Dundarave is bleeding Red ink...

It was very interesting reading this article where the author compares Dundarave to Southern Dunes a course in Florida that I have played a few times. The author also notes that one of the big differences is that Southern Dunes is surrounded by homes but there are also two other major differences; there are people playing this course and they actually sell memberships both of which are obviously loss on the folks at Golf Links. You would think that with no one playing Dundarave that someone would have enough sense to look at the concept of memberships something that over 90% of the industry use to survive, but what the hell it's only taxpayers money. I will say it over and over, it's time for Government to get out of the golf business. The Binns Government should never have bought this course back from the previous owners and I suspect they would never fetch more than 1/2 of what they paid for it.
With red-sand bunkers and the Brudenell River, Dundarave Golf Course is a rave on Canada's PEI
By Tim McDonald, National Golf Editor
WorldGolf.com
Dundarave Golf Course at the Rodd Brudenell River Resort doesn't have the sea views of some golf courses on Prince Edward Island, but it more than makes up for it with other strengths.
BRUDENELL, Prince Edward Island - Prince Edward Island is a piece of natural, volcanic art that sits atop a bedrock canvas of soft sandstone.
The bedrock produces a fertile soil high in iron oxide - a fancy way of saying "rust" - which is why it's so strikingly red. You see this red as you drive all over the island, contrasted so nicely with the green fields.
You'll also see a ton of it in the 120 bunkers at Dundarave Golf Course. Only in this case, the contrast is even more dramatic because of the velvety smooth, lush green fairways.
Dundarave is reminiscent of another golf course at the opposite end of the continent, Southern Dunes Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Fla. Southern Dunes has 180 red-sand bunkers, the difference being that they had to ship in the sand. Here on the island, all you have to do is dig for it. Also, Southern Dunes is surrounded by homes, whereas Dundarave is blissfully free of manmade structures. You won't find yourself cursing the bunkers at Dundarave - much - because they're such an integral part of the course, defining both strategy and the overall aesthetic. "He must have been good out of the bunkers," Intern Denver MacLeod said of the architect. Actually, there were two designers, Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry.
And whereas the Steve Smyers-designed Southern Dunes is pretty much old-school, Hurdzan and Fry drew up a blend of the traditional and modern.
The bunkering throughout the course is interesting, but there's more to the course than red sand. The fairways are wide and inviting, bordered by pines, fir and beech trees, and the architects slyly used the Brundenell River that slithers through the terrain and is frequently in view.
Dundarave doesn't have the sea views other island courses do. It's a parkland course located in a pristine area close to a provincial park.
Once you get into the course and away from the resort, you enter some deep, Canadian woods with only the cries of wild, island birds. The routing takes you into some silent, isolated coves.
Dundarave Golf Course: The verdict
Dundarave opened in 1999 at the Rodd Brudenell River Resort (Tel. 902-652-2332), which has 45 holes of golf overall. Dundarave is considered the more challenging of the resort's two 18-hole courses, the other being Brudenell River Golf Course.
Both courses were in super condition, at least they were in early June, despite a very wet spring.
Dundarave isn't overly long from the back tees at 6,606 yards, but neither is it a pushover with a slope rating of 135.
Every green is guarded by bunkers of some size or shape, and the greens themselves are large and undulating. The greens have large, well-kept surrounds and some false fronts.
The season is May through October, and green fees range from $56-$80. This is an excellent public course, every bit as good as the more expensive Links at Crowbush Cove on the island.
The resort has the Canadian Golf Academy on the grounds.