Summary:   Value Rating = A – - (with the new rates in August 2010 its an A)

I don't have to say that I would definitely like to play this course again because I play this course a lot – 85 times since 2001 when I started tracking my scoring information.

Since the course opened I have played here at least 150 times so I know the course pretty well.  I'd even bet that I've been to a few places on the course where few have traveled.

The course offers a good golf test for someone of similar golf ability in terms of playability and challenge.  There are some nice views of the holes on the course from a few of the higher elevated tees.  The topography and surrounding trees are such that you don't get spectacular views of the surrounding countryside though.  What you will see in September and October are some beautiful fall scenes with the mix of red, orange and gold coloured leaves – making it a very enjoyable walk during the fall.

My buddies and I typically play this course during the middle of the week and 9 times out of 10 we play in under 4 hours.  Loch March is a well kept secret and I must say I hope it stays that way because we enjoy the fact it isn't that busy most of the time.  We often stand on the first tee looking back towards the parking lot and can't believe such a nice course isn't busier.  We wonder why since the course has been open for at least 20 years.

We occasionally run into annoying issues with the course - they don't tell you that they have aerated the greens (still charge the regular price) and at least one round a year (sometimes two) the pace of play is extremely slow because management lets a group of golfers play who didn't book a tee time like the rest of us.  Minor annoyances but annoyances none the less.

Loch March offered great value until the prices went up to $70 in 2010.  Recently they began to offer a discount, $58 and $48 if you are over 60.  Purchasing a corporate Pass Booklet is a good deal but you have to be able to use up 48 passes which is sometimes difficult unless you have about 7 or 8 playing buddies.

At the new rates (introduced in the fall of 2010) you get good value.  Refer to the website for additional details (www.lochmarch.com).

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

Some Details: I use to play Loch March between 10 to 12 times each year, up until the rates exceeded what you can play similarly challenging courses in the Ottawa area.  The higher rates have forced me to spend my money elsewhere – 2 rounds at Loch March versus playing 3 rounds elsewhere makes it easy to decide to play elsewhere.

I have played the course through all the months it is open, May through to October. Loch March is located in rural Kanata (part of Ottawa, Ontario).  The course is readily accessible from the west end of Ottawa, in fact you aren't too far from this course if you are anywhere in the Ottawa area.

The practice green is large but it doesn't provide a chipping area and no practice bunkers.  The driving range is very good with lots of target areas to shoot at as you warm up.  The practice greens are always very close in feel and roll to the real greens. Some of the greens have ridges across them making the green have two or more levels but for the most part the greens (and level area on the multi-tier greens) are flat.  There are some gentle slopes on the flat areas of the greens so you will experience some left and right breaks.

Hole 17 offers the most putting challenge I have found over the years. You definitely have to stay below the hole for a chance at a 1 putt here (I can count the number of 1 putts I've had on this hole on one hand).

My scoring average at Loch March over the last 5 years is 89.5.  This typically includes 2 or 3 penalty strokes for a lost ball in the water and an unplayable lie beside a tree or rock.  I'm pretty consistent at having at least one penalty stroke at Loch March for each round. You do have to keep the ball in play to keep your score down.

Loch March is built on some rugged Eastern Ontario landscape with lots of rocks around in the forest and rough areas.  There are rural properties that surround the course so you can go out of bounds hitting a ball off course property.

You can see wildlife including squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, groundhogs, turtles (including snapping turtles) and deer.  We have seen garter snakes and 1 other variety of a black snake and even a martin or two over the years.  I was told that a bear was seen on the course a few years ago.

There is room to spray the ball around a bit but you do need to keep the ball in the fairway/rough areas or you will have to play out of the trees and rocks.  Some areas are rougher than others.  When in some of the rougher areas you do have to be mindful of rocks just under the surface because you can damage your club if you don't check what your ball is resting on.

Two of the par 3's (#7 and #13) have you playing over water which adds to the challenge offered by Loch March.

The greens are reasonably large on most holes so once over you have plenty of space to land the ball.  Two of the par 4's on the back nine (#10 and #12) are over 400 yards from the white tees and you typically need a long and accurate 2nd shot to make the green.

The opening hole prior to 2008 was a real tough par 4 but with the addition of a new tee block for the white tees (where I typically play) the hole has become a bit easier but it is still a tough start when the pin is placed behind the front bunker.

The clubhouse and patio are very nice and we often enjoy a beverage after a round.  We have always found the staff at the course to be very friendly and pleasant.  They do laugh and smile.

My Evaluation Details:

Scenery – Nothing spectacular about the scenery except in the fall when the leaves change colour.  The scenery is typical of the more rugged areas you will find in Eastern Ontario.

Mix of holes – The course has a great mix of long and short holes with many left and right dog legs.  You will use all the clubs in your bag playing from the blue tees and if you play from the whites, you will probably not need to use your 3 and 4 iron a lot.

Consistency and condition – The course, 95% of the time, is in great shape.  After tournaments you can find the tees and greens a bit chewed up.  One complaint we do have about the condition of the course are the tee blocks, especially later in the year – they get chewed up and given their typical narrowness, they don't have time to recover.  Another complaint we have are the bunkers – not consistent around the course.  Bunker changes were noticed in 2008 but only on bunkers that were enlarged or adjusted.  The consistency of the other parts of the course is very good.

Character – the course has always impressed me including the layout, its condition and its setting.  Even though I have played this course many, many times I still enjoy playing there despite some of the issues my buddies and I have with the place.

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

• tee shots – your tee shots are typically hit onto wide fairways and you do not have to hit over any waste or treed areas, except on a couple of the par 3's (hit over water).  Well placed shots will give you a good look at the green.
• fairway shots – typically you will have a flat lie in the fairway as the course doesn't really have any undulating fairways.  You can flay your ball into the green or run the ball up on most par 4 and 5 holes.
• putting - the putting is very consistent across all the greens.  The greens are very smooth with no bumps to make your ball bounce.
• greens – the greens are receptive to high shots and in hotter/drier weather you can get a lot of roll. Over the years I have found the greens to be in very good shape.
• a chance to recover – landing in the rough presented the usual problems.  You can get a buried lie but generally you can play your shot without much difficulty by making good ball contact. The rough isn't cut too long. If your shot goes astray and you land in a wooded or rocky areas you can play it back out to the fairway most of the time as long as you don't land too close to a tree or amongst some rocks.  Hitting the ball off the course on the holes around the perimeter means stroke and distance.

Other Observations The tee blocks are generally narrow and the tee markers are often set close together.  We wish they would spread the tee markers out a bit more because the narrow area provided can get pretty chewed up especially when you play later in the day.  We often hit our tee shots from behind the tee setup to get some level ground.  Something we wish they would improve – wider tees.

Although more work has been done on the bunkers in 2008, it hasn't been aparent that the course has paid much attention to maintaining the existing bunkers very well over the years.  The sand is very inconsistent – you can have a shot with 2 inches of sand under the ball but if you ball lands a few feet further in any direction you can end up with a shot with little or no sand under your ball.  It can be a hit and miss in terms of bunker consistency.

They did spend time clearing out some of the more rugged areas but the changes we noted in 2008, 09 and 10 didn't seem to add much to the course.  In some cases, opening up the forest areas took away some of the character – the trees made you feel more isolated from the golfers on the other holes.

We thought they could have improved the course more by making the tee blocks wider (more choices for tee placement) and fixing the bunkers instead of cutting down trees.  Some of the areas where trees were cut down weren't immediately in the normal line of play – but maybe they had other reasons for making these changes like better airflow around greens or removing diseased trees.  I guess we should have asked.

Sorry I don't have an photo's (yet). Reach me at Lane@lifepast50.ca