Summary:   Value Rating = A+

The Black Bear Ridge golf course offers great value.  It is a parkland layout with numerous elevation changes and natural water features offering a great golf challenge.  It was in great shape the day I played and should be a must play for recreational golfers looking for a great course that offers a nice challenge.  It has all the features I look for in terms of playability – a gem.

This is a new course – opened in 2005.  Given its newness I didn’t expect it to be such outstanding shape.  A very pleasant course to play and a very enjoyable walk.  It will only get better as it matures.  If you are in the Toronto or Ottawa area, make a trip to play this course.  I wish it was closer to where I lived so I could play it more often.

I played the course in the fall season (early October) when the course offered a discounted rate of $60 (Canadian, excluding taxes).  Regular rates are very reasonable – check out their website for more details (www.blackbearridge.ca).  It is worth playing at regular prices.

Refer to my evaluation criteria – www.lifepast50.ca/topic-list/golf/reviewcriteria

Some Details:

I played Black Bear Ridge October 8, 2008 on a breezy but sunny fall day.  The course was in excellent shape.  I was returning to my home in Ottawa and had set aside enough time during the middle of the day to get a round in as I was driving past the course.  I was very glad I made the stop.  I had heard great comments about this course and this was my first opportunity to give it a try.

Black Bear Ridge is located just outside of Belleville, Ontario and is very accessible from Highway 401 – 8 km north of the 401.

It was a great fall day and I walked the course.  I played by myself and thoroughly enjoyed the peacefulness of the surroundings and the pleasant walk through the parkland layout.  Given it was not busy, I played two balls.

As is typical in Canada, your green fee does not include the cart.  I didn’t use the driving range so I’m not sure if that is an extra charge or not. The practice greens were very close in feel and roll to the real greens. The course has a very nice clubhouse.

As a parkland course, Black Bear Ridge offers holes lined with deciduous and coniferous trees as well as some more open holes through what once was probably farmland.  There were the usual red, gray and black squirrels and chipmunks around as well as a couple of deer.

The course does offer lots of elevation changes.  The views from the course of the surrounding region are nice but not spectacular.  The surrounding area, although not flat, is made up of mostly rolling hills with some rock outcrops – typical vistas that you would see throughout other parts of Eastern Ontario.

I played the white tees which matched up well with my scoring abilities.  The course offers tee blocks for all abilities – 5 levels.  As I noted above, I was playing 2 balls and shot 89 and 91 with a couple of penalty strokes along the way.  The greens were in tremendous shape, very consistent on the speed front, and had some subtle bends.

I did play on a reasonable windy fall day and it did force me to take the wind into account on tee and fairway shots as the wind did influence the flight of the ball.  On the holes amongst the trees, the wind was only affecting very high shots and shots hit directly into the wind.

The fairways are of average width in the forest areas and seem to be wider in the more open areas.  You do have to hit good shots to keep the ball in the fairway and avoid having to play recovery shots from the woods.  The woods are dense in areas and you rarely have a shot at advancing the ball any great distance if you manage to land in the woods.  There is pretty much always a tree in your way.  If you spray the ball around you will find this course a real challenge.

My Evaluation Details:

Scenery – Don’t expect dynamic views of the surrounding area or even a glimpse of Lake Ontario, just nice, typical views of the golf course – typical Eastern Ontario views.  You are in a parkland setting with lots of trees.

Mix of holes – The course has a great mix of long and short holes with some left and right dog legs.  You will use all the clubs in your bag.  Depending upon the direction of the wind, you can find the par 5′s challenging.  There are a few holes where you play to a target area which sets you up nicely for your next shot.

Consistency and condition – The course was in great shape and offered consistent tee boxes, greens, rough and bunkers.  The consistency of all parts of the course was exceptional.  I did play a few bunker shots and was able to advance the ball without any problems.

Character – the course is a great walk and you get great views of each of the holes with the many elevation changes. This is a challenging course to play.  From the white tees, around 6300 yards, it is a bit longer that you typically find from the whites on other courses in the Eastern Ontario region.  This makes it more challenging and adds to the character.

Golf Challenge – the course did offer a good blend of decision making places…..

• tee shots – you always have a great view of your fairway or green landing area.  You don’t have to hit over any waste areas.  Wild tee shots will get you into trouble.
• fairway shots – all the fairways are reasonably flat.  You can play high shots to the greens or you can play run up shots that bounce in front and then roll onto the greens.  I didn’t encounter many undulating areas in the fairways.  The bunkers are well placed and come into play often.
• putting – The putting surface was very consistent across all the holes and the ball rolled consistently.  The greens were very smooth with hardly any bumps.  The speed was typical of the courses I’ve played in this part of Canada – average speed.
  
• greens – the greens were receptive to high shots and the ball stopped within a foot or so of its landing point.  I was able to play both high and run up shots without problems.
  
• a chance to recover – landing in the rough presented the usual problems.  Landing in the woods presented different problems as you typically had to hit sideways or sometimes backwards to put the ball back in play.  Best advice is to stay out of the woods.  The bunkers were very consistent with lots of sand.
  

Other Observations

After my round (playing 2 balls) I was certainly glad I took the time to play this course.  I will definitely work it into my travel plans when possible to stop here again.  I am going to consider planning a short golf trip to this region for my buddies and I so that I get to play this course again along with some of the other good courses nearby (namely Timber Ridge and Loyalist).  My buddies would all enjoy playing here.

From the first hole through to the 18th, you are faced with a very pleasant setting and a wonderful golf course.  Just slightly off the beaten track but well worth a stop.

If you want an enjoyable set of courses to play in the Kingston, Belleville area I would highly recommend you play Black Bear Ridge as well as Timber Ridge (Brighton, Ontario) and Loyalist (Bath, Ontario).  You won’t find 3 better courses to play for an enjoyable golf vacation.  I would also recommend staying in Prince Edward County and playing the 3 noted courses – you will have a great time with lots to do in that area…….I’ve stayed in the County many times and enjoyed each stay.

Enjoy the photo’s – some typical views of the course:

Typical View of the Parkland Setting

View from the Fairway - Ready for my 2nd Shot to the Green

Uphill Tee Shot Towards an Elevated Green

Looking Back to the Par 3 15th Hole

Looking Down Hole #17

Hole 18 - A Par 5 Challenge, Uphill at the End