The Club at Bond Head - North Course Review

 

 

Name: The Club at Bond Head - North Course
Location: Beeton, Ontario (~1 hour north of Toronto)
Type: Semi-Private
Holes: 18

Length and Par: 4655-6981 yards / 71
Tees: (Shortest to Longest): Red, White, Green, Blue, Gold, Black
Website: https://bondhead.clublink.ca/

The Club at Bond Head offers the ultimate golf experience just minutes west of Highway 400, a few kilometres north of Aurora, Ontario. Two magnificent courses, designed by the renowned firm of Hurdzan-Fry, are presided over by a palatial clubhouse.

The parkland-style North Course features dramatic elevation changes, spectacular vistas and small, contoured greens.

A member of the ClubLink family, The Club at Bond Head welcomes ClubLink Members and is open to the public as well, not just for golf, but for dining, charity and corporate golf tournaments, weddings and meetings, and other special events. We invite you to experience our hospitality, service, cuisine, elegant surroundings and attentive staff. Our clubhouse is available year-round for meetings, weddings and special events. 

 

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

Price:
Difficulty: (from Green tees)

Overall Rating: 4.9 out of 5

 

 

OVERVIEW    

Nestled on the outskirts of the small, quiet hamlet of Bond Head lies a true golf experience. The Club at Bond Head first opened its doors in 2005 and was the work of architects Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Jason Straka of the prestigious Hurdzan Fry Design company, whose porfolio includes work on Devil's Pulpit and Devil's Paintbrush in Caledon, among others. Despite being relatively new, The Club at Bond Head's quality is recognized. 

 

Upon opening, the course was voted the top public course in the GTA by the Toronto Star. In 2015, The North Course ranked 52nd in SCOREGolf's top 59 public courses in Ontario and in 2014 ranked 96th the top 100 courses of Ontario. The course is headed by CPGA Professional is Kevin Hamill, formerly of National Pines Golf Club and Innisbrook Golf Course. It is part of the ClubLink family of courses but does offer daily golf for to public.

 

COURSE LAYOUT AND DIFFICULTY

There are many common design elements amongst many of the holes on the North course. From the start, players will notice that tee boxes are placed either above or below the fairways, leading to some spectacular views when you set foot on the tees. 

Most fairways features dramatic slopes and elevation changes throughout them, lined by a combination of thick rough and deep fairway bunkers that will punish any errant tee shot or mistake. There is no room for error, especially from the longer tees. Players should be relieved to find the fairway but that is only half the battle. Tough, small greens surrounded by massive downhill slopes and crater-like greenside bunkers demand an accurate approach. Often times, you'll find yourself taking safer lines into holes, as finding any of these hazards can prove costly. 

 

The shear depth and steepness of some of the bunkers are only quantifiable once you land in them. But when you do, you will noticed that the sand is of high-quality and loose, and does not clump like other lesser quality sand. A reassuring feeling, despite the fact that landing in one greatly increases the difficulty of the hole.

Once safely on the greens, players will notice a vast degree of undulation and deception. Most greens are multi-leveled and landing on the wrong level means a difficult putt ahead. Good putting pace and an ability to read slopes is required to not punish yourself. As of this review, the speeds of the greens were very fast; something even the marshals noted to us. This, in combination with the sloping, can lead to some truly tricky putts at times.

The only issue we found was the length of the rough on some holes. While we understand the necessity for long rough and its effect on hole difficulty, in some places it was exceedingly long, about four inches or so. Perhaps it was not cut yet at the time of the review, but we often found it taking longer than necessary to find balls hit even just a few yards off the fairway.

 

A hole of note is the par 4 6th hole. Starting out low, players on the tee are presented with a dramatic yet deceptive sight; a high green, measuring 312 yards away atop a steep hill, surrounded by dense rough and deep bunkers, with a sliver of fairway to the right of it. Clever bunker positioning and contouring hide the real size of the fairway, yet players are forced to question just how much of it they want to take on. Escaping with a par on this hole is a respectable score for even the best of golfers.

 

Perhaps our favourite hole on the North course though is the par 5 8th hole. Measuring almost 600 yards in length, the tee boxes are set high on a hill. Players must hit over a dense out-of-bounds region in an attempt to land their ball onto a sloping fairway that bends slightly left. Large bunkers, both in depth and length, are situated in a way that either forces you to play short of them or be brave enough to hit over them. Once on the fairway, players will notice more bunkers along its sides, making even a layup shot a risky endeavor. Approaching the green is equally tough, as the front edge is lined with more bunkers and surrounded by deep rough. This is a great hole to test one's accuracy with all their clubs. 

 

 

The 8th Hole at The Club at Bond Head's North Course (Image: Toronto Golf Reviews)

VALUE

Perhaps the best part about the Club at Bond Head is their flexible pricing for both the North and South courses. At the time of this review, pricing ranges from $75-45 during the week then increases to $110-50 on the weekends, depending on the time. This is truly a steal at the moment, in our opinion, especially for the quality of course that you are playing. 

 

During the summer, the weekday post-4PM slot costs about $45 and still gives you enough time to get 18 holes in before dusk. This right now is perhaps the best valued deal in all of Ontario. I cannot think of any other course of a similar quality that I have played that cost under $50 for 18 holes, ever.

STAFF AND PACE OF PLAY

The quality of the club found during our review of the South course still holds. Upon entering the facility, golfers are greeted by a magnificent clubhouse, which houses all the typical amenities of some of the best country clubs, with a well-stocked proshop, driving range, member locker-rooms, a remarkable patio overlooking the course, event spaces and much more.

 

The staff at Bond Head again live up to their reputation and rating from our review of the South Course. Friendly, warm staff ensure you have the best golfing experience you can and are great to have a chat with while waiting to hit your shot or before a round. They are especially accommodating and welcoming to those who have never played either courses before. It should be noted that the staff do an excellent job of ensuring a good pace of play; they understand the difficulty of the course and account for it well. In addition, the course is cart mandatory, which helps out with pace of play. A big thank you to marshal Lloyd, who was particularly helpful and great to talk to during our round.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

The North Course at the Club at Bond Head is a real treat for golfers. Stunning views, challenging holes, great design, friendly staff and amazing value all add up to an excellent golfing experience. I would recommend this course for mid to low handicappers who are looking for a true challenge. The elevation changes, unforgiving rough and tight, sloping greens are sure to test all golfing skills. Higher handicappers may find this course too difficult however, as a demand for accurate shot-making is required on most holes, even from the shorter tees. To play this course well should be considered an achievement by many. 

 

We give it a 4.9 out of 5, the only deduction being for the excessive length of rough on some holes. 

Have you played the North Course? If so, let me know in the comments below what you thought of it.

 

 

Also, click here to read our review of the South Course at the Club at Bond Head

 

 

 

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews