The well-known Derrydale Golf Course on Derry Road west of Toronto is planning to mark its 40th Anniversary in 2010 by becoming somewhat unique – a 12-hole golf course.
Derrydale Golf Course will offer something a little different in 2010 - a 12 hole option.
Not that this is anything new, in fact it is akin to Scotland’s historic Prestwick Golf Club, which hosted the British Open in 1860 on the land considered the birthplace of golf, which was originally composed of just 12 holes.
150 years later, there is an emerging trend toward 12-hole golf courses, both in Canada and the United States and it has more to do with market conditions than rich tradition.
Legendary golfer, Jack Nicklaus, now an award winning course designer spoke of the 12-hole concept in the March, 2007 edition of Golf Digest.
Nicklaus said, “we should consider the possibility of making 12 holes a standard round …of course it would meet resistance, but eventually it would be accepted because it would make sense in people’s lives.”
The public acceptance that Nicklaus refers to may be driven by current market conditions such as the costs and time associated with playing 18 holes of golf. And while 9-hole courses are gaining in popularity, there appears to be a significant number of golfers who feel that the 9 hole option doesn’t quite satisfy their golfing appetite.
These are issues noted by Jim Holmes, General Manager of Derrydale, which was an 18 hole executive type course up until 2005. Since then, Derrydale has successfully operated as a 9-hole course.
Holmes says, “during the 2009 golfing season we conducted an in formal poll of our regular golfers about the possibility of bringing three additional holes into play and the response in favour of 12 holes was overwhelming.”
He also notes that the 12-hole round seems to satisfy the money and time issues of golf’s two burgeoning demographics – busy, young golfers and the aging population.
Another concern for the elder golfer is that the increasing length of 18-hole golf courses is becoming physically demanding and the use of power carts is a cost prohibitive remedy. Today’s active young golfers also appear to have time restraints and plenty of options for their entertainment dollars.
Holmes adds, “it is important to keep our customer base happy and growing in these challenging times and to do so, we have to respect people’s time and give them great value for their golfing dollar. We believe the new design does both.”
The new 12-hole Derrydale will be a par 40 test. From the white tees, novice golfers will find the course to be somewhat forgiving, but still challenging. From the set of red tees, the 12 holes will reward good shot making and golfers will need to manage their game well to save strokes. The back, blue tees will force the experienced golfer to play every club in the bag and they will need to play very well to score well.
Water comes into play on eight of the 12 holes and there are 26 sand bunkers and more than 600 trees throughout the 40-year old mature facility.
Twelve- hole play will begin when the course opens, usually around April 1, weather permitting. Golfers can book up to seven days in advance with pricing set at $30 Monday through Thursday and $32 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will be a $20 senior rate for golfers 60+ and seniors can book tee times before 4PM Monday through Thursday.
Juniors up to the age of 17 will be able to play the 12 holes for $20, and they can play anytime for this rate.
A five-day (Monday to Friday) membership is available at $985 but will be restricted to the first 100 applicants. The balance of play is reserved for the general public. Power carts are available at $10 per person. And all pricing (green fees, memberships and power carts) include applicable taxes.
More:
Jim Holmes, General Manager, Derrydale Golf Course. 905.670.3030 | www.derrydalegolf.com
Finally, a golf course that has the initiative to try something new. I totally agree with all the points raised in this article with regards to how a 12 hole round satisfies both the time and money issue for a lot of golfers. I also like how you mentioned precedence so that this concept does not sound like its breaking tradition. One thing though, I went to their website and there is no mention of this new format nor what the new course looks like. Hopefully its not just having you play 3 of the existing holes a second time around.
Ralph, thanks for the feedback. I will contact Jim Holmes, the owner and remind him about the website. It is, in fact ,12 different holes.
Hi Ralph:
Derrydale’s website is being updated as we speak and will soon reflect the new 12-hole design. Thanks for your positive comments.
The 12 hole concept only makes sense because so many golfers today are resigned to take all day to play a round of golf. If everyone just picked up the pace of play we could enjoy our time in the sun have a beer and get home before the sun went down.
I have walked off the course because a group/groups of golfers insisted on checking the wind, plumb-bobbing and checking for distances prior to skulling shot after shot. As it becomes harder to justify the cost of Course Marshals and Rangers this plodding practice will only increase. I would rather quit playing than take over 5 hours to get in a round of golf and if you drop that down to 12 holes there is no guarantee that the same clowns will not take 3 hours to play them.
Well said Ed. Those same clowns are now busy tying up the sales staff at your favourite golf retail outlet trying to understand how the new groove rules will effect them.
Hi Ed:
Thank you for taking the time to comment. I can assure you that Derrydale will do its best to keep play moving within a reasonable time-frame. The new design should allow for smooth play. As others have commented to us, even at 3 hours, that sure beats a 5-hour round. Winter well.
Kudos to Derrydale as they celebrate their 40th. I played my first round of golf there with my father many years ago.
Canada has an abundance of quality golf courses and is home to about a half dozen 12 hole facilities. Fox Run (http://www.foxrungolfcentre.com/scorecard.php) in Ajax is closest to Derrydale, but there are several more in Quebec and Eastern Canada. There is also a 11-hole course in the Niagara region (http://www.heritagewoodsgc.ca/course.php )
Hi Terry:
Many of us at Derrydale know your father well. A great guy. Thanks for your encouraging words. Hope to see you both out there in 2010.
Hi Dave, my pleasure and I hope to see you this summer. As for my dad, I’ll try to keep him away – your greens crew will appreciate it!
Great news about Derrydale. My wife and I play twilight at a course near us and often quit after 14 holes as you pass right by the parking lot. For my wife 18 holes is often too much. We’ll try Derrydale out, I may break 70!!
Thanks Mark. You and your wife are the type of golfers Derrydale is trying to appeal to with its 12-hole design. Until you get to play it, winter well.
6 and 12 hole loops are the future in attracting more people to the game. Check out Prestwick 12 Golf.
It will be a great success.
I think you’re right Terry. I’ll check out Prestwick 12 Golf