Lou,
I recall Beacon Hall is ranked highly by Score Golf. It might even be a top-10 couse in Canada, according to that magazine.
But I'm not a fan of the course.
I found the routing to be very awkward on an interesting property. In fact, the 6th hole -- that 90* dogleg on the front; is it the 6th? -- is one of the most awkward holes I've ever seen/played. There's no other option than to hit a mid-iron off the tee, followed by a pitch to one of the widest and narrowest greens I've ever seen. It's a very odd looking look too. No fun at all.
The 18th is another severe dogleg, and a long hole too with a dramatic uphill approach. But here, the fairway is divided in two by a strip of rough some 250 or so off the tee? I've never understood this. It's very much like what Seve did at Valderama's 17th in preparation for the Ryder Cup to prevent guys from hitting long drives. It's silly.
Beacon Hall's also one of those "schizophrenic" courses. The front nine is routed through a dense pine forest, and the incoming holes have been described as a pseudo-links. They're pretty wide open. Unless a course is very good (a la High Pointe), I'm not a fan of this type of contrast.
And Bob Cupp's and Tom McBroom's bunkers are round, filled with glaring white sand, neatly edged, and thus very sterile looking. They contrast the natural ruggedness of the property.
As I understand it, money wasn't an issue for the people who developed Beacon Hall. The natural characteristics of property lend to interesting golf. So, with that said, I have to say Cupp and McBroom missed an excellent opportunity to build a world-class golf course.
Funny, Cupp landed the Beacon Hall job while he was remodelling Rosedale: a neat old Ross course in Toronto. If you have the opportunity to play Rosedale, to avoid crying, skip the 18th hole. Putt out on the 17th and walk in
