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COURSE REVIEW Horseshoe Resort - Valley Course Ontario, ON
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Ryan and I played the valley course last Tuesday. I noticed the Proshop had a different home and it will be changing back to it's orignal location next year! We arrived early and we could tee off anytime we wished to. The course didn't have that many leaves of it, I was very sursprised about that. The grounds crew did a excellent job blowing off the leaves that day. The fairways and greens were in perfect condition as well. Some greens though did have different speeds though, which made putting very tricky! If you haven't played this course yet, do so! The course layout is interesting and it makes you think of which club to choose for that shot. The wind made it challenging that day, but we enjoyed it overall though! So enjoy the last few days of fall golf and I will be back next year with my reviews everyone!
THE EAGLE
1
On September 28, 2009, Cheapo (6 handicap) posted:
My favourite of the two at Horseshoe. Lots of elevation changes to deal with. Tree lined fairways and a very winding layout. Great setting. First hole is a little hokey but after that it's a fun one.
The proshop is in the resort lobby which was great since we spent the night at the resort. We were ready to checkout earlier than our scheduled tee time and the accomodated us nicely in the proshop.
I enjoyed the challenge of all the tight fairways. Many of the tee shots sure make you think and dont allow for stray shots although I must admit the trees did help me a couple of times.
The course was in good condition from tee to green. The greens are extremely fast and as others have stated you are best to stay below the hole. There are a couple of great holes also with elevation changes.
Unfortunately there was a big tournament on the other course so there was no beer cart available for us. Also we saw the marshall a couple times early in the round but he didn't get the chance to witness the idiots playing behind us playing bumper cars, doing donuts, squealing tires, throwing stuff at each other and hitting just as we were steps from the green.
Played Horseshoe Valley Sept 18. Pro shop is in the resort lobby which is fine. Friendly staff. Rate was great - thanks LMG. Course is in great shape. The greens are immaculate but small and quite undulating. Fairways are ridicously tight. Silly tight, really. A lot of short dogleg holes that require irons off the tee. Shots that hit the fairway may be blocked from green by trees. Poor design overall. Thankfully the rate was great, otherwise I wouldn't be happy paying full rates on this course.
4
On September 19, 2009, Jonas of Toronto (18 handicap) posted:
Played this course throught the red flag deal on labour day friday. I must say for the price it was great value. As far as everything else goes it's pretty average. Course was in good condition.
Apparently you need a printout of the booking at this course (First time i've had that asked... not a big deal as they let me print it at guest services)
This course really tests your accuracy off the tees as it's very narrow. Also, the greens are tough, had my first quad put of the year... if at all possible try to be below the hole.
5
On August 16, 2009, Rob of Barrie (5 handicap) posted:
Played here this morning (before the 31 degree heat set in). The pro shop has moved well away from the first tee - not sure why. Are they under renovations? Fairways and greens are in immaculate shape. There are not many easy putts out there and the greens are a great test of your ability to read them properly. The fairways (many narrow)can be very intimidating at times. The one complaint I had today was the lack of a beverage cart, especially when it's hot and humid out. It didn't show up until we were on the 14th tee, fortunately we brought some drinks of our own. We completed our round in under 4 hours which made for one of the quicker rounds played this year. Horseshoe Valley is one of the best courses in the Barrie area. See you next year.
6
On August 10, 2009, Jimmy of Toronto (10 handicap) posted:
Played in early August in ideal conditions. It had been many years since I had seen the Valley course and I was impressed and thought the conditions had been improved. Devilish greens - some tiny and most with severe slopes. There was a lot of mumbling walking off the greens! Solid green complexes for the most part. Definitely have to think your way around this course. Leave the driver in the bag until the 18th. With the LMG red flag deal, it was my best value round of the year! I won't wait so long before I return.
7
On July 30, 2009, Wesley of Stouffville (25 handicap) posted:
This is a well laid out course that can be played by the average golfer. I play it at least once a year, the prime playing time would be early-mid July. I've played in June and it's still usually in rough shape.
8
On July 26, 2009, igollert of Niagara Falls (9 handicap) posted:
Played here Saturday July 25. The resort isn't that well laid out and for first timers it is a bit tricky to even find the first hole!
My impressions:
The course is very tight. If you can hit a fairway wood 200+, leave your driver in the bag. On some holes you definitely need to hit to a specific landing area just to have an approach to the green.
Greens are very undulating and difficult to read. 3 putts will happen for sure.
Pro shop is more like a gift shop, and they don't really seem to be on the ball.
Overall a challenging course from tee to green that you need to think your way around. Fair value.
Its called Horseshoe Resort but although the price you pay are Resort prices the value you get is not. Not much in the way of improvements and comparing the course to Settlers Ghost I'd much rather book into settlers next time I'm in the area.
10
On June 16, 2009, Fergie of Toronto (8 handicap) posted:
Played the "Valley Course" today. RF deal.Having played this course numerous times in the past years, I am very disappointed, no saddened that obsolutely nothing has changed except the location of the ProShop or should I say "GiftShop". When we arrived from Burlington, an hour early, the ProShop attendant couldn't find our tee time in the system (guess that's why we need to print off the confirmations and take them with us).Not sure if he did find it, but let us go anyway. The course was not busy, but had to convince the Starter to let us go early. The first hole (not the most appealing holes at the best of times) was in rough shape (ski season, I'm sure to blame). From there, it was the course I remembered. Tight fairways, course Management required. The Greens were very lush, almost spongy, but wouldn't hold wedges from any distance. They were slow to say the least, but consistant for that. When I say it hadn't changed, I'm particularly talking about the bunkers. Hit a couple and swear it was the same "sand" fron ten years ago. Dead pan would be a compliment. 56 degree wedge couldn't cut it. Saw one guy almost pick off his partner skulling one out. It's a shame that with the emergence of the Highlands Course and Settler's Ghost nearby, that they have not invested in this once "Jewel". It has truly become a non-focus of the Resort. Oh, $25 for two sandwiches and drinks.???? Sorry.
The Valley course starts at the base of the ski hill and wanders through dense forest before reaching a dramatically elevated tee at the par five 18th. From here, enjoy the panoramic view of the valley and the final fairway turning sharply left down below. This is a short but stern test, with many little dogleg par fours that require an accurately placed tee ball for a decent shot at the green (stick to the left side). Once on the green, you’ll rarely see a straight putt.
12
On October 6, 2008, TigerTheLion of Stoney Creek posted:
I also played the Fall Finish this past weekend and while I really enjoyed myself the conditions were far from ideal...not entirely the courses fault though.
There were plenty of very sloppy fairways and soggy rough in many areas. It managed to rain overnight on Saturday which didn't help at all.
Tee boxes were in okay shape but some were very sloped and uneven. Tough to find a flat spot to tee from in some cases.
I would have to say that even with how wet the course was the greens were in great shape. Probably some of the most difficult I've played this year. A very difficult putting challenge even for the low handicapper's out there. If I returned it would probably be to see just how much of a man I really was...and I'd probably leave a shell of that same man.
Can't say I thought the layout was very interesting. Some short par 4's and lengthy par 3's. Gotta agree that yardages seemed off but most likely that was due to the cold, wet weather.
A great event put on by LMG though and look forward to returning next year, hopefully under better conditions.
13
On October 5, 2008, Sinogirl_47_55 of Brampton (14 handicap) posted:
I played Horseshoe Valley on Sat. and Sun. in the fall ending event. The course was very wet due to rain in the past couple days as well getting more rain during our round on Sun. In drier condtions this course is a must play...with it's very challenging par 3's which to me play LONGER then they are posted!!...to some awsome long par 4's and 5's. The staff was very professional and friendly. Just an hour above the 407 and 400 this course is well worth the drive.
14
On September 27, 2008, The Eagle of Orillia posted:
Played with Krisoff on Thursday at Fall RF rate. This course is always in Great shape, never had a problem with Horseshoe. We had to start at the back 9, due to them putting fertilizer on the front 9 in the morning. We were able to start early and play right away. Some of the sand bunkers were very low in sand, so it was hard making a shot from some of them. The Greens were in excellent condition, but were tricky to read though. Some of them were very fast, while others were much slower. Always check your scorecard for info on the hole, comes in very handy. Make sure your driver is working that day, if not, start adding the OB's to your scorecard!Yikes It's a very challenging course and course management is a MUST! Will be playing this course again on Monday to get my 2nd round score in, before it's to late.$30 is a steal for a course like this. Bring your camera along as well, Beauitful Fall colours are here now!
15
On September 24, 2008, D of Thornhill (18 handicap) posted:
Played Sept23 on RF. Fairways lush and good condition; greens fast, sloping and tricky. Scorecard guide very helpful (and free!). Unfortunately we followed a tournament - guys (and it's always guys) more intent on drinking beer, and teeing off where they have no business teeing off of (to be expected for a resort course, I guess) but did manage to finish in 4 hours! Course will look great in the fall - leaves already starting to change. Always a great value if RF - a bit of a drive from the city.
course was in excellent condition, be aware you could be in for a long round as there are vacationer's playing and in no hurry. Marshalls are very accomodating to have you play thru as soon as they can. Once we got thru we played at a good pace. Very tight course, don't spray the ball or its gone!
17
On August 18, 2008, everyday golfer of gormely (23 handicap) posted:
This is a playable resort course, but still you need to play a few times to score well and low. With my not too long drive, I had no problems as the hazard were not in my way. Sometimes, it doesn't pay to be too long. I'm sure that no one likes the 1st hole. We almost wanted to leave when we were at the 1st tee, but I pared it. I wish the course would redo the 1st hole, then this would be a great course. Mind you as a LMG we only paid $45 to play with carts in the afternoon, it's a great deal. And as we live near Auroa, it took us just about an hour to get there. But I would suggest going there on weekdays and not weekends, more so on long week ends unless you planned to stay there, as the traffic could be bad going and way more so if coming back on a sunday night with the heavy traffic on HWY 400. The clubhouse is one of the worst I have been into in many years, definitely need some face lift. Weather was nice and we did have a great day.
18
On August 17, 2008, Rob of Barrie (6 handicap) posted:
Played here yesterday for $60 all in, one of the best deals in the area. We were able to start a few minutes early (I can't understand why more people don't golf here). Fairways and greens were in excellent shape. Greens here can be very tricky, tough to read the correct break. Bunker behind #9 could use some sand. Course should considering getting another cart girl out there, we only saw one girl. There is no doubt we will be back to play this gem.
19
A Message posted on August 7, 2008 by 'Mike' was removed by a course representative for the following reason: Course Manager request
On August 6, 2008, Bustedknuckles of Barrie (22 handicap) posted:
Played on a red flag special, what a deal. This course is fabulous and I would pay full price anytime to play here.
21
On August 4, 2008, Buna of Brampton (24 handicap) posted:
Played on August 1 2008.
Great shape, bunkers had some water.
This was the first time I played it and found it a very challenging course. The layout and scenery is fantastic. Wished the bevie cart came around a little more often.
Would play it again at LMG rate.
22
On July 25, 2008, Sinogirl_47_55 of Brampton (14 handicap) posted:
I made the trip north to Horseshoe Resort "Valley Course" today, and saw nothing but blue skies and sun. We were greated by a professional bag attendant who made sure we had everything we needed. Again I was able to tee off a half hour before my scheduled tee time. Surprisingly the course was not to drenched from all the rain and we were able to drive on the fairways. Due to the extra water on the greens they tended to run a tad slow.The shape of the greens otherwise was excellent. The fairways also had some water spots but for the most part they were in great shape also. The starter had told us with all the rain to play lift the ball out of the bunker, well we only came upon 2 bunkers that had any sort of water. I find this course to be challenging and worth the drive north.
Ryan and I played the valley course last Tuesday. I noticed the Proshop had a different home and it will be changing back to it's orignal location next year! We arrived early and we could tee off anytime we wished to. The course didn't have that many leaves of it, I was very sursprised about that. The grounds crew did a excellent job blowing off the leaves that day. The fairways and greens were in perfect condition as well. Some greens though did have different speeds though, which made putting very tricky! If you haven't played this course yet, do so! The course layout is interesting and it makes you think of which club to choose for that shot. The wind made it challenging that day, but we enjoyed it overall though! So enjoy the last few days of fall golf and I will be back next year with my reviews everyone!
