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On September 29, 2009, Cheapo (6 handicap) posted:
Played after a doubleheader at Legends the day before. All three tracks are great deals...among the best deals around...even without LMG's rates. As usual we arrived early and got out early too. Had the place to ourselves it seemed and played in a little over three hours. Love the layout except that from the back tees all the par 3s are well over 200 yds excep 14(about 160). Don't really play many other tracks down here because this one is so good and the right price. I always make time to play here a few times a year, but don't expect three hour rounds too often.
1
On September 5, 2009, gonegolfing of toronto posted:
Played Whirlpool 05Sept for $49 LMG rate which included a hotdog and bottle of water. Great price for this course which is in good condition. Greens could be in better shape but overall, great course to play.
2
On September 3, 2009, Liz of Hamilton (26 handicap) posted:
Played Whirpool August 28th. It is a beautiful course - challenging, and they have good prices for September. The Marshalls kept everyone at a good pace. Niagara Parks do great work in organizing and maintaining this course. Will play it again.
For the LMG rate this is a great golf course. If you have never played the course before don't miss out. Yes there are helicopters overhead which takes some getting used to; and as you tee off on 18 there is always a cleaver driver who thinks he/she is the first to honk their horn or yell "fore", but that aside this is an excellent gem in the heart of Niagara which must be appreciated. Operated by Niagara Parks the surrounding grounds and gardens are easy on the eyes and a great calming source after three putting!! No real gimmicky holes and a few tough challenges. Hole number 3, a long challenging par 3 is one of Canada's best.
Played August 8th. I agree with the other reviews, the helicopter tours were constant throughout the day; by about the 5th hole you started getting used to it. Not a bad course but I just found LMG today and paid $89 for golf & cart with a group for a stag yesterday (not the course's fault I know). Had I paid the $49 from LMG I would have been happier.
I don't believe this course is worth $89 to play but considering the location near the falls, I expected to pay a premium.
As for the course; wide open fairways and a lot of bunkers that come into play. I was surprised how fast the greens and fairways were (very dry) considering the wet summer we've had. The greens were patchy brown and not as nice as I had expected.
Would go back at the LMG rate again.
5
On August 4, 2009, Slatecleaner of Caledonia posted:
Played this course on August 1st. In spite of being a long weekend, pace was excellent. Great shape for the number of tourist/players going through. A little noisy with the helicopters going overhead but well worth the money. Very picturesque with the mature tree lined fairways. Greens a little rough however but would certainly make the long drive from home to play there again. Dined in the restaurant which offered good food and service at a very reasonable cost. Looking forward to going there again.
6
On August 3, 2009, mwb27 of St. Catharines posted:
Tee off at 7am last Saturday. Perfect weather with not a single cloud in the sky and mid-20's temps.
Starter and clubhouse staff, as always, very friendly and accommodating. First time I've been out there that we didn't get "nudged" by the marshals - they'll typically give you a little "encouragement" to speed up even if you're playing at a 4-4.5 hour pace. Not this past round though (we finished in about 4.5 hours).
Course was in very good shape for the most part. The bunkers are much improved from the start of the year when there was grass growing in some and not raked for early tee offs. The tee boxes, fairways and rough are all well maintained.
Only minor complaint would be the greens which are in need of some repair. This is a popular course among the tourists, so that may contribute to the fact that many, many ball marks have not been fixed on the greens. Also, the ball wasn't rolling as "true" with lots of hops over the slightly rougher greens. A couple greens had what I would call borderline "ruts" that really affect a putt. I would call the green condition just OK, whereas the rest of the course was terrific.
Always enjoy playing Whirlpool as its very forgiving on wayward drives - you just may have to take your lumps and pitch back out through the trees to the fairway and play for par or bogey. If you can drive it straight, definitely a lot of birdie opportunities here. Also, not too many OB opportunities, so even the beginner to intermediate should be able to play a round without losing more than a ball or two.
For $49 including cart and tax, this remains one of the best, if not THE best, value in the Niagara Region. Recommended!
7
On August 2, 2009, Rico of Milton (20 handicap) posted:
Found the course in great condition and the amenities acceptable. Our only complaint was with the marshal who seemed to continually push our foursome to maintain the pace of the threesome ahead of us while the group behind never caught up. His constant hovering made our day a little unpleasant. If not for him it would have been a wonderfull outing.
Great value. We played for $40.00 incl cart the other day. Thgis is a great course with a very old fashioned feel to it. The course was in great shape, in a very beautiful setting along the Niagars River, the fairways were great, the greens though smaller were pretty decent. A couple of them looked like they have a had a little bit of disease but nothing major. The bunkers definately need a little TLC.
My only complaints were the helicopters constantly flying overhead (from all the tours of the gorge and falls), the halfway house had no hot food at 5pm when there were still tonnes of golfers on the course, and the biggest complaint and it was the same thing last year when I played here was the wait! Again it took right on 5 hours to play! We tee'd off at 3:40pm and finished at 8:35 just as the sun had just about set. We would not have been able to finish if we still had one or maybe two holes to compelete.
I am not sure what the problem is, whether it is the tee times are too bunched together or that many people walk rather than cart, or what. But both times I've played this course both rounds have been 5 hours. It really took away from our outing having to wait in between every hole and between many shots.
Other than that it's still a great place to play and the price can't be beat. (I'd pay more to play here).
9
On July 29, 2009, igollert of Niagara Falls (8 handicap) posted:
I live 5 mins from the course and play it frequently. After 4:00, it is $37 including cart which is fanstastic for this Stanley Thompson design.
Due to all the rain we have had, the course is in perfect shape. Greens putt true and are the best I have ever seen them.
I will agree that the bunkers need work. As this is a public course and revenues are down, they aren't putting the manpower into it that they used to. Still a great course that will challenge anyone...always a treat to play.
Played here on Monday with a RF value. This is the first time I have played here and I did like the course. Layout was challenging yet fair. It is pretty forgiving for those of us who tend to take their 2nd shot from the trees. The only suggestion that I would make is that the sand traps be raked by the course at the beginning of the day (our tee off was at 8 am and most of the traps were hard and flat). I also thought that there would be someone to greet you at the bag drop area, but I guess that I am just used to playing in the LMG events. I would play it again.
11
On July 20, 2009, Harry posted:
Great course at a excellent rate to play golf. Greens are in great shape and the course is well laid out. Lots of bunker that surround the green that challenge you. The fairways comfortable to hit off and well marked for yardage. Everyone I played with enjoyed there round of golf we have played it 3-4 times in the past month.
Played there on the weekend. Even after all the rain Saturday morning the course was in great condition. Played in a foursome of all levels of golfers and it was a perfect course to keep us all interested. The greens were best I have played on this summer, well maintained. Even the fairways seem to be perfect. Can't belive it only cost us $49 to play, a great deal for that course. The 2nd and 18th holes are a treat to play. The pace of play was great as well, did not have to wait on one shot, a rare occurance these days on a public golf course, specially on the weekend. Will definatley be back if the rates stay that cheap. Recomend it to everyone I can as a must play.
13
On July 16, 2009, Doug of Mississauga (12 handicap) posted:
Great course at a great rate, especially with the included lunch. I play this course every year in late April and even then it's in good shape, but getting to play it in July when it's at its prime was outstanding. I've read lots of complaints re the marshalls, but I've never had a problem. On the first hole they asked us to wait until the group ahead of us was on the green to help with the spacing and it worked. My only complaint is the bunkers - poorly groomed with some weeds growing.
14
On July 15, 2009, Canadiens11 posted:
Overall great course, especially for the money. This golfers only complaint was the condition of the bunkers. Played twice last week, and it appears they have not been groomed in a while, with weeds growing in them on some holes. Everything else is in top condition!!
15
On July 14, 2009, ckswstix posted:
Great Value!! Love this course. its very manageable for women.
16
On July 12, 2009, Rob of Barrie (5 handicap) posted:
Played here on Friday July 10. Arrived early and made use of the chipping area. Starter was very helpful and got us out on time. Play was slow as the round took over 5 hours to complete, I guess that's what happens when your rates are a bargain. The greens on the course showed a bit more wear than the practice green. Fairways were perfect, I just didn't hit them very often. At the 10th tee they let us play as a fivesome which was some consolation to the slow play. Landed in a few bunkers that were very firm - they could use a bit more sand. Overall it's one of those courses I don't mind making the long trip for. See you next year.
17
On July 8, 2009, Stick of Mount Hope (16 handicap) posted:
Played with three friends Tuesday afternoon and was not disapointed. The course was in great shape from tee to green and the free lunch at the turn made it even better. A must play for anyone who hasn't tried Whirpool yet.
Played here June 29th through LMG for $49.00 with cart and lunch. What a deal. Course was really wet from all thr rain the previous days. Even though the fairways were spongy in places the green were fair and rolled pretty good. Marshalls were a bit on the pushy side. No one within 2 holes of behind us and were told a couple of different times to speed up. They sent a twosome and threesome off right behind the 4 of us. We had no problem letting them go through. None of the 4 of us was ripping up the course by any stretch so being told to speed up when not holding anyone up was a bit disconcerting. Course in great shape. Great value for the money. Will definately play here again soon.
Played at Whirlpool on July 4 with my wife and we had a great experience playing this course. If you are planing to play here, check the slope and try playing from the BLUE tees. Found the course to be in fine shape and the lunch which was included was a nice bonus! This course is a "Must play" for a golfers and is well worth the dive comming from Oakville.
20
On July 4, 2009, gary of Toronto (2 handicap) posted:
Played Whirlpool June 17, 2009. Forcast was sunny with cloudy periods when I booked. The day of the round, forcast changed to 80% p.o.p. Starters let us off an hour before our scheduled time, which allowed us to only get rained on one hole on the front nine. We got a little wet on the back nine, maybe two holes, we finished, and the clouds opened up! Cudos' to the starters at Whirlpool for allowing us to get off early and get the round in on an otherwise dismal weather day. The course was in good shape, as usual, and the staff made our day! Look forward to playing Whirlpool again because the price is right, the staff are friendly and helpful. We are playing there again tommorow. It is worth the drive to Whirlpool!
Just got back from playing Whirlpool this morning. Today's conditions were breezy with a mix of clouds and sun and about 20 degrees - a nice day for golf.
We booked the $49 deal with the free lunch. Lunch (which we had at the end of the round rather than at the turn) included your choice of sausage, hamburger, hot dog or sandwich, plus chocolate bar/chips, and a soft drink. A nice little $5-$7 value thrown in.
The starters and marshals were polite and friendly as usual, though the marshal was a little on the pushy side (not an isolated incident from having experience at this course) despite the fact our foursome finished the round in about 4.5 hours and we NEVER had anyone waiting behind us. I was actually quite surprised that the course wasn't busier given that it's the July 4th weekend - very few US license plates in the parking lot.
The course was in terrific shape. The greens were rolling much truer than they did when we played in May and they seem to have improved some of their sandtraps from a month or so ago as well. Fairways and rough, as always at Whirlpool, were well-maintained. The course presents a fair challenge, though the wind really kicked up at times and made several shots play quite a bit longer, especially since many approaches are also uphill adding to the straight-line yardage.
Overall a terrific round of golf on a nice July morning. There's certainly a lot worse things you could be doing on a Saturday morning! Will play again, and would definitely recommend to others. Great value at $49 for just the golf and cart. Toss in the lunch and it's one of the best values in the entire region.
22
On July 3, 2009, gaulfer1 (8 handicap) posted:
PLAYED ON CANADA DAY. MY FIRST VISIT IN ABOUT 30 YRS. COARSE IN SUPER CONDITION. I LOVE THE OLD STYLE LAYOUT AND THE SHOT MAKING REQUIRED TO SCORE WELL. GOT TEAMED UP WITH TWO PEOPLE WHO HAD NO CONCERN FOR THE PLAYERS BEHIND US AND THE MARSHAL VISITED US TWO OCCASIONS- WE LET A GROUP THRU ON 10. I WILL ARRANGE ANOTHER GAME LATER IN THE YEAR AND MAKE SURE WE HAVE A FOURSOME. GREAT COURSE, GREAT CONDITION(WILL PLAY "FASTER" & MORE DIFFICULT AS IT DRYS OUT ), GREAT VALUE.
23
On July 2, 2009, Brian of Niagara Falls (8 handicap) posted:
great deal at 49$ with a cart, one of the best in niagara, advise is to get out there before august as it sees the most play out of any of the niagara parks courses and tends to dry out and get worn out by ausgust, not really difficult but if you want a challenge play it from the tips
24
On July 2, 2009, RACED of Toronto posted:
Three of us played Whirlpool on Canada Day. The Course was in great shape. The greens and fairways were as good or better then any we have played this season. The only downside appeared to be a lack of "player assistant" or marshal as the twosome ahead of us kept leaving almost an open hole between them and the foursome ahead of them. The special price that they had for Canada Day ($49.00) including lunch and power cart could not be beat. Great, Great value.
Played after a doubleheader at Legends the day before. All three tracks are great deals...among the best deals around...even without LMG's rates. As usual we arrived early and got out early too. Had the place to ourselves it seemed and played in a little over three hours. Love the layout except that from the back tees all the par 3s are well over 200 yds excep 14(about 160). Don't really play many other tracks down here because this one is so good and the right price. I always make time to play here a few times a year, but don't expect three hour rounds too often.
