Course Review: Holiday Inn Golf Club, by Jeffrey Reed (July 2005)

Copyright 2005 London Ontario Golf

The cozy Holiday Inn Golf Course in Point Edward, bordering Sarnia, has been called one of the prettiest golf courses in Ontario. A Venetian village background and a constant flow of sail boats heading out to Lake Huron make for a picture perfect setting. The course itself is no slouch, either, thanks to undulating greens and demanding fairways. And, it is the spot where Mike Weir played his first game of golf.

The Holiday Inn course has only encountered tighter parking this summer, thanks to a renovation to the adjacent hotel, but otherwise it has been business as usual. A nine-hole layout measuring just 1,399 yards, this track requires pin-point iron accuracy in order to match the seemingly obtainable par 28. The beautiful course is bordered by hundreds of yachts resting at the Bridgeview Marina, and is literally a 300-yard drive from the Bluewater Bridge, and the Point Edward Charity Casino.

Don’t gamble on the Holiday Inn course raising your handicap index. Do bet on playing one of the most enjoyable rounds of your summer when you tackle this track. And, you can tell your friends that you played at the same course where an 8-year-old Mike Weir first took his game to a bonafide golf course. Weir played only about a half-dozen rounds at the club, but it’s where he made his first par – with a driver and two putts!

Only one hole at the Holiday Inn course calls for a wood – No. 2, a par-4 dogleg right measuring 243 yards. The tricky green is bordered on the right by a pond, and there is out-of-bounds on the left and behind the green. Like all holes, this one requires your most accurate game. The scene from holes No. 3 and No. 4 is most breathtaking, with hundreds of vessels along the marina. Heavily treed, this course hosts surprisingly quick greens. No. 9 measures 135 yards and features one of the most narrow fairways you will ever face. An errant tee shot will land you on the restaurant patio or in the pool of the Holiday Inn.

The busy hotel at the Canada-U.S. border opened on July 1, 1971. Exactly one year later, the par-3 executive course opened for business, under owner (and builder) Ron Andrews. Like current owners Gord and Michelle Nimmo, Andrews leased the land from the Holiday Inn. Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Robbie Robinson designed the course. An apprentice with Canada’s most renowned golf course architect, Stanley Thompson, Robinson was involved in building several of Canada’s signature courses, including Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia. His own designs include Credit Valley, Ontario. Robinson died in 1989. Andrews operated the golf course until the Nimmo family purchased it after the 1996 season.

The Holiday Inn Golf Club is not the toughest track around, but it’s provides you with one of the most scenic and enjoyable rounds you’ll enjoy during the golf season. And, it’s where Weir first honed his skills. Every avid Canadian golfer should play this course at least once in their lifetime.

Holiday Inn GC
Point Edward, Ont.
519-336-4111
Green Fees:
Weekdays: 9 holes, $13; 18 holes, $18. Weekends: 9 holes, $14; 18 holes, $19.