Sauble Beach Recomendations?

[BILLYBEE]

Will be renting a cottage in late July with family this year. Any golf courses near by that are highly rated. May be able to play 2 times if lucky. Thanks in advance for all replies.

[Ignatius Reilly]

Legacy Ridge in Owen Sound and Cobble Beach just N of there are both worth a visit and about a half hour drive.

StoneTree in OS is quirky, Scenic City is meh (and it's not scenic!).

Northern Dunes in Hepworth is only 10 minutes away and it's not special but it's golf and it's definitely "okay".

[dmcdam]

Saugeen GC is a great 27 hole course about 15-20 min away in Port Elgin.

[Risky84]

As dmcdam said Saugeen is the nicest course that’s close , Sauble Golf and Country Club is ok to bang the ball around but certainly not a spectacular track, Legacy in OS is good that’s about 40 mins away and of course your Cobble Beach that’s about 50 mins away , there is also Black Horse close to Kincardine, it’s decent as well

[CRobertson]

Highly rated would be Cobble Beach. Usually makes the score golf top 35 courses in Canada. Pricey but worth a play once. Likely a 30 minute drive from Sauble.

Otherwise Legacy is 20 minutes.

[pingputt]

Stone Tree is underrated , great shape and reasonably priced, two or three tough/quirky holes (number two is a monster)! 30 mins from Sauble. Cobble is great but ridiculously overpriced, Northern dunes has a nice layout but conditioning is not great , only 15 mins away. Sauble G&C as said is nothing special, haven't played Saugeen but heard its pretty nice.

[hoganapexplus]

Sauble to Saugeen is 20 minutes or so. Nice course, green fee is reasonable. About 30 minutes to Legacy Ridge, a nice Thompson course. Reasonable green fee. Other than Cobble, those are your two best choices. Twilight at Cobble is not excessive for the quality of course, regular fee is $200. Note all those will be busy in prime time July

[Risky84]

Sauble to Saugeen is 20 minutes or so. Nice course, green fee is reasonable. About 30 minutes to Legacy Ridge, a nice Thompson course. Reasonable green fee. Other than Cobble, those are your two best choices. Twilight at Cobble is not excessive for the quality of course, regular fee is $200. Note all those will be busy in prime time July

Under par right now for Cobble is $135 as long as used before June or after September 25th , $135 with cart is a decent price now days , but $200 your right little step

[ARL67]

I'm a seasonal Owen Sound / Wiarton guy for the 6 months of spring / summer/ early fall -> just got to our place today, 10 minutes form Cobble and Legacy Ridge.

I'll do Cobble a couple times a year as it is pricey, and for me not worth it at $200 + HST.

Legacy is a tough and interesting course, the front 9 being Stanley Thompson with some undulating fairways and heavily sloped greens. The back 9 is flatter but also difficult as it plays long. I quite like the course, and they have a strong membership, so they must be doing things right.

I kinda foo-foo'd Stone Tree for along time, but played it a couple times last year and have changed my mind on it. I would have no hesitation playing it. They also had a Wednesday ( might be Tuesday ) promo of 18 holes with cart for $45. If your group is around that day, well worth the money.

Heck I even like Sauble Beach golf club for what it is. Flat, pretty straight forward, cheap, and very good service. We run golf tournament there the last few years ( 30+ guys ) from our trailer park, and the course is always very accommodating and very good food & bar service ( thank goodness there are no video cameras recording our antics ). I believe they still have free shuttle service and will pick you up and return you home -> they "suggest" that you do a donation to the charity that they sponsor -> we usually do $10 per person per person each way + tip. After the golf, we stay for steaks, or burgers, wings, etc. If you plan on drinking, go to Sauble, don't be too picky about the golf, and enjoy yourself.

I used to golf Northern Dunes a lot, but it had such poor maintenance, or conditioning, that I stopped going there a couple years ago. I can accept the mid-summer, dried and grass-patchy fairways, but the greens at least have to be OK, which they weren't. I'll give it a go soon and report back.

Whatever you pick, I'm sure you will have fun !

[midlifecrisis]

Saugeen GC is a great 27 hole course about 15-20 min away in Port Elgin.

I would argue that "great" is an overstatement, and "slightly better than average for a cottage course" would be more accurate, but just a personal opinion. I agree that the price is user-friendly. There is also Southampton GC (formerly Chippewa) at the north end of town, so 5 or 10 minutes closer to Sauble.

[dmcdam]

I would argue that "great" is an overstatement, and "slightly better than average for a cottage course" would be more accurate, but just a personal opinion. I agree that the price is user-friendly. There is also Southampton GC (formerly Chippewa) at the north end of town, so 5 or 10 minutes closer to Sauble.

That's probably fair but I think it's quite a bit better than an average cottage course. It also holds great memories for me as I've been playing it since I started golf in my teens (over 35 years now).

[Risky84]

I would argue that "great" is an overstatement, and "slightly better than average for a cottage course" would be more accurate, but just a personal opinion. I agree that the price is user-friendly. There is also Southampton GC (formerly Chippewa) at the north end of town, so 5 or 10 minutes closer to Sauble.

Not sure the last time you played Saugeen , but this track is much better then a “cottage” course always in great shape , nice greens , good service, IMO it’s better then Legacy in Owen Sound , Southampton on the other hand I would classify as a “cottage” course on par with Sauble Golf Club. I will note I am not member of Saugeen but play 10-15 rounds a year , my two boys are however are members

[Tommy Armour V31]

The Club at Westlinks near Port Elgin is a neat 12 hole course, originally an 18. Very links like as the name suggests an roughly 1km from Lake Huron. I have not played it in a long time, but thought it was really cool as my first links experience. I used to play Sauble all the time in the 85-05 time-frame, and for a cottage course, it had a few interesting holes for sure. As others have mentioned, Cobble is pretty awesome, just rather pricy now. I walked it in a GTA Am tour event and it is a tough walk, even though the course is mostly flati-ish, but pretty sure carts are standard there.

[ARL67]

Risky84 I've heard of good thing about Saugeen but have never played it. But now that my son & his GF have moved to Port Elgin last fall, it will definitely be on my to-do list. Which set of 9's do you prefer for 18 ? I'll be curious to compare it to Legacy -> golfing there tomorrow morning.

[dmcdam]

Not sure the last time you played Saugeen , but this track is much better then a “cottage” course always in great shape , nice greens , good service, IMO it’s better then Legacy in Owen Sound , Southampton on the other hand I would classify as a “cottage” course on par with Sauble Golf Club. I will note I am not member of Saugeen but play 10-15 rounds a year , my two boys are however are members

I noticed on their website that they'll be hosting the 2024 Senior Canadian Amateur Championship - definitely says something about the way the course is regarded.