Ironwood Golf Club is located just outside of Exeter Ontario, about halfway between London and Grand Bend and is a great course to play for golfers of all skill levels.  I have played the course since the early 80s, and back then it was only a 9-hole course built on an old farm.  In the late 80s they added a second 9 to make the current course.

Ironwood is usually in great shape, with quick but not too fast greens, nice fairways, and very playable rough.  The only complaint for course conditions would be some inconsistent sand in the traps.

The course has a couple of streams that cut across a number of the holes, even though it doesn’t come into play for the most part.  Some holes will require you to hit a good drive to clear the stream and make the fairway, while others force you to lay up short and have longer approach shots.

A number of the greens are very deep.  Approach shots on holes 1, 4, 5, 7, 14, 15, 16, and 17 can change by as much as two or three clubs depending on whether the pin is in the front or the back.

The 2nd hole is probably the hardest on the course, where you should lay back short of the stream off of the tee, but then have to hit into a severely sloped green that is angled from the fairway.  Do not go long on this hole or you can easily chip off of the front of the green.

Be sure to make up strokes on the par-5s, and they are relatively short, as the par-3s generally play tough with their narrow and long greens.

Playing a round at Ironwood is a great way to spend a morning before going to the beach in Grand Bend.  It’s a great course for a low stress round, and be sure to enjoy a good burger or footlong hotdog in the clubhouse.

Golf in Kuwait
By Megan McGlynn and Mark Hardeman
from 2003 

In the fairway

I thought I would let anyone out there who is contemplating a golf vacation this winter in on the wonders of the Kuwaiti golf scene.  Although often overlooked in many of the leading golf publications, Kuwait golf is alive and kicking.  The golf courses here offer golfers a unique experience, and leave participants with tremendous stories to tell their fellow duffers.  We chose to begin our golfing adventures in Kuwait at the Ahmadi Golf and Country Club which has hosted the prestigious Kuwaiti Open 3 of the last 4 years.  The highlights of the Kuwaiti golf experience can be outlined in the following categories.

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Osprey Valley (Heathlands)
Review by Drew Sinden
(originally submitted in 2003)

I have played this traditional links style course 5 times and every time I go I like it more and more.  This is the closest course I have seen in Ontario to what I experienced in Scotland.

Since I last played there, they have added 36 more holes, and to everyone’s account that I have spoken to, they are as impressive as the original 18.  I plan to try them out this summer.

You start out on the actual third hole since the site for the clubhouse had not been erected.  This starting point is closest in proximity to the parking lot and drive shed; I haven’t yet heard whether they have developed something more permanent for their 19th hole.  A gentle dog-let opening par 4 calling for a well-placed tee shot of about 235 yards, a water ditch down the left and a row of bunkers right call for accuracy, not length.  The narrow green sits above you and is guarded by mounds.  Miss right and you could be in big trouble.

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