Cedarhill
Summary: Value Rating = B
Cedarhill Golf & Country Club is a semi-private course that is enjoyable to play but is a bit dated and is in need of a refresh to give it a facelift. The course has some challenging holes but for the most part looks and feels a bit old fashioned. This isn’t to say that you won’t enjoy playing Cedarhill. It is a very pleasant walk and you do need to control your ball flight as there are homes beside most of the holes. There are plans to renovate the course and some work is underway already (2009).
The course is well maintained and should be played from the blue tees for the average golfer. My handicap is in the 15 range and I find the course isn’t too challenging when played from the whites. There are some narrow fairways requiring accuracy off the tee and the par 3’s from the blues are a good distance that will test your abilities. The greens are in the medium to small size range compared to other courses in the Ottawa, Ontario area and have gentle slopes requiring you to try and stay below the hole whenever possible.
The course is located in the western part of Ottawa (the Nepean area) is easily accessible from all parts of Ottawa. The course is in a lovely large home neighbourhood setting with lots of mature trees lining the holes and property lines along the course. There are a few elevation changes but for the most part the course is generally flat.
The price is very good – around $45 – so the course does offer value. As a semi-private course, members do hold events during the week so as a guest you may not be able to get your desired tee time.
The course is undergoing some changes – it will be great to see how these turn out as the course does not freshening up.
You can view course information at www.cedarhillgolf.com.
Play and Value Evaluation Rating Table
| Scenery | B few if any spectacular views of the surrounding area but a nice mature woodland setting |
| Mix of Holes | C some nice par 3s and only 2 par 5s |
| Consistency and Condition | A+ course is well maintained and taken care of |
| Character | B nice mature setting amongst one of the more exclusive neighbourhoods in the Ottawa area |
| Golf Challenge | B some holes are challenging and it is recommended to play from the blue tees |
| Tee Shots | B adequate room but there are a few narrow landing areas |
| Fairway Shots | B flat lies on the fairways |
| Pin Placements | B- average to small size greens so pin placements near the edges can make the course tougher. Many greens feel and look the same. |
| Putting | B most green slope but lack large undulations and ridges |
| A Chance to Recover | B Other than going out of bounds onto private property most errant shots can be hit back onto the fairway |
| Intangibles | From the blues, some good long par 4’s and par 3’s. Not much water to contend with around the entire course. There is a congested area where many tees and holes converge and that area can cause confusion for players unfamiliar with the course – could get a bit dangerous on a busy day with errant shots. |
Refer to my evaluation criteria.
Some Details:
When I play Cedarhill I don’t use all the clubs in my bag from the blue or the white tees. I typically only need to use my driver, 5 wood, 5 / 6 / 7 and 9 iron, and my wedges.
There are a number of dog leg left holes which makes Cedarhill a bit unusual from many other courses in the area. The right handed player who can draw the ball or the leftie with a fade will enjoy the 5 holes where you can take advantage of the left leaning design to get you closer to the pin.
The price of a round at Cedarhill makes the course attractive along with the pleasant setting but the course does need updating and a facelift. Some more undulation in the greens, 1 or 2 more par 5s, a few more bunkers and an updated look and feel would really enhance the course. It is still an enjoyable walk on a nice day.
The course is always very green and the greens have always been in excellent shape. The ball rolls very true.
The par 3 5th and 9th holes are great holes. The 5th requires a long accurate 188 yard shot (blue tees) to the most undulating green on the course. The 9th requires a strong 175 yard shot uphill to a small sloped green. I rate these as the nicest holes on the course.
There are some longer par 4’s over 400 yards requiring some accurate shots (from the blue tees).
There are only two par 5s on the course that are reachable in two by the long hitters.
My average score at Cedarhill is 87.
The website does provide a view of the planned new layout. The plans as they exist now will completely alter the look and feel of the course. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds in the future. I will miss the 9th hole as the new plans will have players teeing off on #1 from what use to be the 9th green area.
My Evaluation Details:
Scenery – I nice woodland setting with some elevation changes.
Mix of holes – Just average on this front.
Consistency and condition – The course was well maintained and typically in very good shape.
Character – overall the course just average on this front and needs updating Golf Challenge – the course does offer some challenges…..
- tee shots – average size fairways with a few narrow landing areas.
- fairway shots – mostly flat lies everywhere, even in the rough.
- pin placements – small greens offer few choices.
- putting – the greens typically slope in one direction or another with tricky downhill putts.
- greens – the condition of the greens are very good and are mostly flat.
- a chance to recover – lots of chances for errant shots to land on private property along the edges of the course but errant shots on the course can be hit back onto the fairway without problem.
Other Observations
The staff has always been very friendly. The clubhouse is very nice and the service is very good.
The practice green is small and gives you a pretty good feel on what to expect out on the course. There is a nice netted area to hit balls prior to teeing off #1 so you can get a decent warm up in prior to starting your round. The netted area can get a little crowded.
As Cedarhill is located in a more exclusive neighbourhood, you do get to look at some beautiful homes as you travel around the course.
Some of the members can be bit snooty at times and I have personally seen some unpleasant incidents involving members and staff. This does turn you off the place a bit.
For general information about other courses in the Ottawa and Eastern Ontario region, check out the www.ottawagolf.com – a good golf information source.
I’ve included photo’s of hole #5 and #9.
Comments appreciated – reach me at Lane@lifepast50