Highlands Links

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

I sent this picture to Jeff Mingay today, but I thought I would post it for everyone here too.  A different perspective of the course.

[John Morrissett]

Thanks -- great picture as it really shows the different parts of the course (near the water, in the hills, etc.).

I'm curious -- what are everyone's favorite holes there?

I will say 2,4,7,and 15.

[Jeff_Mingay]

This is a perspective of the course I had not seen before.

At bottom left is the long par 4 second hole, bending to the right. The par 3 third plays over the watery inlet there.

The short par 4 fourth heads up toward the top of the photo, and following is the par 3 fifth headed in the same direction.

It's then the par 5 sixth, bending around the water, and we lose the course... until it returns to the photo with the 15th green in the centre. (You can kinda see the start of the 14th fairway as well.)

See the church there? The white building to the left of the 15th green. You walk past it and cross a road to get to the tee at the short par 5 sixteenth, which is the last fairway in the photo cutting out at left on top of the 2nd.  

This really is a fantastic perspective.

As for my favoutite holes at Highlands Links? Off the top of my head: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 15, 16, 17, 18.

[Ben C. Dewar]

2, 4, 7, 15, 16, 18.

Nothing revolutionary there, but I really like the whole course.  I am not down on many holes out there, I may be one of the few who do not find 12 weak.

It is a great view of the course.

[CHrisB]

When I look back on it, I can't believe I actually made the 1500 mile drive to Cape Breton Highlands National Park from N.C. a few years back (also played St. Andrews and Digby Pines on the trip); my wife and I were "winging it" at the time and we drove all over Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

The holes that still stand out in my mind are the strong 2nd, the short par-4 4th, the par-3 5th, of course the par-5 7th, (the walk from the 12th to the 13th,) the par-5 15th with the church backdrop, and the uphill par-5 16th.  Loved the undulating fairways of many of the holes.

On the 4th hole we saw a fox in the landing area.  I hit my tee shot on the lower level of the fairway, on the other side of a hill from the fox.  Since he couldn't find my ball, he went up to the green to await my approach shot.  When the ball landed on the green, he picked it up and ducked down the hill toward the lagoon.  My wife gave chase but couldn't see where he went...  That fox was smart enough to know where the shots would land.  Hadn't seen that before!

[Jeff_Mingay]

Glad I've found a few more fun-loving golfers who also like the 16th. It's one of my favourite holes anywhere... but I've found very few who'll agree.

I don't think the 12th is weak either, Ben. How could any 240 yard par 3 be considered "weak"?!

For those who've not been to Highlands Links, the 12th is way down in a river valley on the flattest portion of the golf course. I presume the tee and green are on -- if not very near -- the same grade, 240 yards apart.

There are no bunkers at the 12th, and the green is relatively flat, and low-lying. It's a simple hole, but it's still a 240 yard shot (!) that requires great skill.

The variety Thompson ALWAYS designed into his par 3 holes was exceptional. And he ALWAYS included one 230 yards PLUS... more often 240 yards (remember, this is back in the 1920s and '30s).

In the old days, the area immediately in front of the tee at Highlands Links' 12th hole was a sandy, scrubby -- Pine Valley-esque -- wasteland that added greatly to the aesthetic appeal of the hole. I think they had some major problems with run-off and erosion in that area throughout the years; which is why it's not maintained today.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I was just thinking about all of the great LONG par 3s (230 yards +) in Thompson's portfolio. In Canada, from west to east:

The 16th @ Capilano

The 4th and 9th @ Jasper

The original 17th @ Banff (and also the original 10th, which plays about 210 yards or so, max.)

The 8th @ St. George's

And the 12th at Highlands Links (!)

ALL of Thompson's par 3s -- long and short -- are outstanding. Like Harry Colt, he routed his courses by first identifying the best natural sites for one-shotters and worked the rest of the layout around those locations.

"The Bad Baby" at Jasper might be my favourite. It's just a little pitch shot, maybe 130 yards, to a tiny, tiny green set on a diagonal ridge in Redan-like fashion, with steep drop-offs and two bunkers (one front left and another back right) surrounding.

It very well might be Canada's "2 or 20" hole  

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

Jeff,
Two things strike me, one the Uplands 8th is so great, you should play there Monday, only nine holes.  230, downhin to a very tight green with falloff front and left.

Also Cataraqui in Kingston has two, one that is the second hole, 220, impossible green, great hole.

The 15th is the other I think it is also about 220 (can't remember the exact yardage) plays up the up the hill with a large falloff on the right.  I have never seen so many good players take big numbers.

Three more to add to the list of great long holes.  I have not seen Capilano, but I agree with you, loved Jaspers, the current tenth (old 14th??) is a great long one.

[Matthew MacKay]

Other Thompson examples might be the downhill 12th along the Trent Canal at Peterborough G & CC and the 225 yard uphill 6th at Kawartha G & CC.  Kawartha is a bit of a gem that will hold next years Ontario Mid-Am and has a collection of five par 3's that will determine the champion, no doubt.  The brutish par 3's at Whirlpool are also vintage Stanley Thompson.  

[T_MacWood]

One of my most memorable golfing adventures. There are several outstanding holes, but #7 and #15 (both par-5s) are my favorites. Both feature the use of unique natural land formations -- I've never seen anything quite like it. Thompson obviously got a hold of a very good batch of whisky. Ironically I also played the course with my wife -- in fact it is the only golf course she has ever been on, she thinks all golf courses look like this.

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

Tom,
If you wife believes that all golf courses are like that, why has she not accompanied you more?  Just as well, becuase I have not seen many that live up to this.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I toured St. George's (Toronto) again this afternoon with Jim Barclay. What a golf course it is! A brilliant routing over an equally outstanding property.

Still, I think Highlands Links is better...