John,
Robert hit the nail on the head, due to the flattish land, the golf course can only be so good - not great. Pine Ridge and Elmhurst (next door neighbours and Ross designs) both cover much more inspired terrain in the sandy terrain north of the city.
Regardless, St. Charles is a good golf course, and has a really peaceful atmosphere. The architecture was compromised when numerous changes were made to the course to coax the Senior PGA Tour to hold their Canadian event at the club. It worked, however, the seniors did not play from the newly established back tees which forever altered a short, driveable two-shotter on the Mackenzie nine. Mike DeVries has been consulting there for a number of years, and to date has restored about half of the holes over the Mackenzie nine, by re-establishing the Mackenzie bunker look, clearing some trees to restore proper playing corridors and enlarging the greens to their original dimensions. The work has been an improvement, and hopefully in will continue in this vain as Mike DeVries completes the Mackenzie nine, and begins to tackle the Ross nine.
The west nine has a modern feel, inspired by a couple of large lakes, which clashes with the golden age atmosphere of the rest of the property. However, the architecture of this nine should not be entirely dismissed, with No. 3, 4 and 5 providing more interesting golf.
TK