[don_bartlett]

At the recommendation of Mark Saltzman, I am posting a photo tour of St George's Golf and Country Club from last week. 

For those who haven't played the course, it is one of the crown jewels of Canadian architecture, and ranks in the top 3 year after year.  It's a Stanley Thompson design, with an Ian Andrew bunker restoration (Ian's team knocked this out of the park....)
This is one special piece of property on the outskirts of Toronto, and you would be hard pressed to hear any traffic noise while on the course.  The course has some dramatic land undulations, and subtle elevation changes which rarely gives you a flat lie (a Stanley MO)...  The bunkering on the course is what I feel separates it from the other top courses it competes against (Hamilton, National, etc....)  The fairway bunkers are positioned precisely on each the inside and outside of doglegs making you either challenge the bunkers, or shape shots to avoid them.  If you are unable to avoid them, you are usually going out sideways or simply advancing the ball.  Greenside bunkering is in abundance and like the fairways, they typically cover front and each side...  This takes the ground game away, but with the amount of elevation and undulation, the course isn't really set up for the ground game (except for the greens...).  The green sites are generally large with a great deal of undulation and movement.  It's because of this that they typically keep the green speeds to around 11 maybe 12...  Personally one of my favorite courses to play.  Enjoy the pics!




#1 Tee shot

#1 greensite

Looking back down #1 fairway

#2

Looking back to #2 tee

#3 - a great par 3...

View of 3 green from top of hill

#4 - One of my favorite par 5's

2nd shot on #4

#4 green

#5

#5 green

#6

#7

#8 - tough par 3 depending on where pin is cut..

#9 - long and tough par 5

Second shot on #9

#11 - Great shaping to this medium par 5... 

2nd, or 3rd shot into 11 green

#12 Short par 4 - placement is key off the tee...

12 green

#13 - longish par 3 over a little river...

#14 - great par 4 with a difficult 2nd shot into the narrow green

#14 green

#15 - Long par 5

#15 second shot...

#15 3rd shot to green

#17 Tee Shot

#17 - LONG par 4 - very difficult off the tee with great bunkering...

17th approach shot

17 green

18th tee shot

18th fairway - what a great clubhouse. 

[Matt Bosela]

Awesome photos Don.

I haven't played St. George's in over 20 years, with my last round taking place during their annual Junior Invitational.  I was too young to appreciate the architecture but I could certainly recognize that the course stood above everything else I had played to that point.

I'm finally getting the chance to play the course again in late August this year and I'm really excited for the opportunity.  As you indicated, it's always rated in the top three in the country and many argue that it's the finest course in Canada.  I can't wait to see it again.

[Jud_T]

Don,

Thanks for posting.  Looks like a really interesting piece of property and Toronto is one of my favorite towns!

[Eric Smith]

Really good looking place - thanks for the photos.  As I am looking through them I'm taken back to some of the shots Ian Andrew posted on his blog pre bunker restoration. These pics show the work turned out pretty much exactly as the photoshop / illustrator depictions Ian used to show what was to be done. THAT is really cool imo.

[George Freeman]

Wow, it looks really, really good.  Looks like great topography!  I am way overdue for a trip to greater Toronto...

Thanks for the tour, Don!

[Will Lozier]

Remarkable land and ideal use of it to boot!  Thanks for the look!

Cheers

[don_bartlett]

Thanks guys.  It really is a great piece of land.  Words or even pictures in this case can't describe the slope/undulations/elevation changes on the 4th hole in particular.  Visually off the tee, it's a downhill shot that slopes from right to left but you know the hole goes to the right...  If you try to cheat and stay right, there is a severely sloped hill with thick rough that will snag loose shots... 
Your next shot is not slouch either as it is all uphill to a well protected green... There are many other holes with these characteristics, but to me the 4th hole always stands out. 

[Matthew Sander]

Great photos Don! Is 15 as outstanding as it looks here with maximum interest on all three shots. It looks like an all world par 5.

[don_bartlett]

Great photos Don! Is 15 as outstanding as it looks here with maximum interest on all three shots. It looks like an all world par 5.

Thanks Matthew, it's a beast of a par 5 - especially where the back tees are.  There are fairway bunkers on both sides of the fairway for both your drive, and your 2nd/layup shot...  But none at the green.  The absence of greenside bunkers (only hole on the course not to have greenside bunkers) is negated by the fact that the 3rd shot is at a 40 degree angle up, plus the wind is usually in your face so club selection is key...  While there are no greenside bunkers, there is still a lot of thick rough, and uneven lies to keep you honest or severely punish you.  Then once on the green, that's where the fun starts... 

[Gary Slatter]

Great pictures of a superb golf course.  My dad worked there during construction (1920s) and I was lucky enough to work as an assistant pro in the late 1960s.   thanks Don, every picture brought back memories, all the good ones!

the 8th is my favourite dog leg par 3.

[Matt Kardash]

Very cool looking course.

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()