Highland Golf Links Old and New Photos

[ian]

I thought it would be fun to compare some old photos from around opening to photos taken this summer. I played the course 20 years ago for the first time, and could not get over how much the trees are now beginning to squeeze the course and hide the topography.

The 2nd near opening

the 2nd this summer, trees are fast encroaching on the hole

The 7th

One of the tightest tee shots I have ever played

The 8th

Still a wonderful green site

This is from the origional tee

this is from the tees added in the 40's

The 15th with the large open fescue hill on the left, now trees take up half the hill

The view to the green, with the hill just barely left of the image

The 17th with it's wonderful topography

The current 17th with different bunkers and the encroachment of trees

[ian]

The 11th looking back from the green, the wide open valley of 9, 10 and 11

The 11th is now tight by the tee and green

The clearing of the 18th

the current 18th, slowly growing in

[NAF]

Ian,

This is a fabulous comparison.  Jeff Mingay in Paul Daley's new book has done a great essay on Highlands Links as well.  I really enjoyed the time I had up there last year with Jeff, Ben Dewar and Ran.  Reading Jeff's essay and looking at your pix really makes me want to get back up there.  It is so worth the trip and such a lovely course to play.  More people should make the effort to get up to that part of Canada.  My only regret vis a vis the course was the new bunkering schemes, I would have loved to seen Stanley's original creations

[T_MacWood]

Great comparison. Old #2 and its open vista is spectacular--wasn't that a Thompson specialty, finding beautiful vistas? The openess of Nine, 10 and 11 is amazing...that would be a big improvement. Some of the lost flair in the bunker is also interesting. As wild as the terrain is on 15, it was even wilder--very cool.

[Jeff_Mingay]

Ian,

As you know, today's tree encroachment remains following a  significant clearing effort, orchestrated by Graham Cooke's firm, some 7 years ago. Imagine the tree situation during the early- to mid-1990s?!?!

As wonderful as Highlands Links is, the course also provides an illustrative case study on 'what could be'. As is obvious, many more trees need to be felled; the so called 'bunker restoration' undertaken by Cooke & Associates was a missed opportunity; the thoughtless installation of a continusous cart path has scared one ofthe most natural golf courses in the world; and, according to locals, turf conditions were much better (read less Poa, for one) prior to the installation of the course's first comprehensive watering system in 1996.

The new irrigation system was a 'keep up with the Jones'' situation, following the mid-1990s (?) opening of Bell Bay, a lush, green Tom McBroom designed course on Cape Breton Island.

Still, to stay at the Keltic Lodge and play Highlands Links for a few days is one of golf's grand experiences.

[Paul_Turner]

Ian

Nice one!  What a course.  Nice lass on the 8th too.

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

Jeff,
I was there in the mid-90s and cannot remember the tree clearing being that drastic.

To me, simply clear-cutting the right side of the hole on two and the river bank on 10-12 would be enough for now.

Where some of the encroachment is obvious in pictures, it does not affect playing lines (seven, 17 and 18), still it would be glorious to see it without trees.

Thanks for the great images Ian, do you have more? Would love to see four, six and 16...

[George Pazin]

Great photos & great comparisons. A couple of those photo angles are so similar that I'm wondering if you took the recent photos intentionally from the same spots.

Why would anyone allow trees to ruin a mountain vista? You can see a bank of trees anywhere.

[ian]

George,

Wasn't intentional, just kinda worked out that way. I got hold of the black and whites after I had played and photographed the entire course.

One of the best set of natural landforms I have played accross. In comparrision I wonder how much better it would look with them more exposed. Jaspar and Banff retained there width and feel more inviting than Highlands does.

Ian

(I'l post more photos of on the week-end.)

[Dan Herrmann]

Highland Links ranks right up there with the Bandons for me in terms of fun, excitement, and memorability.

I love the way the mounding in the fairway can give you a crazy lie - something a modern course would never do because it'd be "unfair".

Keep in mind that the Links are in a Canadian national park - they may have issues with environmental concerns that would preclude the removal of more trees.

Cape Breton Island has some fine golf - The Links, Bell Bay (definitely not as great a course as Highland Links, though), and a definite sleeper in Cheticamp called Le Portage.  Le Portage is unique because they use a slurry in their bunkers because the strong winds off the Gulf of St. Lawerence blew the sand out of the bunkers.  

If you're ever looking for a great place to stay, and the Keltic Lodge is booked, be sure to check out the Cabot Trail Sea & Golf Chalets in Cheticamp.  You roll out of your cottage right onto the 1st tee at Le Portage.  It's a small Acadian community, and everybody was awesome!

[Chris Pike]

Truly a gem of a golf course!  I played it a few years ago, and have been wanting to return ever since.  I agree with the prior posts that, although it has much more tree encroachment than it did in the old photos, I'm not sure it effects the lines of shots very much (maybe with the exception of the tee shot on Killiecrankie #7).  However, I didn't realize how much of the topography has been lost due to the trees.  I much prefer the old 15th with its hill of fescue...and the vista on #2 was truly spectacular.  However, I agree with Dan's earlier point, about the course lying within a national park, as being the reason for the lack of tree clearing.  This could certainly be one case where removing trees in a national park could be done in the name of preservation.

Ian, thanks for sharing these wonderful photos.

[ChipRoyce]

Cut 'em all down!

As one who hits a hard draw often, I can't even imagine how I'd get around what seemed from the old photos as a lovely track.

Can we get "parkland course" eliminated from golf vernacular?

[Mike_Cirba]

Ian;

Absolutely stupendous photos and comparison!!

I've never had the pleasure of playing Highland, but if your photos don't make clear even to those who will not see exactly how much more interesting it is to use the natural undulation of the land as opposed to corridors of trees to create great and fun golf, I don't know how else to show them!

Thanks for taking the time to illustrate this point.