Formerly known as the Lake Medad Golf and Country Club, Hidden Lake Golf Club opened its doors as a straightforward, albeit enjoyable, 18-hole layout in 1962. Purchased in 1979 by the current ownership, the course was more appropriately renamed the Hidden Lake Golf Club after the lake that inconspicuously flows alongside the finishing holes of what is now referred to as the “Old Course".
Much has changed since 1962 as Hidden Lake Golf Club has expanded into two exceptional, but very distinct, championship courses that cover over 500 acres of picturesque Niagara Escarpment landscape. The atmosphere inside the clubhouse is warm and friendly; the clubhouse caters to both individuals and groups alike.
On the New Course, water comes into play on four holes, but it is the contoured greens that provide the real difference. The New Course is more of a target golf course. You must be constantly thinking about where you want to position yourself for your next shot. Numerous ponds, bunkers and long fescue grasses give the New Course a links-style feel. It measures 6,645 yards.
Get through the first two holes on the New Course in even par and you are off to a marvelous start. Two back-to-back par-4's are as tough as they get, 468 yards and 459 yards from the back tees leave you with a long second shot to have a go at par.
Number seven is the longest hole on the New Course, measuring a daunting 588 yards makes it virtually unreachable in two. This par-5, dogleg left also happens to be the most difficult hole on the course and deservingly so. Off the tee, your drive is straight away. It is from this point on that the hole displays its true character. The likelihood of recording a par hinges on the quality of your second shot. Length and accuracy are required otherwise you will have a clear approach to the wide and shallow green guarded by a small front bunker. Large trees can be found on either side of the green, and it is this that makes this the most difficult approach shot you will hit all day. Good luck on this hole!
The front nine concludes with the signature hole on the golf course. The wind is usually a factor and is frequently against you on this 221-yard, par-3. Your approach is all carry - water guards the front of an undulating green. Extensive mounding lurks to the back of the hole providing the perfect location for three well-placed bunkers, leaving no alternative but to land your ball on the green.
On the back nine of the New Course, water figures in on three holes but nowhere as prominently as on the 509-yard, par-5, 14th hole. For this reason, hole No. 14 is rated the number one stroke hole. Off the tee, an expansive fairway awaits, lined by fescue down the entire right side. Reaching the green in two is possible, however, a large pond flows dangerously close to the front of the green. In addition to the pond, the bunkers and fescue further fortify this downward sloping green.
The 18th hole is a good finishing hole that provides one final, opportunity to record a birdie. The right side of the fairway is home to a nest of nasty little bunkers from which a decent tee shot will get you to the 200 yard marker. Should your tee shot be in the middle or left side of the fairway, there is an opening to the green between bunkers to run one up.
Both courses can be attacked from five different tee positions, offering you as much or as little course as you feel like tackling.