Filed under: Courses
Scarlett Woods is a par-62 executive course in north western Toronto, 10km from downtown in the Humber river valley system. It is run by the City of Toronto’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation.
Scarlett Woods presents a chance for the beginning golfer to taste what a real course is like. At 3750 yards, and slope of 93, with 8 holes longer than 250 yards, including several dog’s legs and tee-offs over ponds, it presents a good sample of a full game, from woods to wedges to putts, from long dog’s legs to short 80 yard pitches from the tee over water hazards.
Occasionally quite challenging, and somewhat busy, Scarlett Woods requires a good pace to be maintained, as set by the starter, and verified throughout your game by the rather agressive but (in our case) relatively witty course marshall.
In comparison with Dentonia Park, the course is definitely much flatter, with few greens more than a yard or two above or below the tee, as the course is set in the Humber floodplain. Lush, well kept greens, tees and fairways, even a generously-trimmed rough present a nicely maintained city course for a modest fee ($29 wkdy/$34 wknd). Beware of domesticated water-fowl hazards (and their young!).
Scarlett has a much more energetic feel about it, and a larger range of skill sets playing around you — watch your head as the teens 3 holes back yell “Fore!” more than should be required, but also enjoy the ease of which the experienced old timers seem to make long drives and impressive putts for par.
The Course
Most notable among the holes during my first ever game there to date:
1st Hole - 309 yards, par 4
Always a crowd of golfers behind you, and the starter to boot, watching your tee-off — no pressure! Nice dog’s leg presented to some for the first time - lay it up straight down the fairway unless you can hit over the high trees at the knee (which would be a very impressive shot).
3rd Hole - 230 yards, par 4
Near 90 degree dog’s leg, with the knee protected by a stand of big willows and a fat bunker at the end - lay it up left or you’re in for trouble. The relatively slow green is protected by another bunker on the left side, and a slightly sloping lie but it’s relatively flat — played with a good layup, should be an easy par for anyone who can drop accurately into the fairway with a 170+ yard shot. Hooking right puts you into the muddy culvert between holes under the willows, a painful proposition.
7th Hole - 353 yards, par 4
A very long dog’s leg, with a few flat football fields’ worth of fairway before you - not a difficult proposition, but a somewhat long play, encouraging beginners the likes of myself to hit it hard and either hook it or hit it too fat, and end up either in the river or amongst the big trees between holes - occasionally a playable situation as the grooming continues amongst the trees, if there are no trunks in your way. Approach to a green protected by bunkers, relatively easy for those who have moderate control of power on their strokes.
13th Hole - 118 yards, par 3
A straight shot to the green, which is elevated, protected by bunkers, and surrounded by heavy rough lined with a fence or forest, and little banking around the green to aid errant shots. Easy to end up in the bunkers while trying to avoid overshooting - and the relatively fast green has a few slopes in it, making for some interesting putts.
17th Hole - 155 yards, par 3
The official tees are still under construction, which lie about 3-4 yards above the lowest point on the fairway and perhaps 2 yards above the green. The temporary tees, some 10 yards further forward and level with the low point, tee you off over the pond hazard onto a short fairway, leading to protected access to a green which curves sharply left off behind the bunkers. Few banks around the green protect overshooting, and may put you onto other tees. A heavy slope makes for difficult putting.
18th Hole - 308 yards, par 4
My favourite hole, perhaps because I had my best drive here with nice solid contact into the fairway. The marked water hazards on the map is a small dry grassy ditch, which didn’t affect our play. The dog’s leg runs right, with big willow trees at the knee, which Jesse Hirsh nicely smacked one over top of with an accurate shot leaving him on the fairway some 80 yards shy of the pin, allowing him to finish his round with his 4th par in a row. The bunker-protected green is difficult to access, with a fairly quick surface and a bit of a slope and a few dips, requiring careful putting - especially with the crowd at the starting booth as your audience adding a bit of pressure to your final strokes.
Overall a very fun course, not too difficult or frustrating for the beginner, but with a fast pace. A good taste of a real course (if a bit of a short example, as this is an executive course).
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I used to play this course a lot when I was a kid. It’s not very long, but still challenging enough to nurture a well rounded approach to the game. I’ve also heard a lot of good things about their teaching pro.
Comment by Jesse Hirsh 05.25.04 @ 8:04 amLeave a comment
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After having played Scarlett Woods for the first time, there’s little doubt that the name of the game is to hit the ball straight. Many of the fairways are narrow, and the comment our party would most often re-iterate is “just hit it right down the middle.”
The greens were quite slow, as well, leaving many of our putts short of the hole, or just barely fading in.
Overall, it’s an interesting and challenging course, and there are many games yet to be played at Scarlett Woods before it can be mastered.
Comment by Andrew Chasse 05.24.04 @ 1:31 pm