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| Course Profile |
| Created by renowned golf course architect, Ted Baker, the Royal Niagara GC is an upscale 27-hole facility made up of three distinguished nines - each balanced in terms of length and challenge. The course takes full advantage of its unique geography, incorporating the Niagara Escarpment, the CNR line and bridge, and the historic Welland Canal in its design. |
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Playing over 7000 yards from the championship tees, the course features sculpted fairways, undulating greens, cavernous bunkers, and an abundance of water. Nestled between the historic Welland Canal, the popular Bruce Trail and the rugged Niagara Escarpment, Royal Niagara offers a memorable golf experience.
On the Escarpment Course, the first five holes run due south to the base of the wooded Escarpment. After the 5th hole, the layout takes golfers atop the Niagara Escarpment, then returns downhill past the large central lake to the impressive clubhouse. |
| On the Iron Bridge Course, the opening three holes run diagonally across the property to the CN rail line and the Iron Bridge, and the 4th tee is nestled right alongside the abandoned tunnel entrance. The 6th hole returns to the Welland Canal and features a green perched above a thundering waterfall.
The Old Canal Course is dominated by water - the 2nd green is located immediately adjacent to the Canal, as are the 3rd tee and green, and large ponds are found at each of the six finishing holes. |
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| Throughout the course, there are dozens of strategically positioned fairway bunkers and fairways are typically bordered by trees, water, fescue and / or rough. With the influence of the Niagara Escarpment, the rolling terrain and the walling of the Canal, elevated tees and greens are an integral part of the design of Royal Niagara GC.
Royal Niagara GC features bent grass throughout (tees, fairways, greens), Ohio-grade white sand bunkers, thick bluegrass rough and some fescue perimeters. Practice facilities include a driving range, putting green, chipping green and a practice bunker. Carts are included and feature the ParView GPS mapping / tracking / scoring system. |
| Course Review |
| Royal Niagara GC is unlike any other Niagara golf course in terms of its design and "look" off the tee. Many elevation changes, rolling "dog-leg" fairways, bordering trees and secluded greens separate each hole, and it seems as though the course is yours alone. A very "golfer friendly" layout, Royal Niagara plays shorter than the card suggests. The course has neither any "monsters" or "pitch & putt" holes, and every club in the bag will come into play during a round. |
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| Multiple tee decks look out over generous, rolling fairways edged with bluegrass rough and framed by worse - woodlands, ravines, lakes and / or fescue. Hitting it straight, more so than long off the tee is the key to scoring at Royal Niagara. The generally large, contoured bent grass greens are firm, putt true and quick. Fairway and greenside bunkers are numerous and strategically positioned, but the soft, Ohio-grade white sand made bunker play (relatively) easy. |
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Course architect, Ted Baker, explains that "as each hole emerges from the landscape, they all seem like signature holes". On the 8th hole, a 531-yard par-5 ("blues"), a big drive puts the ball atop a scenic perch overlooking the lake and the green beyond. The second shot, probably a 5- or 7-wood, must avoid the lake to the left, find a skinny stretch of fairway and stay out of the rough to the right. The no-less-daring alternative is to lay up, leaving a mid-to-long iron to a green surrounded by trouble - bunkers, deep rough and the lake left and behind. |
| The Iron Bridge Course is aptly named for the railway span just beyond the 3rd green. This nine requires one demanding tee shot after another and fairly penalizes anything less than long and straight. Only the 1st hole brings water into play, but steeply sloped, tree-lined fairways, fairways bunkers and well guarded greens are the norm. Hole # 2, a 387-yard par-4 (whites) plays so much longer, but the par-5 6th hole (572 yards from the white tees) will probably be the one that grabs your attention. A blind tee shot to a severely sloping (right) fairway, a well placed fairway wood, and a short-iron 3rd across the creek to a bunkered green built into a hillside make this beauty a beast.
The Old Canal Course has that something special that make it an instant favourite, including panoramic vistas alongside the historic waterway at the 2nd and 3rd greens, and especially the 3rd tee. Holes # 6-9 present one of, if not the very best finishing sequences in Niagara, and are built around three large ponds that pose a constant threat to wayward shots. The 9th is Royal Niagara's best hole - a modest 370-yard par-4 where the pond to the right is very much in play from both the tee and the fairway (should you land there perchance). The lake closely surrounds the green on three sides, the 4th side has OB just a short way left, and bunkers surround it if you just come close. |
| Royal Niagara GC is a "must play" course and a wonderful addition to the Niagara golf scene. Once at the course, however, one tough choice remains - which of the courses to play. With a trio of great nines, it is indeed a difficult decision.
Royal Niagara GC is a proud member of the Niagara Golf Trail. |
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