Week 16

The Divine Nine in Brudenell was our choice for this week's course.  This is a short course, only two par 4's and all the rest are par 3's.  Originally established as the Canadian Golf Academy (and thus the "Academy Nine"), it ceased to be that when the Academy moved to Stratford.  It is beside the two 18-hole courses of Brudenell and Dundarave, so it's a really dense concentration of golf all in one spot.  Because there is also the Rodd Brudenell hotel and cabins, a provincial campground, horse rides and the beautiful Brudenell River, it is a tourist mecca.  The Divine Nine is a forgotten little course, which has only one person in the "pro shop" who is answering the phone system for all the Golf PEI course reservations.  That person and whoever mans the three lawn mowers would appear to be the only personnel on site. 

This used to be a wonderful little course and a great place to practice, especially your short game.  There was a great driving range (one of the best on PEI) - and, in fact, it's still there and cut, with target flags out, but there is no possibility of buying a bucket of balls.  If you ask about a range, you are directed to the one at the Brudenell course.  There was a unique "island" practice putting surface, which is now gone, and the former pitch and sand practice facility is now "sort of" the putting practice surface.  A skunk had made quite a bit of damage to it on the morning that we played, as you'll see from the photo.  There are no ball washers, no garbage cans and certainly no cleat scrapers - which was a real shame, as the grass was sticking to our shoes something terrible!  However, the rickshaws were complimentary.

Each hole is marked with a signpost which tells you that you are on Hole No. 1, etc., and gives a name to the hole, but doesn't give you any indication of yardage.  You need to consult the score card for that.  It was very dewy, the morning that we played, and we could easily track our putts and our footprints.  The course was created with no expense spared and the fairways, tees and greens remain in pretty good shape, but the whole area is low and damp and this can sometimes give rise to horrible biting insect problems.  Because the previous several days had been warm and dry (was that summer?) and because we doused ourselves with bug spray, the little critters were not a problem for us.  This is a fun little course to play and gives you a picturesque place to practice your game, if that's what you're looking for.  It is not too challenging and can easily be done in 3 hours for 18 holes.

A good time was had by us, and we hope to see you next week for one of the more challenging and remaining courses,  Jane