Bathurst Glen Golf Club Review #1

Name: Bathurst Glen Golf Club
Location: Richmond Hill, Ontario (~35 minutes north of Toronto)
Type: Public
Holes: 18 (2x9)
Length and Par: 3721-4551 yards / 63
Tees: (Shortest to Longest): Green, White, Black and shorter "Family Tees"
Website: http://www.bathurstglengolf.ca/

Located just north of Toronto, Bathurst Glen Golf Course is a family friendly, public, 18 hole golf course owned and operated by Toronto and Region Conservation. With an emphasis on environmental sustainability, Bathurst Glen offers a challenging yet fun experience, that golfers of all abilities will enjoy.

Course Layout:
Pace of Play:
Staff:
Value:
Course Conditions:

Price:
Difficulty:

Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 5

Bathurst Glen is a fun course that I used to play many times over the years (a few times recently) and one that I find to be best suited for medium to high handicappers, or anyone who wants to work on their game without coming across to many difficulties. Playing-wise, they offer a good par 63 course (see more below) with a few good holes, a great driving range for practice/warm-up (although the driving range is a little far and somewhat separate from the course itself), and good warm-up greens. Off the course however is a different story and a different feel. There is a small clubhouse with food services, but no other "clubhouse" ammenities like a place to kick back after a round (other than a small outdoor patio). It doesn't really give off that welcoming/inviting clubhouse feel that some courses do, because that's not to kind of golf course it is. It's more of a course where you go to golf and that's it. Whether this is a good thing or bad thing is completely up to personal taste. The staff is friendly however, which isn't always the case at courses like this, but I have noticed that the marshals always seem to be watching you as you shoot (which might be intimidating to some).

Getting back to the course now, like I said it is a par 63, mostly made up of par three's and four's, except for the 18th hole which features a nice par 5. It offers three sets of tees (Green, White, Black) for various skill levels, but this year has introduced "family tees" which are shorter than the Green tees and designed for kids/families who are new to golf. The hole layout is okay, however on some holes, all that separates your hole from the hole beside you is rough and a few oddly places trees. Most of the holes are pretty straight forward, most being dead straight with slight elevation change, which makes the course easy to play most of the times. The course is also pretty open and there are few places where you ball is totally non-recoverable. However, given that the course is owned by Toronto and Region Conservation, there are several fescue areas which prohibit searching for balls. Course conditions are pretty good, however I noticed that the bunkers don't drain well after some rain.

Some holes of note are #14, a 332-yard par 4, downhill, and tree lined to the left and dense rough to the right (a great looking hole) and #17, a 125 yard par 3 over water and slightly downhill, and #18, a 446 yard par 5 slight dogleg right then left to a water and bunker protected green.

And now finally the price which, to put it bluntly, is bad. 18 holes will cost you $40 during the week and about $50 (tax-excluded) on the weekends, with an additional $30 for power cart rentals. Given that it's a par-63 course suited for high to medium handicappers, you're not getting your money's worth, especially when you consider that Bloomington Downs is just a 10 minute drive away and a cheaper par 72 course. It's due to the price that I don't play here too often now. Oddly enough though, the course is often pretty busy on weekends and depending on who's playing, wait times are to be expected.

Overall, this course is an easy fun course to play as a high to medium handicappers, but is overpriced, given what you are getting.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews