[Philippe Binette]

Hi,

The Titleist Cup, a team match play event between Quebec PGA and Ontario PGA will be held on October 2nd and 3rd. It's a good occasion to go out and walk Mount Bruno Golf Club, an extra exclusive Willie Park design course 20 minutes from downtown Montreal.

The course features a great set of greens and a solid routing, and a lot of subtleties that can only be appreciated when seeing balls reacting. Hope the weather will keep the course fast.

See you out there...

Really google map this one because there is no signs whatsoever.

[John Kavanaugh]

I'm impressed that Canadians would schedule a tournament during October.  Is this because the PGA members will find it easy to take the time off this late in the season or is it common to expect to play that late in the year.  What is a typical layman cut off date for scheduled golf in Canada?  The Southern Illinois benchmarks are Easter to Thanksgiving.

[Yannick Pilon]

Just played the course last week-end and it was in terrific shape.

The greens are certainly some of, if not, the best in Quebec, by far.  In fact, I haven't seen greens this good since I have seen Cape Arundel's greens by Travis earlier this summer.  2, 7, 11, 15 and 16 are particularly interesting....

I was not that impressed with the routing, as opposed to Philippe, and thought that it's only when you reach the ninth hole that course really gets going. But it gets going until the end....  The front nine was a bit too "back and forth" and "up and down the hill" for my taste, but still very good.

One note: a couple of years ago, I quickly toured the place with the super.  Just before we went on the course, he kindly asked me to put my camera back in my car because he said the members did not want visitors taking pictures of the course to retain its privacy.  I don't know if that rule will still be in effect during a tournament, but I would sure bring my camera if I thought of going to see that tournament, just in case....

Chances to see this place don't come around very often, and i would be nice to bring back pictures to remind you what a great course it is.

YP

[Philippe Binette]

Just a note too if you guys show up...

the superb clubhouse is called the shack...

since it was supposed to be a temporary clubhouse prior to the construction of the real one by the 14th tee.

The depression of 1929 took care of that grandiose project

[Philippe Binette]

I'm the biggest fan of October golf...

The season in Montreal starts a week or two after the Masters and normally ends around November 1st for private clubs, but my home course is open till snow shows up.

You can have a lot of fun by november 15th with a sunny 6 to 9 Celsius

[Matt Kardash]

I'm impressed that Canadians would schedule a tournament during October.  Is this because the PGA members will find it easy to take the time off this late in the season or is it common to expect to play that late in the year.  What is a typical layman cut off date for scheduled golf in Canada?  The Southern Illinois benchmarks are Easter to Thanksgiving.

John, early Novemeber is when people generally put the clubs away for good here in Montreal. Also, it was almost 80 degrees today! So, a tournament in early October should be pleasant during the day.

[Will MacEwen]

I'm impressed that Canadians would schedule a tournament during October.  Is this because the PGA members will find it easy to take the time off this late in the season or is it common to expect to play that late in the year.  What is a typical layman cut off date for scheduled golf in Canada?  The Southern Illinois benchmarks are Easter to Thanksgiving.

In Eastern Canada, golf probably stops sometime in late October/early November.  The toughest thing becomes frost in the morning and short days, even if the weather is still pretty nice.

On the West Coast, we play pretty much year round, although last year we lost about 40 days to snow/freezing. 

[TEPaul]

I'm going to be at Royal Montreal G.C. for the Lesley Cup October 1-4 so the weather better hold out. I smoke a lot and if it's too cold my pinkies get white. The last time we played the Lesley Cup in Canada it was at Mt Bruno and the weather was just fine. Your not kidding finding Mt. Bruno is tough. It's at the end of some completely unprepossessing cul-de-sac with no sign at all.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Are pictures allowed? Would love to see some.

Also, on the off chance anyone reading this is a member, would he mind helping find a Mackenzie reference in the logs? Mt Bruno was a stop for the senior British golfers society on their cross-Canada tour.

Mark

[Philippe Binette]

I've got a couple of pictures of the course... walking it at 6h30 am you can be by yourself enough to sneak in some pics.

Problem is: I suspect people would find the course just OK from the pics, there's nothing impressive on the bunkering, green contours are hard to photograph, the course plays so much better than it looks.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Philippe mon frere de GCA would it help if we promised to read your comments?

[KBanks]

I had the good fortune of playing Mount Bruno on a trip to Montreal a few weeks ago. I also played Beaconsfield, another Willie Park course, and a really good one, for which Stanley Thompson gets primary design credit for the current iteration. Bruno, however, is quite special. I agree that its low profile greatness might not translate via pictures. The greens are outstanding as a set. The clubhouse and its environs are a delight.

Great call by Ran to add it to the next fifty.

I expect the fall colors on the mountainside will be coming out in time for the tournament.

Ken

[Neil_Crafter]

I second Mark's request. Pretty please!

It seems Mackenzie visited the Club subsequent to his play there in the British Seniors team to give them advice but the club did not take it up apparently - this is referenced in an article in The American Golfer and also Spirit of St Andrews. This is the little we know:

Not listed by DSH, Hawtree or C&W. Mackenzie is likely referring to Mount Bruno when he writes in "Problems in Remodelling Courses " (The American Golfer May 1933), "I had a somewhat similar case in Montreal. The greens committee accepted plans for the reconstruction, but the directors, fearing that we should make the course too difficult, over-ruled their decision. They little appreciated that the plan would have eliminated more than half of their penal hazards and have made the course infinitely more interesting and enjoyable." In "Spirit of St Andrews", p56, Mackenzie adds, "I recently visited a course in Montreal, a magnificent piece of golfing country with beautiful surroundings called Mount Bruno. I had seen it the previous year when I played there with the British Senior Golfers team. In the interim they had constructed a new bunker a long way off the line on the right of the fairway. I asked them what it was for and they said "to punish a bad slice." I remarked "Good Lord, if a man slices as badly as that you should be sorry for him." Mackenzie played at Mount Bruno in August 1928 so this would place his inspection visit in 1929. It is not know what if any work he did at Mount Bruno.

If someone (Philippe?) could at least find out if there is a club historian or archivist we could contact (with an email address) that would be an excellent starting point for us. Thanks, and enjoy the day.

Neil

[Yannick Pilon]

Neil,

I will contact the member who invited me there and ask if he can help in any way.

YP

[Neil_Crafter]

Yannick
That would be brilliant if you could ask him if he could help out with this.
Appreciate it.
Neil

[TEPaul]

I would love to know something more about that green on the long par 3, what is it, #15? I don't believe I've seen anything like that anywhere else. I wish I could've spent a half hour just putting balls from one side of it to the other just to see what happens.

[Willie_Dow]

Both Mount Bruno and Beaconsfield had the most memorable par threes for a one time around of play of any in my estimation.

Why is that ?  Or am I off the mark, once again ?

[Peter Pallotta]

Mark, Neil et al

What was it that Mackenzie (or others) wanted to change?

I ask because I looked up the course, and found this from around the time of Park's death:

"In Canada, the one course that I believe Willie considered his best and I know the one he liked the best was the Mount Bruno Country Club, near Montreal, Quebec. This course he planned, designed and constructed under his personal supervision and it was selected
for the Canadian Open Championship in 1922...."

Peter

[Robert Thompson]

I have a number of photos posted here: http://www.ontgolf.ca/g4g/2007/12/10/course-review-subtle-mount-bruno/

I have more, but previous posters are correct -- the club ain't keen on having photos out there, though I think it is a ridiculous notion.

[Matt Kardash]

I wish I could play this course....and I even live in Montreal!

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