The Beddoe Course is a wonderful mature parkland course that’s defined by its rolling terrain, beautiful tree-lined fairways, hazardous Chedoke Creek, which comes into play on six holes and of course the lingering Niagara Escarpment.
More than a century of comfortable but challenging golf has attracted many players to the Martin Course for a game of golf. The Martin Course has always been that “small town” public course that people love to playtime and again with family and friends. It remains the oldest course in the city.
The holes are straight forward for the most part, but demand accuracy to avoid trouble. The Martin Course has two sets of tees – playing 5,505 and 5,745 yards, par-70. There are five par 3s and three par-5’s (all on the front nine) and back to back par-3s on Nos. 3-4 and Nos. 16-17 and another thrown in on No. 10 for good measure. There are lots of big trees to be avoided on the fairways, while the putting surfaces are small by most standards and challenging to read with the escarpment in the background.
Short off the tee by today’s standards, the Beddoe Course has three sets of tees ranging from 5,464 to 6,084 yards. The distance is a little deceiving because the course plays to a challenging par-70, with five par-3s, including three on the front (Nos. 3, 6 & 8) and two on the back (Nos. 13 &17) and just three par-5s. The course features tight landing areas, rolling fairways that follow the escarpment’s undulating contours and small, sloping greens.
The 18-hole Stanley Thompson layout was significantly altered in the early 1960s when Highway 403 was built through a section of the course. Thompson’s layout was changed so dramatically that today we find both moments of quirkiness and moments of brilliance in the design.
