[Ran Morrissett]

Canadian golf architect Ian Andrew has struck gold, again. Two years ago, he detailed the history of Jasper Park in such a fine manner that you thought it nearly impossible to follow. Yet, he has done so with his latest treatise about Cape Breton Highlands.

While very few courses can be rightly viewed as 'national treasures', Cape Breton Highlands is surely an exemplar and Ian's tale of the course's construction and early years tells us why. Massive respect is paid to Nature's full glory but also to Man for maximizing the outrageous possibilities. Ian adroitly handles how a setting inside a national park is a blessing and a curse. His collection of black and white photographs from the 1940s and 1950s accentuates the positives of such an enchanting environment. Hard to pick a favorite view - maybe the one of the 2nd from 1950 or perhaps the approach to the 8th when so much more of the river valley was evident?  The debate can rage on about what is Stanley Thompson's most magical design but the course that best captures the country's diverse natural splendors is assuredly Cape Breton Highlands. As Ian notes, the Toronto Terror referred to it as his 'mountains and ocean course.'

Ian first fell under CBH's charms in 1981 but the course he saw later in 2003 was materially different:  over-treed, without good grass coverage and its bunkering adulterated. Considering that Thompson is in the conversation for best bunker builder ever, that seems especially regrettable.  As Ian relays, 'In 2006 the Historic Sites and Monument Board of Canada recognized Stanley Thompson as a person of National Historical Significance. Mark Sajatovich, Ken Donovan, and Graham Hudson managed to make that designation come about and opened up a dialogue about whether Cape Breton Highlands was a place of historical importance.  Parks Canada was forced to concede that the golf course deserved more attention. Hudson began a process to restore..." and happily, that eventually lead to Ian working on the course that he cherishes.

Much of the course exists today as it did back then, the lynchpin being Thompson's imaginative routing which takes the golfer on one of the game's great strolls. Pretty neat trick to play along the shoreline at the 6th and the mountains by the 8th! The course arguably possesses the world's greatest fairway contours, including where the fairways brush against the landforms at holes like 7 and 15. Some of Thompson's untouched greens like the 2nd and 18th stay with the golfer forever. In fact, only the 13th green has been modified and Ian has kindly provided a color sketch of what those contours were originally. Additionally, CBH's diverse set of three shot holes set a standard that few courses can match.

More golfers than ever are heading up to Cape Breton Island    so Ian's treatise #2 on Thompson is especially timely. It is fittingly placed in the Best of Golf section (as well as Architecture Timeline) and here is its link:

http://golfclubatlas.com/andrew-ian-cape-breton-highlands-1937-to-1941/

The ebullient nature and joy of CBH's architecture wouldn't be seen again for decades. Congratulations to Ian for (again) capturing Thompson's uniquely compelling design flair.

Best,

[Ira Fishman]

A truly exquisite essay of language and photographs.

[Adam Lawrence]

The greatest walk in golf

[Ian Andrew]

A thank you to Chris for his help on this piece

[Mike Sweeney]

Ian,


A wonderful piece that makes me want to jump on a plane (not today - too cold) and finally play a course in Canada. I have sung the praises of golf in Maine along the sea and mountains, but this course is obviously very special. The land, craftsmanship (bunkers and greens), and architecture (routing) are clear from a cold living room in NYC this morning.


Besides the golf stuff, I like the way you weaved in your personal experience with the course. You Dad was obviously a great guy to take you on those golf journeys.


In golf and life, I see much standardization and corporate sterilization of golf and life. Your affection for the course, area, the Park, and Thompson is obvious and I would doubt that it does not show up when playing the course in person.


In an era of quick social media post (by me), this piece is appreciated.


Thanks

[Thomas Dai]

Very nice and educational as well. Thanks for sharing. Well done Ian.
Atb

[Don Hyslop]

Thanks for sharing this essay Ian. It was a wonderful read on the history of my favourite golf course and a true National treasure in Canada.

[Guy Nicholson]

Thanks, Ian, fabulous stuff. I see the synthesis of many things I've seen you write and say elsewhere.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Excellent piece Ian, which is of great historical significance. In many ways it is surprising that the course was built and remains, given the depth of the depression and then WW II starting before the course was completed.


And I must commend the restoration that you have done. I first saw the course circa 2000 when it was at its low point. I have been back a few times since and it is great see it restored.


Has all of the tree clearing been completed or is this an ongoing process?  It is amazing to see those wide open vistas from 80 years ago.

[Ian Andrew]

Has all of the tree clearing been completed or is this an ongoing process?  It is amazing to see those wide open vistas from 80 years ago.

No, there's lots to go and a regeneration issue to address too.
Park has approved the next round of removals - timing is unclear on when.


Graham's renovation of the hotel and surrounding buildings is amazing.
But it is a financial draw away from the golf course - for now.
But they still will do more work to the course.


With hotel success will come golf course investment.
The bigger picture is much better - it WILL eventually fix the course
But the steps may be smaller for a few years before a major push comes again two or three years out.


Graham's grand vision will get done.
He's getting the hard and expensive part done up front.
The golf will be easy after.

[MCirba]

Ian,


Thank you for chronicling this for history.  Wonderful read and impressive research!!


Finally made it to CBH last summer and it was so terrific to see the work you've done to restore historic features and open the awe-inspiring vistas.


Bravo.

[Peter Pallotta]

Ian - an excellent piece of work all around. I respect you for dealing with the subject/history so honestly. (One of the many strengths of the piece is how well you balance the history of the *project* with the details of the *design*.) You admire Thompson as an architect and of course you share the same profession; but you have also noted in the past and suggest again in this essay a level of personal unease at how Highlands came about and about the expropriation of land that it involved. You handled it all with remarkable even-and-fair mindedness. Alas, it paints a picture for me that I can accept with neither even nor fair mindedness. I am less than a generation removed from the kind of small subsistence farmers who lost their land for the sake of Stan's bald-faced careerism. The only "make work" element involved there, it seems to me, was the work it made for Stan himself.  I understand that professionals need to work and are focused on creating that work for themselves. But to be honest the Highland story is one that speaks of a kind of Canada I'm not very fond of at all -- the old boys WASP network before us immigrants arrived when a "Thompson" could get a meeting with a "King" (the Prime Minister no less) and pitch a self-serving idea about putting a golf course inside a national park and actually have it gain traction; and then, instead of accepting his good fortune with grace and gratitude, he went further and disregarded the original agreement (to stay within the Park boundaries) and callously/cynically took advantage of the Depression to put his silly wants ahead of those who could least afford to be pawns in Stan's folly. It never sat with me well, and now it sits with me less well than ever (because, ironically, of your very detailed and comprehensive essay). I suppose it is easy for me in a way: I am not an architect, and except for and compared to *people* I don't care about anything (golf courses especially) very much at all; but Highland could be universally praised as the finest course in the entire world and I still would have no desire whatsoever to go and play it. Indeed, I've made a firm commitment to myself never to set foot on it.  Sorry, just my feelings/point of view. From my perspective, if Stanley cared about anything as much as he did about Stanley, he would've taken the time and found a way to make it a win-win for everyone: he would've stayed inside the Park, given more work to the community, taken no land from them, and probably made a better golf course too! I just don't think he cared that much, even about golf course architecture. My guess is that his 'path-of-least-resistance' approach wasn't minimalism, it was just sheer laziness. I think it was a racket/a game for him, and occasionally he happened to stumble onto some great land/spectacular site and a very good and striking golf course was the result. But -- and here I hope I don't make you blush -- from the work of yours I've played and from the posts of yours that I've read, it is clear to me that you are both a better person and a better architect than one of your professional idols ever was.
Peter


 

[Ian Andrew]

Peter,

While I too struggle with his decisions when it came to people and the community. I also think its important to respect the sacrifice the community made to build something to replace the fishery. While they admittedly had little choice, there is a strong feeling that without this investment and sacrifice they were going to disappear.

I don't ask you to like or respect the decisions that Stanley made. I do ask you to go there and support the community now. The resort and golf course are a key component to the communities continuing survival. I have a deep connection to the community that comes from being allowed to become a small part of a larger fabric. They matter to me.

[Matt Kardash]

Peter, it strikes me as odd to hold to old a grudge that spans nearly a century. It's kind of like saying that you will never set foot in Germany because Hitler killed a bunch of Jews. Yes, he did, but what does that have to do with Germany today? Not much.

[Jason Chambers]

The boys and I took a golfapalooza to Nova Scotia in 2011.  Played FoxH'bor (put the a in there!) and Bell Bay in a torrential rain and wind.  Then we made a trek to the tip of the earth (or what felt like it).  This was one of the best rounds of golf I have ever had.  Nature, rolling golf, a moose and her offspring sauntering through on #7, delaying play as we waited for something 12 feet tall with a bad attitude to emerge..  It truly is one of the greatest walks in the game.  Thank you for the great history lesson of why this gem is there today and gives us a chance to wander with weapons!

[Greg McMullin]

Peter, according to my research Mr. Thompson did in fact stay within the boundaries of the Park  as was  officially deeded by the Province of Nova Scotia to the Federal Government in July, 1938. This information is contained in the following book:
Natural Selections
National Parks in Atlantic Canada 1935-1970
Alan MacKachern
McGill – Queen’s University Press 2001
ISBN 0-7735-2157-7
 
Here is an excerpt from the chapter on Cape Breton Highlands National Park page 66:
 
Work progressed so steadily that in an October (1938) meeting with the executive of Mines and Resources, Thompson recommended that they push forward with the next nine holes. Rather than continuing the course along the sea as had been proposed, Thompson recommended development up the Clyburn. “The Clyburn Valley” he insisted, “traversed by the river with towering hills on each side, affords gorgeous scenery and character, and would add a great deal of variety to the play, as well as shelter from the raw Ocean breeze. Its ruggedness is in keeping with the whole Park development. This route happens to be on lands already deeded to the park”. All present agreed, and work progressed on the course.

[Ian Andrew]

Greg,


Then how do you explain the farms on 7, 9, 10, 11 and 14.
Geoff's comments were pretty clear on what was going on while he was there.

[Greg McMullin]

Ian,
  I certainly don’t want to cast any aspersions on Mr. Cornish. I knew him personally and he was the honorary Chair for our Highlands Links Stanley Thompson Historical Society that was formed for the statue project.
  With this in mind my research indicates that, while Mr. Thompson may have had a somewhat gruff reputation when it came to getting his projects completed, his actions were within the law and I have not seen any evidence to suggest that he was responsible for any expropriations within the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
  The lands included within the Cape Breton Highlands National Park were expropriated by the Nova Scotia Government in 1936 and at that time did not include the Middle Head peninsula area which was subsequently expropriated in 1937. The reason for this additional expropriation was a change in Parks Canada’s thinking as to where the park headquarters would be. While not fully determined during the time discussions were ongoing between the province and Parks Canada (mid 1930's) the original thinking was that park headquarters would be in an area close to the Bra d’Or lakes and my assumption would be that Baddeck would have been the likely spot. This area was very appealing to Parks Canada but less so for the province due to the fact that this area was well populated and expropriations would be difficult.
  In 1936 a new head of Parks Canada took over from James Harkin who had headed Parks Canada for many years and decided that Ingonish would become the location for the parks headquarters and given the impressive nature of Middle Head Peninsula it was decided that these lands should become part of the park and therefore these lands were expropriated in 1937.   
  One needs to remember that these events were taking place in the 1930’s and the very limited availability of knowledge by the local residents and others as to what would or would not become park lands. For example, consider the Donovan’s who occupied the land on the current number 9 and 10^th.  As told by Mr. Maurice Donovan in an interview he gave in 1988 he wasn’t aware that his property had been expropriated when the golf course construction crews arrived in this area in 1938 and still considered the land his even though it had been officially expropriated. To illustrate this point further here is an excerpt from Alan MacEachern’s book ‘Natural Selections - National Parks in Atlantic Canada 1935-1970:
 
 -  “when in the spring of 1936 the Nova Scotia government actually authorized the expropriation of land and deeded this land to Canada, even the press knew little or nothing. The local Victoria-Inverness Bulletin does not seem to have heard about the park officially, while the Sydney Post Record wrongly declared that it was to comprise the entire north end of Cape Breton. A Canadian Press story mistakenly described the park as a disappointingly small project of twenty-five square miles (about four hundred square miles short)”.
 
   With respect to the building of Cape Breton Highlands I conclude that there has been some confusion regarding the difference between expropriation and settlement. Peoples land had indeed been expropriated for the park but many still lived on the land and had not settled for compensation with the government as was the case with Maurice Donovan and Mrs. Corson (owner of Middle Head peninsula).  Many people simply didn’t have the facts, were not well informed and were not aware of exactly what was and what was not within the new park. I’d also add that I’m sure some people were not interested in giving up their land regardless of what community benefits might ensue. It’s also interesting to note that in 1937 a failed attempt was begun to finalize settlement with those whose land was expropriated by the Nova Scotia government. Following this failure another dedicated effort was undertaken in 1938 by Wilfred Creighton of the Nova Scotia Lands and Forests Department. It seems clear that those affected by the expropriation were largely unaware of their situation until at best 1937 and in many cases most likely 1938.
 
 Clearly the establishment of a National Park that would necessitate expropriations is not something that would happen today as it did in those times but then again they were different times.

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