Tuesday’s weather forecast called for wind and showers in the morning, then rain during the afternoon. It wasn’t a great forecast, but I had time to golf and wanted to play if I could! The rain was supposed to move in around noon, so the earlier the better.
The courses I was considering for Tuesday’s round (close to where we were staying) all had 8:00am tee times as the earliest times available. Those went quickly so I decided to take a look at the sky in the morning and then decide how badly I wanted to play! The weather looked fine when I got up so I called over to Eagles Glenn and got added to the 8:50am group.
Really, the morning couldn’t have gone better! The threesome that I played with was awesome and the weather cooperated for the majority of the round. We got a rain shower to end the front nine and then the heavier stuff moved in while we were on the 17th green. Other than that it wasn’t too windy and I was warm enough with just a light pullover, mostly because I walked the course! It isn’t the easiest walk but if you are ambitious it can be done.
Eagles Glenn is one of a handful of courses convenient to the beach town of Cavendish. The course is no more than ten minutes from the beach, set back from the main road through town. If you are looking to sneak away to play on a family vacation (like me) then Eagles Glenn is in the perfect location for that to happen! A word to the wise – apparently if you go to Cavendish after Labor Day the town is virtually shut down.
Eagles Glenn was designed by Graham Cook, who is another mainly Canadian golf course architect. Obviously, with almost the entirety of my course experience in America I’m not very familiar with Cook’s work, but I liked what I saw at Eagles Glenn! On a damp and potentially windy day, I picked the blue tees which are 6,370 yards with a rating of 71.0 and a slope of 130. The golds are almost 6,800 yards so I didn’t think that would be a wise decision, given the weather! I wouldn’t have minded a combo set of tees to split the difference, though.
In case you couldn’t tell already, I really ended up enjoying Eagles Glenn! From a golfer’s perspective there are quite a few features to make for an enjoyable round. First off, the course starts with a short (and easy) par-4. I wish more designers would do this to allow people to ease into their round. As you continue playing the course, it gets longer and more difficult. For example, you don’t reach the tougher holes until the 8th. The 8th, 9th, 10th and 18th are the course’s longest holes and the ones where you can make some quick bogeys. Because of some shorter and longer holes I hit everything from hybrid to a wedge into the greens on the par-4’s. The par-5’s have a nice mix of distances too, playing from 495 yards to 590 yards.
Another thing that Eagles Glenn has going for it is its friendly design. The look is a bit hard to describe, but I’d say the course has a blend of parkland and pastoral elements – with some modern qualities. The course is fairly open and allows you to chase the ball around, for much of the round. Except for a handful of holes, there isn’t a lot of pressure to hit the perfect shot. There aren’t many forced carries and water only affects four shots.
The challenges that you’ll find at Eagles Glenn are more subdued, compared to most courses built in the early 2000’s. Eagles Glenn still has plenty of mounding and bunkers, but those features didn’t seem overdone. Eagles Glenn makes good use of the elevation change and the mounding, rewarding a tee shot in the fairway with a clean look at the green. If you miss the fairway your view of the green suffers and you might end up with a goofy stance. You can scramble from the proper spots and run some putts in if you are on the correct level of the greens.
When it comes to memorable holes at Eagles Glenn the par-3 17th is likely the course’s signature hole! From the blue tees it played 145 yards to a green surrounded by trouble. Water sits off to the right of the green and cuts in front too, so you need to hit a quality iron shot to avoid the hazard. A steady rain started to fall just as we got to the tee and the wind picked up! On a calm, sunny day I don’t think it would have been more than an 8-iron for me, but with the elements I added two clubs and fanned it into the bunker. If you bail to the left some mounds will kick the ball around and then you’ll be chipping towards the water!
The other holes at Eagles Glenn won’t dazzle you, but they are all solid. I didn’t think there were any bad holes! The course’s collection of par-3’s turned out to be my favorites, including the pretty-looking, downhill 4th. The 15th is a potentially reachable par-5 with some options off the tee and from the fairway, as a group of trees divide the fairway into halves.
After my green fee was converted to U.S. dollars by my credit card company it worked out to about $75 for the round. Considering the short golf season up this way, I didn’t think it was a bad deal! The conditions were nice and the turf was just as full at Eagles Glenn as it was a Crowbush Cove. The tees, fairways, rough and greens were all cut down which resulted in nice lies and smooth rolls. Because of the rain showers the green speeds varied depending on exactly how much rain was falling at the moment. Some putts were quicker while others needed some authority to get to the hole. The bunkers were firmer and had some little stones.
While Eagles Glenn didn’t have the visual appeal of the other two Canadian courses that I played on my trip, it turned out to be my personal favorite! It is a great vacation course, one that will allow you to relax and enjoy the day. I’d be surprised if you walked away disappointed after a round here!
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):