Need a new home course in the Brantford area. Suggestions?

[TwistedEdge]

Thanks everyone. I'll take a look at Galt for sure. I'm hesitant to look at GN due to the cost-cutting measures they've taken and less-than-ideal experiences I've had at other courses of theirs. If a lot here really suggest I give them a hard look over some of the other mentioned clubs, I'll take the advice and do that.

I've reached out to Whistlebear to get more info on pricing.

Brantford definitely looks nice but again, I think I'll be priced out for this upcoming season. Having just purchased a house, I'm trying to keep costs low and sub $2k.

[rodeohook]

Mystic is always in great shape when I've played and a really solid golf course, its the only GN I really enjoy playing in the area, i believe it is usually cart only. Galt and Brantford will be very similar in price.

[mcgsxr]

Much as I have enjoyed Flamborough Hills (miss you Red Flag Deals and your early AM deals for Flamborough!) I’d take Copetown for sure of those 2.

I happen to prefer Oaks of St George over Mystic too, though I doubt that’s a popular interpretation.

I’d take Galt over all of them through. Lovely spot.

[jaymo91]

Thanks everyone. I'll take a look at Galt for sure. I'm hesitant to look at GN due to the cost-cutting measures they've taken and less-than-ideal experiences I've had at other courses of theirs. If a lot here really suggest I give them a hard look over some of the other mentioned clubs, I'll take the advice and do that.

I've reached out to Whistlebear to get more info on pricing.

Brantford definitely looks nice but again, I think I'll be priced out for this upcoming season. Having just purchased a house, I'm trying to keep costs low and sub $2k.

Played Galt on an underpar last year and fell in love with the place. Thought it was a super fun track. Moved to Cambridge in Jan and just joined this week! If you end up there PM me for a game!

[wlorcb]

I would think that if you are priced out of Brantford CC, then Whistlebear would also be out of price for you. Talk to both clubs though as they may have one year intro deals. Brantford is always going to fluctuate depending on how low the member list is. Have seen the initiation as low as 6K up to 20K. You really need to talk to them(or drop in for a visit) as website info is not going to get you where you need to go.
In the interim, you could always play at the Oaks of St George. We were members there before we moved out of Brantford. It was always well maintained and IMHBCO, had the best greens in the area of the courses I had played(CC not on that list, should have taken my pizza guys offer).
I know Oaks is now being run by GN(not owned by them, a developer bought it), but from the people I have been in contact with, it is still in good condition. You could play there for a year or 2.
The 9 hole muni course is not long for life. The 18 is very boring(up,down,up,down). I'm not sure which par 3 you are referring to.
Now depending where in Brantford you are can mean 10 or 15 minutes extra drive time depending which way you are going.

Innerkip is very nice, but as stated no driving range. But if you can go that far, you can go to Craigowan. I am biased but Craigowan is a great club. Lots of very nice people, and some that can really golf their ball, if you are interested in competition.

Also keep in mind about F&B minimums that will apply at some clubs(like Craigowan for instance)

[birdiebill]

Take a look at Otter Creek, it might be 30-40 minutes to drive but the rates are reasonable and, although I haven't played it this year, when I did play a few rounds over the past two years, it was in good shape. Worth a look but I know how they are dealing with memberships at this time of the year.

[Mustangs84]

Current Galt member here, joined on the trial 2 years ago, enjoyed it so I signed up as an intermediate last year. Its worked out great for me so far, and have no plans of leaving anytime soon.

I don't think Galt is significantly cheaper than Brantford as an intermediate from what I remember, as far as dues go anyways. However, with the trial deal ($1000 for the rest of the year), if you re-up for next year they take that off your fees for next year. Also no f&b minimums or initiation at the moment, which is nice.

Anyways, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Jason

[TwistedEdge]

Thanks for the suggestions again. I checked with WB and they're certainly priced around Brantford, so I'll have to pass this season. I'll shoot Galt an email due to the continued suggestions to do so and see if I can give it serious consideration.

I'm still a relatively new player, so having good practise facilities is important to me but so is having a club with great players around my age (30s). I currently am a member at Elmira where my membership costs $1500 and it's full of guys around my age, which really makes the experience more enjoyable.

Without having played clubs but going by pricing and suggestions, my current shortlist looks to be:

• Galt
• Craigowan
• Oaks of St. George
• Mystic? (not sure on pricing here yet)

FYI, I'm actually moving to Paris but not many know where that is as compared to Brantford, thus me using Brantford as the location.

[wlorcb]

You said you played Craigowan last year. Not much has changed, a few more Ash have died. A bit of dead tree removal.
Before you make a decision, play the other three. Depending on where you are in Paris, the Oaks is going to be around 10 minutes to get to.
And as a lot of posts about a lot of courses indicate, that alone can make up for a lot of bad things at a club. We were 8km due south of the Oaks, and it took less than 10 minutes to get there. It was great. We once forgot a cart battery and had plenty of time to go back and get it.

[ARL67]

If you are young and working still, proximity and ease to get there is still King.
Based on your budget, I still think a Golfnorth membership is your best bet for now. The Oaks is very nearby, and Paris is plenty close to Mystic, Brant Valley, Rebel Creek. The Oaks, Mystic, and Rebel all have ranges ( but none are a stellar practice facility like at Whistle Bear )

[TwistedEdge]

I definitely plan on playing Oaks and probably Mystic. Interestingly Mystic guest rates are significantly more than Oaks but yet membership wise, Oaks is more expensive than Mystic. At least if I understand GN's pricing model.

I spoke with Galt today and while it sounds like a nice course, the very limited range and only allowing guests to play 10 times a season is a detractor for me. Still may still go pay them a visit and do a tour regardless.

[newballcoach]

I know Craigowan gets plugged a lot on this site and in this thread, but I played there last weekend and found it very...average. Conditioning was fair. Greens were fine but many areas of fairway and rough had huge dead spots. Didn't love the layout of the course at all, lots of very uninteresting holes (unless you count hitting straight up a hill interesting).

I guess I just didn't get it, maybe others can explain why it's so well thought of. I was definitely disappointed it didn't wow me more based on it's reputation. I would say the layout is very similar to Elmira's with similar type holes, with the greens being better.

[ARL67]

I agree with you on Craigowan, and similar feelings about Innerkip ( which is 30 min drive from Paris ). Both have many average holes, but generally their great conditioning is what got them the high bonus points. I find Elmira much more interesting than either above as Elmira has lots of elevation & direction changes. Otter Creek was excellent when I was there on Tuesday, and interesting layout.

[TwistedEdge]

I hear the above points. For me, Elmira's biggest pull is the members, not necessarily the course itself. I find some of the holes are laid out in such a way that there is 0 forgiveness for a miss on anything that isn't down the middle. The course itself is already pretty narrow and demanding of accuracy as is. What I liked about Craigowan was the ability to recover from bad shots much more easily than Elmira and essentially allowing you to keep playing and enjoying your round. Mind you, I only played one round there and it was last year, so I don't know if overall conditions have changed or not, so I suppose that fun memory + low price + decent practice area is what draws me most.

I'm looking forward to testing out all these new courses and figuring out what works best for me, my skill level and budget!

[TwistedEdge]

Quick update:

* Spoke with Galt for a while and I think I'm going to pass this year. Sounds like an amazing course but no range, limited guest options and a more expensive membership compared to other options means I'll take another look next year.

* Played Oaks 2 weeks ago. It's a nice layout and I'll def play it again but the conditions were terrible. Easily the worst greens I've ever experienced and the fairways were badly beaten up. No way I can make this my home course.

* Played Mystic this last weekend. Despite only getting 14 holes in on freshly punched greens before getting kicked up promptly at 7:30 (they weren't joking about that. Had marshall's around the course like there was a fire trying to get everyone off on the dot), I quite enjoyed the course. Each hole felt different and interesting and needed strategy to play. Some of the carries were quite intimidating (I played Silver tees) but nevertheless, I found myself scoring much better than expected. This isn't a lock yet but I'm definitely coming back once the greens have recovered and when I can play a full 18.

* Plan to play Craigowan next weekend.