Plenty of choice at Ontario resort

Nottawasaga Inn Resort, Aliston, Ontario

Golf theme resorts are popping up all over the place. You know the type: family friendly, all kinds of 'entertainment', dining, shopping etc. And in a lot of cases it seems that golf takes a back seat to the rest of the “experience.”

This is definitely not the case at the Nottawasaga Inn Resort. With 45 holes of championship to executive-level golf to choose from, there is something for every level of player. And the amenities are just fine, too: Excellent accommodations, great dining, activities for the kids, spa services, nearby shopping and a host of other outdoor and indoor distractions close by.

Located just east of the quaint town of Alliston, Ontario, north of Toronto, the Nottawasaga Inn Resort established itself first as a golf resort, opening the interchangeable front nines of Briar Hill, Valley and Green Briar in the mid-1980s. The newer 18 at the tougher, championship-level Ridge course makes Nottawasaga one of the largest resorts of its kind in Ontario at 45 holes. My wife and I opted for one of the resort’s many affordable weekend getaway specials, combining a night’s stay with dinner, brunch and, of course, 18 holes of golf.

We opted to play the Valley Nine going out – which is sneaky tough – and the Briar Hill Nine coming in. Briar Hill winds its way through an “adult lifestyle” community, which is not my favorite type of layout, as it seems to be the latest “fad” in golf course design. Put it this way – I don’t like “the Hendersons” watching me tee off while they cook a steak and sip a cocktail on their condo patio.

As carts are mandatory on the course, we took the meandering drive to the first hole on the valley course and were treated to one of the most picturesque vistas in the resort’s entire repertoire. The tee block was set behind the winding Nottawasaga River (which comes into play on several holes) and the hole itself, a tight par-4 315-yard right dogleg. The river again plays a factor, running behind the green, making the first hole definitely one of the toughest.

After battling one, hole two offers a brief respite. A nice straight 178-yard iron shot is all that is required to make par, but beware the sand traps guarding three sides. While two on the Valley lulls you into a false sense of security, the 505-yard 3rd hole jolts you wide awake. A razor-thin fairway, bordered by the ubiquitous river on one side and a stand of gnarly cedar and evergreen on the other, would test even the most battle-hardened golfer. The elevated green at the end of your jaunt is just the icing on a very difficult par-5 cake.

The fourth on the Valley is deceiving. A green tucked behind a huge open reservoir tempts the long hitters to go over water to make birdie on the 362 yard hole. But landing in the far end of the reservoir is just as easy, so it would make sense to play it safe on this one.

Holes five, six and seven, all par 4s, all play nicely with seven eclipsing five and six by over 100 yards from the tips. This makes seven, which is well guarded by green-side bunkers and is 445 yards in total, a very tough par.

The waltz through the middle of the Valley Nine ends abruptly with a pretty, but formidable par 3 at eight. The rivers looms large again here (and at nine) with a required tight iron shot of 188 yards carrying the water. Definitely a challenging hole for those who think their short game is tidy. The ninth is another good-looking hole, with its 356-yard length bending left around the river to an undulating green. Heavy hitters can again carry the water, from the elevated tee, but laying up to the right is not a bad play on this short par 4. The lie on a play like that could be problematic, as a sloping bluff (which is topped by the resort) runs along the right.

On an enjoyment scale, the Valley got two huge thumbs up from my wife and me, but it was short-lived. Briar Hill has its challenges but slapping a course down in the middle of a housing development just doesn’t bring the same feeling of being truly “outside.”

Briar Hill is longer than the Valley by 150 yards, and water – both man-made and natural – comes into play on eight of nine holes. So, if your balls have a natural tendency to find it, Briar Hill could be maddening.

So, if you can block out the condos and man-made accoutrements of Briar Hill, holes one two and three are all nifty par-4 tracks with plenty of sand and water to avoid. Hole three, in particular, features nine sand traps and three ponds and is the longest of the three at 395 yards. The first five sand traps all wait for the long hitter left and right of the fairway about 300 yards down the slight right dogleg. Success in avoiding the beach there leaves the challenge of dropping a wedge shot on a small green that has two ponds to the left and bunkers on the sides and the back.

Once again, the course designer gives golfers a respite through the middle holes, with the fourth being the easier of the two par-3s on the course. Five is another short par 4 at 362 yards, but the par-4 sixth is a formidable 422 yard scramble over a narrow and undulating fairway to a bunker-and-water protected dance floor.

Saving the best for last, holes seven, eight and nine compose a daunting task to keep your game at level par. Seven is a 500-yard, par-5 monster that doesn’t require precision off the tee, but extreme surgical use of short irons around the green. Water surrounds the right side, and tricky bunkers lie in wait all around. Hole eight features yet another challenging par 4, with trees lining the 406 yards to the green – and eight is the only hole on Briar Hill to have no water.

Last and definitely not least is the par-3 ninth. Yet another eye-catching hole, it has a very elevated tee and a short iron shot over the river to a green backed right up against it. Leave your shot short and there is also a bunker running the front. Go long and three more bunkers lurk. The green is large enough and fairly level, so it’s a doable par.

The pace of play, even for a Saturday, was decent and owed a lot to the fact that all players are required to take a power cart on weekends. Club staff and marshals were all very friendly and helpful.

Favorite hole: No. 1 on the Valley. One of the nicest-looking holes I have ever played and it offers a good test to beginners and seasoned veterans alike.

Toughest hole: Valley No. 3. I can’t say enough about this 505-yard ball-eating monster. While I was unfortunate enough to have to take a drop here, three is on my list of holes that I would play again.

Rates at the Nottawasaga 27 and the Ridge 18 were very reasonable for 2007. It cost $59 to play 18 at Nottawasaga and $69 to play the Ridge (which is off property). Stay ‘N Play packages are highly recommended and affordably priced for a resort of this kind. For $188 each, my wife and I got the golf, a four course dinner, breakfast buffet and a night’s stay in a nice room. There is a driving range at Nottawasaga and club rentals are available. An on-site CPGA professional is available for ½ hour and 1 hour sessions.

None of the resort’s 45 holes I would recommend for the absolute beginner. All the clubs in your bag will come into play, so don’t short-sheet yourself on the equipment side. As for a ball type use something soft, with decent distance characteristics.