I’ve long championed nine-hole golf courses or golf courses actually offering nine-hole rates as a solution to the game’s time crunch. And TravelGolf.com’s readers respond by flooding us with comments about how they love a good nine-hole track too. And then, nobody plays the nine-hole courses that are out there.

Well, I’ve found one nine-hole courses that actually has packed tee sheets and deserves them.

It’s Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club in the greater Niagara Falls, Canada region. This course dates back to 1875 (yes, it’s the one thing I know older than TravelGolf.com’s own Tim McDonald) and it claims to be the oldest golf course in North America (Royal Montreal has a real argument with that).

There’s even an old fort on site. One you used to be able to send golf balls caroming off of in using it like the sides of a pool table and playing the bank shot, until historical societies and the Canadian government stepped in.

Niagara-on-the-Lake isn’t a great play because of its history though. It’s just an ultra fun course full of real characters who all seem to know each. No hole is longer than 515 yards, but there a plenty of doglegs around big trees and interesting shots to the green.

In fact, this $20 nine-hole course is 10 times more enjoyable than PGA Championship near-leader John Daly’s vastly overhyped Thundering Waters design in Niagara Falls. Plus, it’s in a Canadian town right on Lake Ontario that seems to be lifted straight from the 1950s.

For full reviews of Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club and Thundering Waters, stay tuned to TravelGolf.com. For a story on the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and using it as a golf base, keep an eye on WorldGolf.com.

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