gimmicky/weird holes but otherwise it can be interesting to play first time through.

[bogeytrain]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

It would be the equivalent to Los Verdes Golf Course in Palos Verdes, condition wise, but with much higher green fees and less scenic views.

[Carlton]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

It's an okay course, I wouldn't call it spectacular. I started playing it after work last season as a couple guys from the office wanted to get back into the game. It's nice that the city has a few courses that are all accessible from public transit.

[Weirfan]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

It's a beautiful, old school course with some fantastic holes, and definitely worth playing.

Conditioning and pace of play might dissapoint you.

Many really nice courses in the area, hope you get to play some of them

[Ignatius Reilly]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

Just be forewarned that it's a muni, with mediocre conditions.

It's entire attraction is location: Very handy to most of the city, and pretty much at a subway stop.

The picture you posted is about the nicest view on the course.

There is a rather large highway that runs over it. Surprisingly, it doesn't really disturb the golf, other than the rather nasty walk under the bridge and back to get to a few holes. That stretch of highway is about 16 lanes wide and has been described as one of the world's busiest stretches of highway.

[Big Shooter]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

Like many others, I grew up playing DV (I had the Toronto Star paper route in the buildings on the other side of the road from the 12th tee---yes, we snuck-on in the early evenings!)

Tough course for beginners for sure, not overly long, but a real shot makers course. Can be very slow, especially the closing stretch of holes.

Miss the old layout...#1 (that tree doesn't belong there now!), the old #3, #8 with the elevated green back right

Still wish they could do something about #14....never played another hole quite like that one!

[Leftygolfer30]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

You all realize that this thread is just spam for the link the guy posted, right?

[Ignatius Reilly]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

You all realize that this thread is just spam for the link the guy posted, right?

LOL!

I saw the link and that he was anxiously awaiting pardon and thought it was an odd thing to mention. "I'll be visiting your city soon and would like to golf. Looking for an easy course as my game has gone stale while doing hard time..."

[Pimento Cheese]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

You all realize that this thread is just spam for the link the guy posted, right?

I didn't even pay attention to the link, but while it looks a little suspicious, it doesn't seem implausible at all that someone would be travelling to Toronto on the advice of a friend who said he should come here to play Don Valley ... okay, now that I've typed that, I can see a certain level of implausibility.

[Big Shooter]

Re: Going to visit the Don Valley golf course this summer

You all realize that this thread is just spam for the link the guy posted, right?

LOL!

I saw the link and that he was anxiously awaiting pardon and thought it was an odd thing to mention. "I'll be visiting your city soon and would like to golf. Looking for an easy course as my game has gone stale while doing hard time..."

Looks Legit to me.....

1st post: http://www.torontogolfnuts.com/showthread.php?t=170336