27 holes in a large, densely wooded acre have been cleared out nicely and offer a helluva good time. Navigation is fairly simple for the most part despite the high trafficked paths leading off in several directions. It can be a bit disorienting upon entry but after the first two or three holes you are home.
Natural tees make perfect sense in this environment, as the course seems to be growing out of the woods themselves. Don't forget to say hi to the Polar Bear Tree, another perfect example of nature's influence here.
There were a few benches and trash cans about, but not nearly as many as I was expecting after being greeted and given a tour by the course pro.
Waterworks is extremely technical and tomahawks are your friend on 75-80% of your drives. While this can become a little monotonous at least skill is required for most shots instead of just blind luck.
I have to give a hats-off to the bonus nine up in the hills. There are some truly epic drop offs here and a great risk/reward tilt on every shot, even your putts. Roll aways will most certainly kill but the prospect of an ace exists on almost every one of these holes. There is also a lone shot outside of the woods next to a soccer field, allowing you to open up your arm a bit before the final push. Last shot is a downhill ace run and honestly, just throw your putter. Fantastic round all together!

As I mentioned above, managing the first two or three holes is a bit of a pain until you get your bearings, but compared to what's offered here this is a minor if not insignificant.
Not much distance is available, but I think that's just a by-product of playing to the strength of the terrain. Bombs would seem well out of place underneath this canopy.

Met the course pro and his buddy when we played last weekend, and it's clear the amount of care they have put into this puppy over the last 15 years. The ambiance is superb and unlike any other course in the area. I highly recommend playing Waterworks whether you are in the area or not. This course along with V.A. Barrie definitely make for a destination day in Ontario!

Crazy design in the middle of the woods
cleared out very nice
27 holes, you can play the hills or stay down
2 teepads for each hole
nice and shady in the summer
hard to lose your disc
still work being done- great work out there guys keep it up

very muddy early in the season
lots of bugs in the summer
lots of trees so you can get a high score no matter how good you are
hole #7 has a water hazard early in the season

this course is very creative and soooo fun to play. Lots of ace chances and you'll want to play another round when your finished. There is still work being done and I am excitied to see what the course will look like when its finished. I gave it a 4 and I am anticipating a 5 when it's done. Again keep up the great work Stocky.

This is a brilliantly laid out short technical course.
There isn't much room for error on approach shots, due to the number of trees in the way, but the closeness of the pin will make for tons of birdie chances if you have good control.
Strategy and execution will reward you instead of power.
I love the downhill holes that you can overshoot by a mile if you let your disc fade away from the pins to the right. You may find yourself muttering "hit something" when your disc won't stop in time.(Yeah, this is a Pro, not a Con)

There are new signs attached to trees by each basket that point the way to the next tees.
All the tees, short and long, have wooden posts by them that display the tee # and distance to pin.

Well maintained course.

I was there on a Saturday afternoon and it was understandably busy.
Be prepared to wait for the next tees to clear before you throw on some holes.
I like to run up a little on my tee offs and the concrete pads are very short but luckily it's a short course.
A sign by the first tee would make it easier to find the course. I parked at Lockes School and walked through the baseball diamonds, towards the tree line, with the soccer fields to my right to get there.

It's very important to print the map on the Links/Files page, without it the course would be trickier to navigate.
Going up and down the hills made for a great workout.
I had a lot of putts bounce off and out of the chains that hit dead center, is it just me or is it the baskets here?
There's a nice park just past the course, at the end of S. Edgware Rd, also called Waterworks that is a good spot for a BBQ break.
I didn't play 19-27 so I can't comment on the new holes.
If I lived closer I'm sure I'd become a regular here.

Sick course, great technical heavy wooded course. Its great not thick undergroth the guys who maintain this course do fine work.

Not much bad about it, step up your technical skill here.

Work a trip to play.

Decent baskets.
Well maintained.
Good flow.
Excellent wind protection. I played on a windy day and only one of the holes is really affected by any wind.
Good sun and/or rain protection.
Short technical course, sometimes very technical.
Nice teepads. They are old concrete pads. I thought they were great. They provided excellent footing, but have a cool 'rustic' feel and look to them. They were a little short, but get the job done nicely, especially since this course isn't especially long. (I saw the other reviewer mention that they weren't so good. They didn't take away from the course at all to me, I really liked them.)
Lost of variety. Tonnes of elevation change, some massive.
Many Birdie and Ace opportunities.

There is an absolute TON of work going on in this course, they are adding another nine holes!! Yep, it will be a full 27 hole course. In fact, the third set of 9 holes is in and playable. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the holes are all laid out, the baskets are in, the tees are marked, and they are a very different feel than the original 18. Personally, I don't think they are ready for anyone who doesn't already know the course really well, but they are worth a look if you have EXTRA time. Otherwise, stick to the original holes until the new ones are finished.

The original 18 holes are fantastic. Up hill shots, downhill shots, open shots, short technical shots, tunnel shots and doglegs. There is good amount of walking due to the continuous elevation change, but don't let it scare you. It is very well laid out with very little walking between the holes. Many of these holes are amazing, especially the massive downhill tunnel shot; wide from the short, narrow from the long. The winding uphill shot... damn, I really liked this course.

The new 9 holes will be great too once they are finished. They are a different style than the original 18, but still technically demanding. I will update this review when I hear of them being completed, though I am not from the area.

You'll have to be consistent to score a good round, most advanced players will score well under par. I shot a 55 my first time on the course (after missing a slew of putts).

On the whole, a great, challenging, and enjoyable course. It isn't intimidating to newer players, and certainly not boring to advanced players.

The signage is seriously lacking. The course is unfortunately not very "first time on the course" friendly. But if you aren't in a hurry, and know a little about the course before you start your first round, it's really not that bad at all. Hopefully, this review can help you a little.

What is the most confusing about this course is that most people start on hole #5 without actually knowing it.

What I mean is this: there is a parking lot at the bottom of Dalewood drive next to the river where most (but not all) regulars park their cars, a short path into the course to a small clubhouse that sits between the #4 basket and the #5 short tee (a really cool place to hang out). So, most locals refer to #5 as "#1" (#6 as "#2", #7 as "#3"... #18 as "#14", etc) and play the course that way, but maps you find online do not reflect this colloquial way of looking at the course. So, asking a local for advice could throw you for a loop if you don't know all this going in. There are no signs to indicate hole or basket #'s, so the maps could end up simply confusing you.
Also, the new 9 holes are between #12/"#8" and #13/"#9"... if you play those, you should really just ignore the hole #'s and take your time after each basket and find the next tee pad (which isn't always perfectly intuitive, but definitely possible) just be sure you have plenty of time your first time on the course.

There really aren't any holes that push your distance. On the other hand, there are plenty of birdie opportunities, and scores can vary greatly. It can be a great course to "battle for the tee-box", as each hole can score from a laid-up bird to a double bogie depending on which trees you do or don't hit, or if you overthrow a drive while playing along the side of a steep slope.

If a player is looking for a chance to throw some bombs, this probably isn't the course. Also, if your long game is your strength, you might find this course tough, or even frustrating. Its technical.

There really needs to be an updated map, and even a little signage would really help first time or visiting players. A small "next tee" with an arrow tied to each basket could really help first time players on the course.

The baskets were in fine working order, but they weren't all the exact same. Some basket-snobs might not like that.

The rough can be really unforgiving to your score. It's not always all that tough to get out of, but can still add a stroke here or there if you're not playing carefully/conservatively.

It's one big 18/27 hole loop, not two sets of 9's. Bring water, and maybe even a snack. You won't be anywhere near your car until you're finished your round.

This course can get crowded with other golfers, but they are all super-friendly, and will likely invite you to join them. Be prepared for large groups who aren't in a hurry, but will likely be happy to let you play through.

I saw the first review before I played this course, and I understand why he gave it a 3/5. His review was really helpful to me, but nearly scared me from what I now think is an awesome course (one of my favourites). Mentioning that he missed two holes helped also, because I kept an eye out to make sure I didn't make the same mistake. After playing the course, I believe he missed #4 and #7(map) [or #3, and #18 (locals)]. Visiting golfers should watch for these tees.

Based on the playability of this course, I would rate it 4.5/5. Including the navigation troubles, I would score it a 3.5/5, which is why I scored it the way that I did, even though I think this course rocks.

There are two courses in St. Thomas that are close together: VA Barrie Park, and Waterworks. Personally, I like the Waterworks course much better. They are very different courses, nearly polar opposites. VA Barrie Park is long and open, Waterworks is tight and technical. I suppose it is really a matter of choice, but be sure to check out my review of VA Barrie Park also, it is far easier to navigate, and offers a very different set of attractions. If you don't have much time, VA Barrie is probably the better option.