Hamilton’s Routing & The Genius of Triangles

Set in the rolling hills of Ancaster, Ontario coming off the Niagara Escarpment, the routing at Hamilton Golf & Country Club is one of the great accomplishments of golf in this country. Largely, because the front nine—the “West”—is so severe one could easily deem it to be unsuitable for golf or too extreme for “ideal” golf in contrast against other notable designs in Canada, yet Hamilton stands among the very, very best in the country for reasons that rightfully place Harry Colt among the best architects of all time.

That is to Harry Colt’s credit, who is no stranger to superb routings. In 1912, Nicol Thompson, the club’s Golf Professional, and John Sutherland, the superintendent, were instructed to find a suitable site for their golf course with plans of moving out of the city of Hamilton. They found the location the current golf course sits on, playfully referred to as “up the mountain” in reference to its location away from downtown Hamilton. What was once an old farm of 200 or so acres of rolling hills, George Cumming, Head Professional at Toronto Golf Club, assessed the soils of the site, deeming the property suitable for golf and growth. Harry Colt was hired in May 1914, with the official golf course grand opening June 1, 1916. Colt never saw the finished product, returning home to England and never returning to North America after 1914, instead leaving John Sutherland up to the task of constructing Colt’s golf course to his very detailed drawings of each hole and a routing blueprint.

The property is largely divided into two portions: the hilly piece of ground in the far southwest portion of the site, and the east side, flatter and more heathland-y. Colt’s solution to tackling the southwest side is nothing short of brilliant, routing the holes in triangles in order to both maximize the site’s assets, challenge the golfer with changing wind directions, and a variety of ways the golfer travels around the hillside to provide unique holes. In fact, until the 14th and 15th, no two holes work in even a remotely similar direction, and it doesn’t happen until the routing gets to the flatter portion of the property.

There are six different types of triangles split into two categories: by side, and by angle.

1st Triangle: 1st, 2nd, 9th

Type of triangle: Isosceles (1st/9th), Acute

In total, there are four triangles in Hamilton’s routing, with two coming in sequence, and two not in order. The first example consists of the opening and closing holes on the front nine, as well as the 2nd hole. The 9th tee is directly next to the 2nd green in a gathering point with the 3rd tee, 11th green, 12th tee, and the 8th green for one of the more interesting intersections on the golf course.

The opening hole is one of the more dramatically difficult first swings in the country, bending hard around two bunkers on the inside corner of the dogleg left. The second, a hole lined by the perimeter fence on the right/west side of the property is a longer two-shot hole over the flatter terrain, primarily setting the stage for what’s to come at the 3rd-8th galloping across the most severe portion of the property

The 9th, though, brings the triangle back to the 1st tee shot with its angle. In doing so, a brilliant two-shot hole awaits, seemingly calling back to Colt’s Heathland background with its bunker array and use of low-key, intriguing features to charm.

It is worth noting that initially, the driving range, which borders these three holes on the inside of the triangle, was not there. Instead, the “Ladies Nine” was on the inside, which interestingly, was also routed in triangles (3 triangles of 3 holes each, to be exact). The entire property at one point was largely routed in triangles, especially when you consider 21 of the 27 holes Colt designed on property were originally designed in a triangular fashion. The finishing six are the only holes not in some sort of triangular orientation, though they have merit in their own right.

2nd Triangle: 3rd, 7th, 8th

Type of triangle: Scalene, Acute

Perhaps the most notable triangle on property because of the quality of golf found in this small section of the golf course, the 3rd, 7th, and 8th work together to produce a dynamic triangle whilst also having some of the finest golf on property.

In fact, the 7th is perhaps the single best hole on a golf course filled with notable highlights: from a tee atop the valley, the golfer tumbles down into the bottom of the property to a fairway tilting hard to the outside right corner. In one of the rare changes that has improved the golf course upon Harry Colt’s original vision, two bunkers were added on the higher-left side, meaning those who want to get the shorter second shot into the green ought to challenge those two to stay on the high side. An outside right bunker guarding the front right side of the green complex was added too, and the original green location has moved to the left and back of where Colt initially had it. Nonetheless, a brilliant hole.

The 3rd and 8th are no slouches either, though they are much more in the “penal” school of architecture rather than the strategic school like the 7th. The 3rd is the first introduction to the dramatic tee shots into the valley that’s a reoccurring theme at Hamilton (3rd, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 17th, 18th), with a tasteful green complex shoved into the hillside halfway up at the base of the 4th tee box. Also note, the 7th tee shot is in this area, too.

After climbing the hill on the 7th, the par 3, 8th plays over the depression to a green just a handful of steps from the 3rd tee box, fully completing the triangle.

In contrast to the opening two holes and the ninth over relatively tame land, Colt’s brilliance shines through here. Sure, Colt’s decision to have those three holes produces some excellent holes at the opening and closing moments on the West/front nine, and in hindsight it feels like Colt’s hand was almost forced to have the 3rd, 7th, and 8th be the way they are, but how many architects would have found that the way Colt did? The 3rd and 7th are two of the more dramatic pieces of the property, and Colt’s ability to provide two different ways to tackle the hillside is pure genius. The 7th easily could have gone directly back towards the 3rd tee and found a way to fit in a par 3 elsewhere, and yet, Colt’s prowess produced three enjoyable holes.

Also noteworthy, the 3rd and 7th are the first two interactions with Ancaster Creek in the routing, which touches nearly half (!) of the holes on the golf course: the 3rd, 7th, 10th-12th, 15th, 17th, 18th.

3rd Triangle: 4th, 5th, 6th

Type of triangle: Scalene, Right

The first two examples with any triangles or angles resembling a triangle on the property come with the asterisk that they are not in sequence, but beginning at the par 4, 5th, the routing’s first triangle in succession begins.

The 4th is the first par 5 of just two par 5’s on the golf course and handles much of the heavy lifting here. Primarily, this is where the Scalene angle comes from because of the length. Nonetheless, it is quite the feat to see the 6th green directly to the left of the 4th tee, looking out into the distance of some 550 yards and knowing you find a way to turn right around and come back. That is done utilizing a drivable par 4 up the hillside and a long, demanding par 3 over a valley at the 6th.

4th Triangle: 10th, 11th, 12th

Type of triangle: Scalene, Acute

The final triangle on the golf course ends the hilliness of Hamilton, where the golf course transitions to more of a heathland-inspired landscape on the 13th until the finishing par 4.

Much like the examples before, Colt’s routing primarily takes on the topography in a triangular method because of the elements of the site. This includes the dramatic up and down nature of all three holes, where Colt is navigating the low portion of the property in all three fairways. It is worth noting that in 1914/1915 when the golf course was constructed, a lack of drainage technology meant the best place to put green complexes was up into the hillside to help naturally drain, and who doesn’t like a downhill tee shot? This combination is seen at both of Colt’s remaining Canadian golf courses (note: the 10th and 11th at Toronto Golf Club are prime examples of this).

While Colt’s routing at Hamilton is impressive and noteworthy, especially in the grand scheme of golf in Canada, it is not the only golf course that triangles is a dominating feature when discussing the routing. Notably, William Flynn’s Southampton masterpiece Shinnecock Hills is routed in triangles for similar reasons to Colt’s Ancaster masterpiece, where Flynn tackles the topography uniquely while considering the coastal winds. In Colt’s own catalogue, he deserves praise and celebration for his routing at Muirfield, with him somehow figuring out a way to have no two holes play in the same exact direction.

Granted, there are no coastal winds here, and holes do work in the same direction at Hamilton (namely, the finishing six holes), but Hamilton is one of North America’s finest routings from one of, if not the finest architect ever. One could reasonably argue Hamilton has Canada’s finest routing, and that credit belongs to Colt and his brilliance to find unique ways to navigate the topography in a way that feels fresh with each hole.