Ontario Golf

[BallerNate]

On 6/10/2021 at 10:38 AM, MattM97 said:

I need to find extra golf friends, didn't play last weekend due to the heat, not playing this weekend cause friends flopped on plans and next weekend cause of Father's Day. And my friends wonder why we can't get any better playing 1x/week to 1x/month. 🤦‍♂️

Yeah, tough to find solid and consistent golfing buddies. But at the same time, I get it...life can get in the way of golf.

 

Really depends what stage of life and career people are in. So much depends on career situation, family situation, schedule flexibility etc.

 

For me, I’d love to play 3-4 times per week, but the reality is that I’m fighting with my wife to get 1 round in per week consistently. Super jealous of the young and single guys, and the retired guys who can play everyday...but then again I love my wife and kids and would prefer to stay married. 

[golfortennis]

On 6/10/2021 at 10:38 AM, MattM97 said:

I need to find extra golf friends, didn't play last weekend due to the heat, not playing this weekend cause friends flopped on plans and next weekend cause of Father's Day. And my friends wonder why we can't get any better playing 1x/week to 1x/month. 🤦‍♂️

 

Just need to decide you are playing, and pair up with who you pair up with.  Don't let your friends decide for you if you are playing golf.  

 

Should have joined a club a few years ago!  (Back when it was a lot cheaper.  Hindsight is 20/20). 

[MattM97]

Just now, golfortennis said:

 

Just need to decide you are playing, and pair up with who you pair up with.  Don't let your friends decide for you if you are playing golf.  

 

Should have joined a club a few years ago!  (Back when it was a lot cheaper.  Hindsight is 20/20). 

 

I wasn't playing golf a few years ago so wasn't even a thought. 

[BallerNate]

16 minutes ago, golfortennis said:

 

Just need to decide you are playing, and pair up with who you pair up with.  Don't let your friends decide for you if you are playing golf.  

 

Should have joined a club a few years ago!  (Back when it was a lot cheaper.  Hindsight is 20/20). 

Yeah, I agree 100%. I take this approach too. I decide when I can play, and I’ll invite my golfing buddies…and if they can’t make it, I have no problem playing solo or getting paired up at the course.

 

The problem now with golf being so red-hot is that a lot of courses don’t allow singles to book anymore. Two of my favourite courses here in Barrie don’t take solo bookings anymore, which absolutely sucks.

[golfortennis]

17 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

I wasn't playing golf a few years ago so wasn't even a thought. 

 

You're not new here, but you post like you are.  You hit it 350, have tour issue clubs, and were breaking par 2 days after you were born.  No room for any other kind of story here.

 

🤪

[golfortennis]

1 minute ago, BallerNate said:

Yeah, I agree 100%. I take this approach too. I decide when I can play, and I’ll invite my golfing buddies…and if they can’t make it, I have no problem playing solo or getting paired up at the course.

 

The problem now with golf being so red-hot is that a lot of courses don’t allow singles to book anymore. Two of my favourite courses here in Barrie don’t take solo bookings anymore, which absolutely sucks.

 

This is completely stupid.  If a threesome booked, why won't they sell that last spot?  Someone needs to put something up there about how golf is a social game, and if you have less than 4, book in with the single.  Course owners still have their backwards thinking, and they are being bailed out by it right now.  Another reason I am glad I joined a private club.

[MattM97]

Just now, golfortennis said:

 

This is completely stupid.  If a threesome booked, why won't they sell that last spot?  Someone needs to put something up there about how golf is a social game, and if you have less than 4, book in with the single.  Course owners still have their backwards thinking, and they are being bailed out by it right now.  Another reason I am glad I joined a private club.

 

They're only taking 2s or 4s to avoid this, makes booking tee times really hard. 

[golfortennis]

2 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

They're only taking 2s or 4s to avoid this, makes booking tee times really hard. 

 

I've railed against this for years.  They are basically that you, who are telling them you want to spend money at their place of business, don't count, because there *might* be two or three or four people who *might* want to do business with them.  Absolutely pathetic way to do business.  I would have hoped they would have learned their lesson leading up to 2020(tee times were very easy to get), but it appears not.  

 

You just make sure you remember which courses do show some flexibility, and do whatever you can to divert business to them.  Money talks.

[MattM97]

1 minute ago, golfortennis said:

 

I've railed against this for years.  They are basically that you, who are telling them you want to spend money at their place of business, don't count, because there *might* be two or three or four people who *might* want to do business with them.  Absolutely pathetic way to do business.  I would have hoped they would have learned their lesson leading up to 2020(tee times were very easy to get), but it appears not.  

 

You just make sure you remember which courses do show some flexibility, and do whatever you can to divert business to them.  Money talks.

 

I'm trying to keep a mental note of which courses are booking singles but it's a short list at the moment. I'm sure when demand goes away they'll all open up. 

[BallerNate]

4 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

This is completely stupid.  If a threesome booked, why won't they sell that last spot?  Someone needs to put something up there about how golf is a social game, and if you have less than 4, book in with the single.  Course owners still have their backwards thinking, and they are being bailed out by it right now.  Another reason I am glad I joined a private club.

 

4 hours ago, MattM97 said:

 

I'm trying to keep a mental note of which courses are booking singles but it's a short list at the moment. I'm sure when demand goes away they'll all open up. 

Yeah, the reality is that the courses who aren’t booking singles are losing money in the short run and the long run.
 

That guy in the group of 2 or 4 will also have days that his buddies aren’t available and will want to get a round in. And that golfer will find a course that books singles and looks out for it’s customers, and will have no problem spending their $ there.

 

One of my favourite courses here stopped booking singles this year, and also stopped working with GolfNow…and I haven’t been to that course a single time this season.

[InvalidConflict]

So going to wedding in Toronto. Second last week of August. What are the chances i'm gonna get a Tee Time at Glen Abbey?? I figure it's a must play considering this the last wedding of my extended family so my yearly trips out east are gonna pretty much stop from now on. 

 

Anything to consider other than calling 30 days in advance? Will it be packed? How is the course generally? 

[wrigley]

On 6/26/2021 at 1:23 AM, InvalidConflict said:

So going to wedding in Toronto. Second last week of August. What are the chances i'm gonna get a Tee Time at Glen Abbey?? I figure it's a must play considering this the last wedding of my extended family so my yearly trips out east are gonna pretty much stop from now on. 

 

Anything to consider other than calling 30 days in advance? Will it be packed? How is the course generally? 

Glen Abbey has a lot of history and it is worth playing once if you have never played it. The front nine is pretty pedestrian, and the best holes are in the valley on the back nine.  It can be a slow round and in my opinion not worth the rack rate. Almost every course in the GTA is packed on the weekends now.

[MattM97]

So it's confirmed that I'm playing a charity tournament August 7th up in the Barrie/Orillia area. Thinking of taking off Thursday and Friday just to get away from work and BS and play some extra golf, I wouldn't mind getting in another round at Tangle Creek and trying out Heritage Hills. Just have to see camping/living situation although a hotel for a night might not be bad if I have limited access to a shower.

[BallerNate]

On 6/27/2021 at 9:44 PM, MattM97 said:

So it's confirmed that I'm playing a charity tournament August 7th up in the Barrie/Orillia area. Thinking of taking off Thursday and Friday just to get away from work and BS and play some extra golf, I wouldn't mind getting in another round at Tangle Creek and trying out Heritage Hills. Just have to see camping/living situation although a hotel for a night might not be bad if I have limited access to a shower.

Just seeing this now. That’s awesome…Tangle Creek and Heritage Hills are definitely my Top 2 in Barrie.

 

Vespra Hills is also worth checking out, and have heard great things about Settler’s Ghost, but haven’t actually tried it yet.

[MattM97]

8 hours ago, BallerNate said:

Just seeing this now. That’s awesome…Tangle Creek and Heritage Hills are definitely my Top 2 in Barrie.

 

Vespra Hills is also worth checking out, and have heard great things about Settler’s Ghost, but haven’t actually tried it yet.

 

I'll keep all of those in mind, obviously need to see prices and if they will let a single on the course as well. But I think courses up in that area are probably more lenient for a single on a weekday round.

 

The one big thing is my accommodations, I could get a hotel but those will probably be expensive. I am planning on getting a tent and an air mattress or cot for the bed of my truck but need to find a site. I'm checking the KOA just north of Barrie for a night or two but I'm just trying to figure out what I'd rent, I'm not quite an RV, I don't think my truck would be appropriate for the tent site or I get a cabin. Will have to see what I end up doing.

[BallerNate]

31 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

I'll keep all of those in mind, obviously need to see prices and if they will let a single on the course as well. But I think courses up in that area are probably more lenient for a single on a weekday round.

 

The one big thing is my accommodations, I could get a hotel but those will probably be expensive. I am planning on getting a tent and an air mattress or cot for the bed of my truck but need to find a site. I'm checking the KOA just north of Barrie for a night or two but I'm just trying to figure out what I'd rent, I'm not quite an RV, I don't think my truck would be appropriate for the tent site or I get a cabin. Will have to see what I end up doing.

Gotcha. Well, if you want someone to play with, you can shoot me a message closer to that date and I’ll see if I can get out. Would be cool to meet a fellow WRX’r and always down for a round!

[MattM97]

36 minutes ago, BallerNate said:

Gotcha. Well, if you want someone to play with, you can shoot me a message closer to that date and I’ll see if I can get out. Would be cool to meet a fellow WRX’r and always down for a round!

 

Will do for sure, just looking at where to stay, hotels don't look too expensive if I book plus I don't have to walk across a campground to answer nature at 6am.

[BallerNate]

On 7/4/2021 at 10:03 AM, MattM97 said:

 

Will do for sure, just looking at where to stay, hotels don't look too expensive if I book plus I don't have to walk across a campground to answer nature at 6am.

Haha…yeah for sure. 

[MattM97]

Just now, BallerNate said:

Haha…yeah for sure. 

 

I think for the price it will be hotels, I can always do the KOA for a night if the Friday accommodations fall through. Also the truck tent I was looking at getting they have some on clearance for $25 due to the waterproofing messing up so I'm going to save myself a few hundred buying a clearance tent or two which means maybe an extra round of golf. 

[MattM97]

I decided to look into memberships for the 2022 season. Is anyone in here a member at a private club in the GTA? Worth it or not? I'm young enough to be an intermediate member so most courses I won't have to deal with the entry fee.

[MattM97]

Played Bond Head South yesterday, really nice course we played the white tees as our first time playing the course and my buddy's dad doesn't have the distance to play further back. But this meant a few of the short par 4s became really short and reachable which meant I'm gonna try and I somehow drove the green on both with perfect drives. But these greens were crazy tough and I had the worst putting round of my life, but that's golf. 

[KBong]

14 hours ago, MattM97 said:

Played Bond Head South yesterday, really nice course we played the white tees as our first time playing the course and my buddy's dad doesn't have the distance to play further back. But this meant a few of the short par 4s became really short and reachable which meant I'm gonna try and I somehow drove the green on both with perfect drives. But these greens were crazy tough and I had the worst putting round of my life, but that's golf. 

I don't understand why you didn't play the longer blue tees.

I've never understood the logic of a group playing the same tees.

 

So if you buddy's mom came out .....would you play the Burnaby tees with her? 

[MattM97]

7 hours ago, KBong said:

I don't understand why you didn't play the longer blue tees.

I've never understood the logic of a group playing the same tees.

 

So if you buddy's mom came out .....would you play the Burnaby tees with her? 

 

Why do I have to play the Blues? I could have played the Red tees if I wanted to I could have played the Golds too. We all agreed to play the whites and since it was a new course to us we just wanted to enjoy and feel out the course. 

 

Plus I'm not that good of a player at the moment, why make the game harder than it already is. 

[KBong]

4 hours ago, MattM97 said:

 

Why do I have to play the Blues? I could have played the Red tees if I wanted to I could have played the Golds too. We all agreed to play the whites and since it was a new course to us we just wanted to enjoy and feel out the course. 

 

Plus I'm not that good of a player at the moment, why make the game harder than it already is. 

You can play whatever tees you like but from your post it seems like you played shorters tees than you'd normally want to so your could play with your buddy's dad.

 

I just thought you're a pretty skilled golfer with distance.

[MattM97]

Just now, KBong said:

You can play whatever tees you like but from your post it seems like you played shorters tees than you'd normally want to so your could play with your buddy's dad.

 

I just thought you're a pretty skilled golfer with distance.

 

I'll play what others play, to me it's not a big deal, some courses I prefer to play further back as it opens better windows for me as a lefty but this course it was wide open and would be fun and definitely much different on the different tee boxes. 

 

As for my skill I'm mid to upper teen capper but I have more distance than most, just other parts of my game struggle so I can shoot bad scores at any tee box 😂

[KBong]

1 minute ago, MattM97 said:

 

I'll play what others play, to me it's not a big deal, some courses I prefer to play further back as it opens better windows for me as a lefty but this course it was wide open and would be fun and definitely much different on the different tee boxes. 

 

As for my skill I'm mid to upper teen capper but I have more distance than most, just other parts of my game struggle so I can shoot bad scores at any tee box 😂

I'm the opposite of you....I play what tees I want to no matter what others tees others are playing.

 

I thought you were/are a single cap golfer.

[MattM97]

44 minutes ago, KBong said:

I'm the opposite of you....I play what tees I want to no matter what others tees others are playing.

 

I thought you were/are a single cap golfer.

 

I just make it easy for everyone out there, I just enjoy playing golf.

 

Oh no I'm not a single cap player, I don't play enough at the moment to get down there. I have the ability to be a single cap, hopefully people don't think I am but I've said I'm a mid teen capper in several threads. If I can join a club next year I might be able to get down to single digits. 

[KBong]

Is it still difficult to book tee times in Ontario?

 

With fewer Covid restrictions here in Vancouver....it's much easier to obtain tee times since mid June....except for the muni's....they are still packed.

 

Still price gouging...but some courses are doing last minute dynamic pricing.

[jvincent]

10 hours ago, KBong said:

Is it still difficult to book tee times in Ontario?

 

Out tee sheet, private club, is still pretty full. No idea about public courses.

[KBong]

6 hours ago, jvincent said:

 

Out tee sheet, private club, is still pretty full. No idea about public courses.

Not surprising.

Most privates here were busy pre-Covid....and due to the pandemic...most took in more members...now with large wait lists.

 

But the semi private/public course here have more open tee sheets with the casual golfers now doing other things with less restrictions....members still playing as per usual.