Woodington Lake Golf Club - The Legacy Course Review #1

Name: Woodington Lake Golf Club - The Legacy Course
Location: Tottenham, Ontario (~1 hour northwest of Toronto)
Type: Public with membership options
Holes: 18 (36 including Woodington Lake's Legend Course)
Length and Par: 5173-7606 yards / 72
Tees: (Shortest to Longest): Red, White, Blue, Green, Gold
Website: www.woodingtonlake.com/golf

"The newest addition to Woodington Lake is the Legacy Course. Dramatically different from the Legend, it is bound for greatness and will leave a lasting impression. The wide open course is a true mix of Links and Stadium styles. However, it's the course's water hazards that make it truly challenging. Complimented by huge, fast and undulating greens, the Legacy offers five sets of tee decks measuring from 5140 yards from the front tees to an eye opening 7606 yards from the championship tees. With a maximum course rating of 76.9 and a slope of 146, it's the Legacy's boldness that keeps golfers of every skill coming back for more." -www.woodingtonlake.com

Course Layout:
Pace of Play:
Staff:
Value:
Course Conditions:

Price:
Difficulty: << Based on play from Gold Tees

Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Woodington Lake Golf Club is an excellent golf facility designed for higher-end yet affordable golf and is one of the hidden gems of the GTA golf scene. Located on the rolling hills west of Tottenham, Woodington Lake offers all you'd ever want from a golf course, including a large clubhouse, excellent food services, a driving range and practice facilities, and a great 19th hole lounge. The staff is also some of the friendliest I've ever seen on a golf course and always accommodating to the player. It's also worth noting that the atmosphere around the clubhouse is relaxed and low-key, even during busy times. These are all things that put you in the right frame of mind needed before a round of golf.

The Legacy course at Woodington Lake is best described as an inland links course that will challenge any golfer. It has many aspects of your traditional links course such as wide open yet sloping fairways, large undulating greens, patches of fescue and gorse that will make your day tough if you find them, and few trees in play.  The wind also blows pretty fast at times, due to the openness and elevation changes throughout the Legacy, and should be taken into account more often than not when playing the course.

Despite being a challenging course, it's five sets of tees ensure that golfers of all skill level can get around it. The holes of the Legacy course are laid out very well and despite it's openness, you rarely get the feeling that a bad tee shot will end up on another hole. Although the course is not located near any coast as per normal links courses, many small ponds and lakes are well placed to influence many of the holes. Putting golf aside for a moment, the shear vastness and openness of the course is shocking at times; I wouldn't be surprised if you dropped your club for a minute to take a picture of it. I know I did. A hole of note, both visually and golfwise, is the Legacy's signature hole, #8 (see image below). This is a 90-180 yard par 3 where players tee off from elevated tees and must carry water to a green protected by five greenside bunkers. It requires confidence in distance and shot path as a mis-hit ball can easily find water or land in the thick rough around the greens and bunkers. Par is a great score here nine times out of ten here.

The true toughness of the Legacy course is fully revealed when it's played from the gold (back) tees, which I recommend decent players try at least once. 800 yards separates the gold tees from the set of tees below and more parts of the course are brought into play from them, such as more trees and water. Tee shots are now required to be tighter and more accurate and second shots will often be hit with longer clubs, but require more precision. Throw in some gusts of wind and I'd say that from these tees, the Legacy is one of the toughest and most demanding courses in all of Ontario.

Course conditions are what you'd expect from a quality course like this, nothing short of excellent; bunkers are not too soggy or dry and the rough height is consistent. Pace of play has never been an issue in the times I've played and the course is especially empty during the week. Power carts are also mandatory on the Legacy, which helps with the pace. Pricewise, 18 holes with a cart costs in the mid $70's depending on the time and day of the week. Not bad considering the quality of the course!

Overall, the Legacy course at Woodington Lake is a challenging links-esque course for golfers of all skill levels, but mid to low handicappers will probably get the most out of it. It really is a hidden gem in this part of the GTA and I'd recommend every golfer play it at least once, just for the experience. For the price that's posted as of now, it's really worth the trip to it. To the player looking for an extreme challenge, I'd try playing from back tees on a real breezy day.

Have you played the Legacy course at Woodington Lake? If so, post a comment below and let us know what you though of it...


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 **UPDATE** 09/19/19: Course conditions have improved, compared to when I wrote the above review. This may be due to the fact that Woodington Lake hosted the 2019 Ontario Open (things were most likely spruced up a bit in preparation for it). In fact, I found the greens to be slightly tougher than I remember, in particular faster and more undulating.The pricing has also stayed relatively the same, with flex-pricing being introduced.

The Legacy Course at Woodington Lake Golf Club