Circled Pine is a championship length, 18-hole golf course located at Canadian Forces Base Borden (CFB Borden). Since 1954, the course has been home to the Borden Golf Club. I was aware of the course, but had never visited or played there. Besides being somewhat out of the way, at least from Toronto, I had the impression that it was a fairly ordinary course. The fact that it's part of a military base probably had something to do with my perception.
Putting that aside, I headed there for an afternoon round on a hot June day. I had a power cart, which is a good idea for me when the temperature creeps up into the thirties (Celsius). I played the entire round by myself, which was nice. There were people ahead of me, but none really in behind, so I just took my time and tried to enjoy the day.
The first nine holes cut through thick forest, in a single loop that takes you back to the clubhouse. It's nice that you're not playing next to adjacent fairways, but that may be the only redeeming design element. With the exception of #2 and #8, the holes are dead straight. They're also quite flat. I say “quite” because some of the fairways have an annoying rippled surface. Driving over them in a cart was like skiing a moguls run. Hole #7, a par-3 over some water, is the first hole I encountered with some genuine visual interest.
As basic as the front nine is, I didn't score well. The holes look so straight and open that they encourage you to play long shots. This is especially true on the par-5 holes. On hole #4, my drive found a fairway bunker. I played pitching wedge next, in order to clear the lip. Unfortunately, this left me with 200 yards to the green for my third. I didn't hesitate to hit a 3-iron because there was so much room. I flared a high shot to the right, directly into the forest. The resulting penalty stroke led to a triple-bogey.
On hole #6, another par-5, I hit a perfect drive to the left side of the fairway. I had about 225 yards to the green and I decided to go for it with the 3-wood. Now, I almost never use the 3-wood, because my control with it isn't great. Occasionally, I employ the 5-wood, but never the 3. However, there appeared to be so much bloody room that I thought I would be OK even if I miss hit slightly. Well, I flared a high one to the right, once again finding the forest. Another penalty stroke, along with some questionable short game shots led to triple-bogey. Despite the triples, there was also a trio of pars, which limited my front nine score to 49.
The back nine at Borden was more interesting, I thought. It begins with a short par-4, just 309 yards from the white tees. A creek bisects the fairway, with trees pinching in on both sides near the water. Ideally, you want to carry the creek with your drive, leaving an uphill wedge shot into the green. A group of men was silent on the nearby patio as I set up to shoot. As soon as I made contact, however, they erupted in a great roar. It wasn't a roar of congratulations – my ball disappeared behind the trees on the right, and I don't think they even saw it. It was more like the kind of roar you let out at the rodeo when a bull rider gets tossed.
The men quickly advised me to hit another one. I took this to mean my original ball was probably lost, so I teed up another. This time, there was no silence. They had probably downed quite a few beers, I'm sure. A barrage of suggestions ensued. Aim further left. Swing harder. Switch to a regular shaft. Move the change from my right pocket to my left. You get the picture. Blocking out the hecklers, I took my swing. The ball was dead straight, but came out low, taking a bounce or two before plunking into the creek bed. I fished that one out, before finding my original ball on the right side, 60 yards from the green. My pitch shot went a little long into a greenside bunker. I got out with a single shot, but being short sided, I was well away from the hole. A 3-putt resulted in double-bogey.
Following this, I had a stretch of good holes, including pars on holes #12 and #14. Hole #12 is a straight par-5, though there are some elevation changes. I hit driver, 3-iron to the middle of the fairway, 20 yards from the green. My pitch was long, as I wanted no part of two bunkers fronting the green, but I managed an easy 2-putt to finish.
Unfortunately, the wild shots reappeared on the final par-5 of the day. Hole #16 is cut through forest like many of the others, but this one doglegs to the left. It still looked like there was plenty of room to let loose. Well, my drive flared ever so slightly to the right, into the forest once again. Penalty stroke. Later on, I had a go with the 3-iron and the result was the same high flare into the trees. I collected my second penalty stroke on the hole and ended up with yet another triple-bogey.
You could play this game a million times and there is always another lesson to learn. The expansive holes at Borden lulled me into a false sense of security. They encouraged me to go long, when shorter shots would ultimately have proven more effective. I'm not sure if I'll go back to the course any time soon, but if I do, I'll know better.
Score: 98
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 6
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