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Review Smuggler's Glen Golf Course
Gananoque, ON
 | Bald Eagle | Sep-7-2008 |
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| Greens: |  9/10 | Excellent, fast greens in wonderful shape, though I wish golfers would repair their ball marks. These greens are not too undulating, but very fast. |
| Fairways: | 9/10 | Fairways were in great shape, very good yardage markers. Nice variety of design with the fairways, some narrow, some wider. |
| Tees: | 9/10 | Excellent tee boxes with nice yardage signs. Standing on many of the tees you get the sense that some of the fairways are very narrow, only to find that it actually opens up quite a bit. |
| Course Design: | 8/10 | I loved the course design, carved out of Canadian Shield, with a nice variety of elevation changes but not too wild. Several fairway bunkers to contend with, and really only one hole with water to contend with and that's the 18th. |
| Value for $$$: | 8/10 | Green fees on the weekend are noticeably higher than weekdays, but still worth every dollar. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and would definitely return, though maybe on a weekday. |
| Difficulty: | 8/10 | This course can be difficult if you're not thinking about your shots, though a well thought out round can (should) bring out some good scoring. Don't be intimidated off the tee, just plan where "not" to miss and you should be fine. I really enjoyed this course. |
| Scenery: | 9/10 | Though you can only see the St. Lawrence Seaway from the clubhouse and the first tee, I really thought this course was very scenic with nice vistas off of elevated tees, of the course. |
| Staff: | 7/10 | The staff was friendly though they seemed busy with other things as The Golf Channel's American Amateur Tour was playing there the same day as us. |
| Clubhouse: | 8/10 | The clubhouse is a beautifully designed building overlooking the St. Lawrence (from the patio/bar). The pro shop is the first thing you see when you enter the building, which is good, though the washrooms (on the main floor at least) seemed a little small. |
| Other Intangibles: | 9/10 | The scorecard is wonderfully designed with sketches of old time booze smuggler's smuggling their cache in old wooden boats. It's a nice clean and concise card, with the perfect amount of information. |
84/100
Smuggler's Glen is definitely a must play if you're in the area. The pace of play was fantastic, as we finished in under 4 hours. The course is beautifully designed and kept in wonderful shape. Make this a stop on your vacation to the 1000 Islands, or drive down from Ottawa/Montreal/Toronto, because this is definitely worth the drive.
P.S. I shot 43-39=82. |
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 | Snake | Sep-7-2008 |
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| Greens: | 9/10 | Large greens of varying shapes. All in exceptional condition.
The green on #11 is quite wide but very narrow making it difficult to stick on the approach shot.
Quite a few ball marks from lazy golfers.
6 pin positions used on the course and location is posted at the pro shop. |
| Fairways: | 9/10 | From the tee many fairways look very impressive. Lots of varying designs and locations of bunkers.
Plates and markers located at 200, 150, and 100 yardages.
Width is substantial. |
| Tees: | 8/10 | Boxes are quite hard and can cause problems inserting tees.
Check your yardages as position of the tees can vary quite a bit.
Many elevated tees shots.
Signage was normally located around the white tee where most players should be playing from. Too often I find course post signage at the tips (which very few players should be using).
Five tee boxes to choose from. |
| Course Design: | 9/10 | Superb design. Each hole is unique and I never felt anything was repeated. Bunkers are well positioned and are set at varying yardages from hole to hole to challenge every golfer at some point during their round.
Only hole #12 and #16 didn't have bunkers.
Smuggler's Glen has quite a bit of elevation change but nothing too drastic. Even with the elevation hidden tee shots over at a minimum. The pin was always visible from the tee except for #1, over a gorge, and for #13, a dogleg left.
I believe water only comes in to play on three holes. |
| Value for $$$: | 7/10 | Very nice course but a bit high on the price scale although it is upscale. Most people will need, or want, to take a cart (which probably should be included in the pricing).
Smuggler's Glen is a recommended play for any one. Too bad it wasn't a little closer to home. |
| Difficulty: | 8/10 | Smuggler's Glen looks narrow from the tee but usually opens up on a long drive. Some yardages are deceptive throughout the course.
I found hole #1 to be the most difficult as it is quite narrow for an opening hole if you haven't hit any practice balls.
There's a short par 4 (#12) which most people will feel they can drive at only 240 yards, but it's uphill.
The course has 5 par 3s, one just over 200 yards and the remainder around 150 or less. |
| Scenery: | 9/10 | One of the nicer looking courses in Eastern Ontario. Smuggler's Glen is very photogenic in the early morning when a fresh dew is on the fairway.
Sliding off the fairway can cause problems as must of the underbrush is thick and uneven. |
| Staff: | 8/10 | The beverage cart was around a few times.
Staff was pleasant but didn't always appear to be overly energetic. |
| Clubhouse: | 8/10 | The clubhouse is clean and has a pleasant feel about it but it's not overly big. A nice bar centers the dining area and a deck surrounds the bar but doesn't overlook the course. No holes can be seen from the clubhouse.
The gravel parking lot is past the bag drop area down a hill which may may walking difficult for some golfers. |
| Other Intangibles: | 9/10 | Scorecard is filled with yardages but should also contain the green pin placement. A walker using the scorecard would be guessing at pin placement.
Smuggler's Glen is very easy to navigate. Forks are usually easy to figure out as it often is the last hole you just played.
Ball washers located at all signage. |
84/100
Catch Smuggler's Glen on a beautiful day and it's heaven.
P.S. I shot! |
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