If you are familiar with golf in Atlantic Canada, you are probably thinking of travelling to Nova Scotia for the fabulous links at Cabot Cape Breton or Stanley Thompson’s Mountains and Oceans masterpiece Highland Links, or perhaps a vacation to Prince Edward Island for its many fairways, including Top 100 golf courses Crowbush Cove, Green Gables, and Dundarave. But in New Brunswick—traditionally not as well-known of a golf destination as the rest of the Maritimes—an absolute gem at The Algonquin Resort has brought thrilling and picturesque golf to this Maritime Province since its major renovation which was completed in 2018.
Nestled within the quaint little town of Saint Andrews by-the-sea, The Algonquin golf course delivers a remarkable golf experience from start to finish. With magnificent views of Passamaquoddy Bay, the golf course’s rolling terrain takes you from the inland holes to the ocean frontage, all while complemented by its wonderful wavy green complexes that are tied in so well with plenty of short grass run-offs, and scraggly heathlands style bunkering.
Golf has been played in Saint Andrews-by-the-sea since 1894, and most of the early design credit belongs to Donald Ross, who, in the 1920s, designed a twenty-seven hole golf course for Canadian Pacific Railroad’s Algonquin Resort. In the early 2000s, Thomas McBroom was brought in to update the course to modern standards and was responsible for bringing in the 12th and 13th holes alongside the bay. More recently, following his success at Cabot Links, the Resort’s ownership hired Rod Whitman to reimagine the golf course.
Rod Whitman and his then-design associate (and now partner) Keith Cutten worked through much of 2017 and 2018 to deliver a golf course featuring plenty of ground effect and links like attributes, wide open vistas and breathtaking seaside views. They successfully established a brilliant mix of tasteful artistry within the land by removing many trees to open up vistas across the property, remodelling bunkers with grass faces, wavy edge lines and flat bottoms, redesigning many green complexes, adding short grass surrounds, and designing two completely new holes for the routing.
The most thrilling stretch of golf begins at the 10th and lasts through the dramatic Par 5, 13th. The 10th and 11th are both brand new Rod Whitman designed holes: the former with its redan-esque designed infinity green is a long Par 3 that looks out right to the bay; while the latter, a thrilling risk-reward Par 5 is one of Canada’s best, playing uphill slightly dogleg from right to left, then gently tumbles down the hillside to the green that looks like it sits right on the edge of the ocean.
At the 12th, a hole originally fashioned by Thomas McBroom and updated by Whitman/Cutten, is the scenic signature downhill Par 3 you’ll recognize from all publications of this course. Finally, the 13th is a par 5 tucked right up against the bay, with the aggressive line tempting the golfer to cut off as much as they can chew to be rewarded with distance gains and a mid iron approach. Not to mention the great views out over the bay on each of these great holes.
While the ocean front holes deserve much of the attention, the inland ones are nearly equally as good, highlighted by a strong stretch at the 3rd through 7th. These holes utilize ground effects immensely well, with dynamic green complexes that allow the golfer so many options around the greens. When weather conditions allow and the contours firm up, it adds a special element to the course. The endless rolling terrain creates a multitude of elevation changes which dramatically affect the nature of each hole—with shots from tee to green often playing longer or shorter than the scorecard or rangefinder says. Each green complex is uniquely integrated into the terrain, delivering excitement in the form of originality, playing options and beautiful visual queues. The highlight for me is the long Par 4, 7th, with its tee shot straight to a fairway that rises then falls down towards a green with a bank shot behind and a central bunker short.
Even if you don’t get a picture-perfect day, the natural elements mother nature throws at you here can deliver an exciting adventure on this golf course. Encountering thick fog, sunshine, and drizzly rain all in the same round is just part of the charm of golf in Atlantic Canada. These elements are perfect complements to golf here, the golf course really shines no matter the weather conditions.
Open for daily public play with rates ranging from $85-145 for a round of golf, The Algonquin delivers exceptional value with strong architectural merits. It is not often in Canada can you get a top 40 golf course in this price range. The one thing holding The Algonquin back from being a first-rate destination is the lack of any nearby golf courses that you could add to the itinerary. They don’t have a second course, or a short course on offer—though they may have the land for the latter. I’ve not yet played Kingswood Park in Fredericton, so I can’t recommend it. And while Riverside Country Club is excellent and was most recently listed within the Beyond The Contour Top 100 (#82), it is private and won’t be conducive to any sizable golf groups. Ultimately, The Algonquin is best suited as a brief stop on a road trip filled with other activities, for now. Nonetheless, that certainly should not stop you from seeking it out. The town oozes charm, the resort is of high-quality offering plenty of amenities for golfers and non-golfers alike, and the restaurants offer ample fresh seafood. It doesn’t get much better in small town rural Canada.
