[Ben Malach]

I know that the game is an integral part of my life and will always be. But with the doom and gloom that we constantly hear about the state of Golf in America in particular. With the large numbers of course closures and drop participation rates. I was shocked when I looked up the numbers for Canada and saw that golf was the most played sport in our fine country(http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/2008060/t-c-g/tbl6-eng.htm). But this lead me to the next question why if Canadians love golf so much do we have such a large deficit in great architecture. I can only name 5 course within 4 hours of me that are worth mentioning and I live in Alberta where the amount of capital put into Golf in the past couple decades is amazing. But has yet to produce the quality of course that I see when I travel to the less rich states to the south or when I travel in the economically depressed regions of Scotland. It make so little sense that with this much participation and capital that nothing great has happened here.     

[Tyler Kearns]

Ben,

While I haven't seen it with my own eyes yet, something great is currently happening at Cabot Links!! 

TK

[Tim Johnson]

Ben
Although I don't have the stats, we had somewhat of a golf course boom in the 90's, new Clublink courses, Muskoka courses(I think a couple didn't survive-too many built), and other courses around Canada. We have a population of around 35 million and typically a 4 month playing season(May-Aug), that season can be pushed to 7 months for diehards but it wont generate tourism revenue which is required for so many courses to survive. Some nice new courses were built in the 90's but I don't think a lot of Americans think about spending a golf vacation in Canada when they have a great selection closer to home. There are a lot of private courses looking for new members and are offering great deals so we have pretty reached our capacity with respect to our golfing population.

Having said that, the East coast is looking great for a golf destination these days and will get better in 2 years time with Cabot Cliffs opening. Playing Cabot Links, Highland Links and heading over to PEI would make for a great 7-10 trip.

[Matthew MacKay]

Ben, come to Toronto. There are 10 courses within 15 minutes of my house that are worth seeing from an architectural perspective.

From a modern course perspective, I'd agree that for the most part we missed the boat during the boom-time of the 90's. Plenty of good courses were built but few that I would designate as great and/or architecturally significant. Blackhawk, in your home province, would be one of those.

[Paul Jones]

I have only been to Canada once, but the golf was amazing around Toronto and Nova Scotia.

[Bill_McBride]

I think Canadian golf is great but I'm pretty bi-coastal.  Over the past ten years I've played some wonderful courses in BC and Nova Scotia:

Cabot Links
Highland Links
Sagebrush
Marine Drive
Capilano
Royal Colwood
Victoria Golf Club

Everything on that list is at least a Doak 7 to me.  Several are 9s.

And one Doak 0 - Furry Creek.  Don't get me started.  Maybe it's a Doak 1 for the views. 

[Paul Jones]

I think Canadian golf is great but I'm pretty bi-coastal.  Over the past ten years I've played some wonderful courses in BC and Nova Scotia:

Cabot Links
Highland Links
Sagebrush
Marine Drive
Capilano
Royal Colwood
Victoria Golf Club

Everything on that list is at least a Doak 7 to me.  Several are 9s.

And one Doak 0 - Furry Creek.  Don't get me started.  Maybe it's a Doak 1 for the views. 

Furry Creek - Doak 0?  Now I want to play it, just to see how bad it is  .  Will have to add it to my agenda when Cabot Cliffs opens.

[Keith Grande]

I haven't played in Canada, but are these poor courses (architecturally speaking) a product of real estate ventures with routing sacrificed to play through homes built on the site?  

Furry Creek?  sounds like a bad date...

[Charlie Gallagher]

Ben,
    I will echo Paul and Bill.
    You may have architectural challenges in the middle part of the country, but three of the best courses I played last season were in Ontario and Nova Scotia. I was lucky enough to be introduced to Stanley Thompson's work at the superb St. Georges outside of Toronto last August and that amazingly routed course on a very fine site for golf made me an instant fan of his. A few days later I got to see how he performed a complete magic act in problem solving at his other worldly design at Highland Links in Ingonish. If St Georges is set on favorable land for golf, Highlands is layed out over a problematic site in a thrilling setting more suited for hiking and forestry than golf. With hand labor, one steam shovel, a few trucks, and a caterpillar style tractor (no dozer blade in the photo Ian Andrew provided) Thompson established some of the best holes in North America. I still marvel at the routing and how he fit the holes together. Thompson is easily one of the most elite architects to design courses I have encountered.
   About three hours west of Ingonish is Cabot Links, a genuine sand based, fescue turfed, gem that could hold its head up with pride in Ireland. And right next door, on what appears to be an even more dramatic site, Coore and Crenshaw are establishing a 2nd links. 
    I realize that all of those courses are a long way from you, but Canadians can take great pride in the high quality of these fine tests of the old game.  I can't wait to get back and play each of them again, and I intend to do it soon.
   

[Ian Andrew]

Ben,

You're right, there are not a lot of great courses close to you...
Part of it coincides with when the wealth was developed and what architecture was being built at the time.
You're dominated by work done after world war two - that's not good anywhere in Canada (until very recently).

The best of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver's courses were all done before world war two.
Your province's best work, Calgary, Banff and Jasper were done before world war two.

[Bill_McBride]

I think Canadian golf is great but I'm pretty bi-coastal.  Over the past ten years I've played some wonderful courses in BC and Nova Scotia:

Cabot Links
Highland Links
Sagebrush
Marine Drive
Capilano
Royal Colwood
Victoria Golf Club

Everything on that list is at least a Doak 7 to me.  Several are 9s.

And one Doak 0 - Furry Creek.  Don't get me started.  Maybe it's a Doak 1 for the views. 

Furry Creek - Doak 0?  Now I want to play it, just to see how bad it is  .  Will have to add it to my agenda when Cabot Cliffs opens.

That would be a long trip, the Creek is in BC.

[Mark Saltzman]

I think Canadian golf is great but I'm pretty bi-coastal.  Over the past ten years I've played some wonderful courses in BC and Nova Scotia:

Cabot Links
Highland Links
Sagebrush
Marine Drive
Capilano
Royal Colwood
Victoria Golf Club

Everything on that list is at least a Doak 7 to me.  Several are 9s.

And one Doak 0 - Furry Creek.  Don't get me started.  Maybe it's a Doak 1 for the views. 

Furry Creek - Doak 0?  Now I want to play it, just to see how bad it is  .  Will have to add it to my agenda when Cabot Cliffs opens.

That would be a long trip, the Creek is in BC.

It's only 4,000 or so miles Bill.

[Ben Malach]

Keith,

I honestly think that some of it had to do with residential course. But I think the main problem here is that most players don't understand what a good golf course looks like. It is almost like Stockholm syndrome. to give you an insight here are the two most recent course build in Calgary. http://www.bluedevilgolf.com/ which is new and I have only heard good things about but when I walked the course before it opened it looked very similar to an 1960's RTJ design. Then the most egregious course I have come across in a long time Apple Creek http://www.applecreekgolfcourse.com/. Again I have heard nothing but good things about this design. Which from all images and on my cursory drive by hold no interest what so ever. This is shocking to me as we have the land here in southern Alberta to create some great golf but I fear that it will never happen. When I talk with my neighbor who was a prominent local player who just moved back from the U.K.like myself it is almost as if the game developed from a completely different sport. Which is heart breaking for me as I wish for good local golf so that my fellow citizens could fall in love with the game that I know not this monstrosity of false nature that I see being built when the ground is already good. It is also hard to talk about this subject without coming across as condescending. When I am truly hopeful as there was one course opened in the past decade that fits the land http://www.thecanalatdelacour.com/. I just hope that more course like this are built. But the local view of the course is middling as they let it brown out. I am sorry if this is too much it is just something that I needed to get off my chest. The five local courses that I think are worth visiting are in no particular order: Banff, Jasper, Delacour, Wolf Creek and Canmore G.C. Calgary is not on the list as I have not been able to walk the course or play it. From what I hear it is in good shape from my friend who use to work there. But I have not contacted them for a walk though which is something I hope to do this summer if I am in Calgary or Canmore.             

[Pete_Pittock]

What about Rod Whitman's Blackhawk near Edmonton or Stewart Creek in Canmore. If you cross over the border Copper Point at Invermere id also quite enjoyable.

[Ben Malach]

I am not the biggest fan of Copper Point. I just feel that more could have been done with the property. I also dislike the lack of fairway undulations. As for blackhawk it is a private club and I do not know any members also I would like to get up there for a walk. As for Stewart Creek I have a job offer to work there for the summer so I can't comment in the property.

[Tom_Doak]

I will be the rude American to point out that one of the problems is that you employ so few non-Canadian designers    

Not to say there haven't been some good ones, but there are a lot of us who have never had a shot at building a course in Canada.  Tillinghast only did one or two projects, Donald Ross a couple, MacKenzie got to build nine holes in Winnipeg; they might have been able to do a bit more there.

[Ian Andrew]

I will be the rude American to point out that one of the problems is that you employ so few non-Canadian designers

Actually Tom, that's not true.
There has always been more work is done by outside architects than by Canadians.
It's been that way forever and continues to be that way now.

[Gary Slatter]

Ben, interesting.  I assume you are from the UK and in your 20s.  I might be wrong.
I've found some fun golf in Alberta, not as much as in BC, nor Ontario, but enough to keep one busy for the short season, May through September.
Water ton Lakes is a nice walk, a Stanley Thompson design with a few twists. Darcy Ranch and Heritage Pointe, both south of Calgary offer fast greens and good golf.  Darcy is a better driving course, you can walk the 18 holes if you want, in my opinion it has 18 good holes. Heritage Pointe has 27 holes and if possible play the Desert and ......", the Pointe is too chopped up to play until you have played it ten times.  Heritage has the best practice area with 3 full holes surrounding the range and large putting and chipping areas.  You mentioned Blue Devil, also in the south. It tends to play easier than it should, good test on windy days (50 percent).
Join the Alberta Golf Association, play their events.
I can't type anymore, but IMHO there is good golf from Lethbridge to Jasper, at assorted prices.
Too bad you missed Kananaskis, 36 good holes at reasonable prices with great service.  Washed away last June.
ENJOY

[Ben Malach]

No Gary I was born and raised in Calgary. I just spent last year living in St. Andrews and studying the golf courses of Fife, the Lothians and some of Tayside.  I agree Waterton is ok but a lot of the character has been striped away but still good value but not worth going super out of the way. I have never been a fan of either Darcy Ranch or Heritage Point how they can change so much for mediocrity astounds me. I quit playing tournament golf in high school as I lack the stomach for it. I am not against playing matches for cash with people but there is something about putting a tournament card in my hand that gives me the shakes. I was also never a fan of Kananaskis and I consider it an act of god that it was washed away like the tides in the fable of Noah. I hope that they bring a great architect up to re build up there because the land was so good just the golf course was weak. I just wish we had more golf courses in Alberta that spoke to the land that is there not the conception of what the client or the architect saw as good. I think that is the main reason golf in Alberta suffers is because the clients lack the knowledge to let it be. As Ian Andrew has pointed out in some other threads that Calgary was one of the few places that Canada's great architect struggled to find work. I have to say that says a lot about the people that build the golf courses in Calgary.         

[Charlie Gallagher]

Ben,
  You raise an interesting point about provincialism. I encounter it at my home club here in the states. My native buddies all think it is a great course, but seem to have little interest in the wider world of architecture. If they had their way, they would keep everything the same and would build more of the same, which is too bad because their tastes tend towards the mediocre when so much more excitement and quality is available.
  Here's an analogy that will get me in trouble, they seem to like plain Jane who's a 5 or 6, when Jane's cousin who's a nine is out there, but most don't seem to know that Janey even has a cousin, and if they do know, they don't care.

[Will MacEwen]

I will be the rude American to point out that one of the problems is that you employ so few non-Canadian designers    

Not to say there haven't been some good ones, but there are a lot of us who have never had a shot at building a course in Canada.  Tillinghast only did one or two projects, Donald Ross a couple, MacKenzie got to build nine holes in Winnipeg; they might have been able to do a bit more there.

Thompson and Macan were doing decent work back then.

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