Filed under: Courses
Osprey Valley is a golf resort North of Toronto in Alton Ontario. With three courses, the resort has a lot to offer, and I recently had the opportunity to play its Heathlands Links course.
An attractive links course designed by Doug Carrick and built about 10 years ago, it was reminiscent of Whilstling Straits and Shinnecock Hills, in that there was ample amount of fescue, threatening punishment for straying ever so slightly from the fairway. With that said, of the 3 resorts at Osprey Valley, Heathlands is the only one in which walking is permitted, thus making for a pleasant golf experience regardless of score.
The par 71 course plays 6810/6423/6037/5248 with a rating of 72.8/71/69.3/67.2 and a slope of 133/130/126/122. Water comes into play throughout the course, with ponds and creeks adjacent and across many holes. With elevated greens, and at times thick fescue, the penalty for being even marginally off target can be severe. In some cases the lie in the fescue was remarkably ok, playable similar to .
The Osprey Valley resort has had to go through difficult times, having to declare bankruptcy shortly after their three courses were built, leaving only the foundation of a potential clubhouse. Now under new ownership, there is still a sense that overall rounds of golf are quite low, and that staff turnover has affected the resort overall.
For example on the day we played, the pin placement on the majority of holes was set in a position contrary to the rules of golf. Either on a slope, on the side of a bank or hill, in some cases making it virtually impossible to sink the putt. It added a carnival element to what is essentially a beautiful course.
Hopefully over time the new ownership will be able to turn the resort around, and provide another welcome contribution to golfers in Southern Ontario.
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