Summary:  Value Rating = A-

A brand new course (2009) in the Ottawa, Ontario area that now has all 18 holes open.  eQuinelle is a leisurely course to play – well maintained, excellent condition for a brand new course, and a grassland, links style course – wide open and relatively flat fairway layout.  The greens have a number of undulations. Overall the course is relatively easy as long as you keep the ball in play and stay out of the many large traps.  There is some water to contend with as well.  The course is well bunkered.

Current pricing for 18 holes on a weekday is $55 (2010) – a very good value for a course of this nature.  You can purchase a 20 game pass which brings the price down to $50 per round.  The course offers great value at this price – a good price and a very enjoyable course to play.  I'm sure it will get tougher as it matures and they let the grass grow around the edges.

I can see this course becoming one of my favourites in the Ottawa area.  I have enjoyed all my visits so far.

eQuinelle is located south of Ottawa, just north of the small community of Kemptville but still very accessible from anywhere in the city via highway 416.  As a open grassland style course it offers some minor rolling and undulating fairways and greens as well as some challenging bunkers.  If you can control your shots well you will score well here.  The challenge can be the wind in the open areas and the length of some of the holes.  The course is a very enjoyable.  The back 9 is a nice layout with challenging holes.

Check out www.eQuinelle.ca under the golf menu item for more details.

Play and Value Evaluation Rating Table

Refer to my evaluation criteria to see how I judge and rate the courses I’ve played.

Some Details:

If you are able to control your ball flight most of the time, you will find eQuinelle an easy course to play.  There are still challenges as on any golf course but you can play the course without getting into any trouble because the fairways are wide, the rough along the fairways is wide and the greens are large.

The large greens offer many undulations and the course can be set up with difficult pin placements, either in tricky parts of the greens or behind or close to the many greenside bunkers.

The wind will be a factor on much of this course – a windy day will make this course tougher.  My 18 hole scores have been in the 80's (86 and 80).  This demonstrates that if you keep the ball in play you can score well along with making some good putts.

There is quite a difference in yardage playing from the blues in comparison to the white tees – about 500 yards – so pick your tee blocks according to your ability.  The blue tees offer a challenge to the average player.  Even the white tees offer some good par 4s with 3 of these at over 380 yards.

The sand is soft and there is lots of it in the bunkers – as you would expect on a new course.  Many of the bunkers along the edges of the fairways are large and come into play a lot.  We’ll see how well they can maintain the many bunkers as the course matures.

The rough along almost all the fairways is wide so errant shots can be played towards the green in most cases.  One will expect that these areas will thicken as the course matures.  Should they let some of the wide rough areas along the fairways grow, the course will become tougher to play for those who spray the ball around.

The greens were firm and I found I had to target landing on the front of the green otherwise the ball would roll to the back.  The greens will be fast if they cut them short – be prepared for some challenging putts with the undulations and the speed.

Currently the greens haven't been cut too short.  It will be interesting to see how the greens mature on this course as time goes on.

The wind can be in your face on some tee shots which will cause trouble if you slice or hook the ball.  There is water on about 6 or 7 holes that can cause some trouble as well.

My Evaluation Details:

Scenery – A mainly flat grassland setting with mo spectacular views of the surrounding area.

Mix of holes – offers a nice mix of long and short holes.

Consistency and condition – the course is in great shape, well maintained.

Character – a nice layout but we’ll see how this new course develops over time.

Golf Challenge – an average challenge but could be tough on windy days

• tee shots – wide fairways
• fairway shots – The fairways were in great shape across the whole course.
• pin placements – The greens are large with undulations allowing for some interesting pin placement choices.
• putting – Putting was medium speed (not quick) and consistent across all holes.  You will like putting on these greens.
• greens – The greens are large, well maintained and a bit hard
• a chance to recover – wide rough areas along most fairways make it easy to get the ball back into play or to shot for the green- you almost always have a chance to get the ball back into play.
  

Other Observations:

I'm sure this course will only get better with age.  For 2010 the price is very reasonable and I hope it stays that way.  Local competition for courses offering similar challenges include Loch March and Stonebridge.  Sorry no pictures yet.

Lane Smith – Lane@lifepast50.ca