Canada Trip

My wife and I spent two wonderful weeks in New England and Canada in July of 2023.  Due to the amount of courses played, I have decided to split the trip into Canada and the US.  First up is our time visiting our neighbor to the North.

Cabot Cliffs.  One of the best courses in the world

Our time in Canada began in Saint John, New Brunswick.  We drove up from Maine and headed to Riverside Country Club which was designed by Donald Ross, and therefore was a mandatory stop for me.  The course is implementing a restoration master plan a few holes at a time and the execution so far is very well done.

Riverside Country Club, par four 9th hole

We spent the next few days of our Canadian adventure in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but our day two began about ninety miles southwest of Halifax.  I made this side journey to play White Point Golf Club, a nine hole Donald Ross course.  White Point is full of character and has maintained it's original routing from when Ross built it.  It falls into the category of courses that could be truly exceptional with a mega dollar restoration, but what is on the ground now is very good.

White Point Golf Club, par three 3rd hole

We headed back to Halifax for our second round on day two.  We managed to dodge the rain showers to get most of our round in at the New course at Ashburn Golf Club.  The New course is about ten miles north of Halifax and was designed by Geoffrey Cornish in the 1970's.  The course is on some wonderfully undulating property next to a large lake.

Ashburn Golf Club(New), par four 10th hole

Day three of the trip began at one of the biggest surprises of the trip.  Brightwood Golf & Country Club in Halifax was designed by Donald Ross and packs a punch in it's 5600 yards.  The site is very small, and the holes very close together, but because of Ross routing genius, you never notice.  

Brightwood Golf & Country Club, par four 7th hole

We continued our day in Halifax at the Old course at Ashburn Golf Club.  This almost hundred year old course was designed by the king of Canadian golf design, Stanley Thompson.  Thompson designed most of the best courses in Canada, and I will play one of his best later in the trip.  This delightfully short par 67 course features some great par threes, and goes up and down the hilly property with great execution.

Ashburn Golf Club, par three 7th hole

We headed north after our round at Ashburn to begin our journey to the Cape Breton Highlands.  Before we headed to the highlands, we played an early morning round at Antigonish Golf & Country Club.  Antigonish is a charming small town and it's golf course matches the town.  The course was expanded to 18 holes in the 1980's and a very pedestrian and flat first hole doesn't give you any hint of what you are in for in terms of dramatic elevation changes.  I highly recommend a stop here for anybody driving to Cabot from points west.

Antigonish Golf & Country Club, par three 13th hole

We made the hour and a half drive to the town of Inverness after our round at Antigonish.  Inverness is the home of Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs.  This was the destination that was the point of this two week trip.  After Covid caused us to postpone our journey to the North, we were very excited to be here to experience two courses we had heard so much about. 

Cabot Cliffs

Before we tackled the big courses, we checked out the newly opened Nest par three course at Cabot.  This ten-hole course designed by Rod Whitman, designer of Cabot Links, can be played from the forward tee with just a putter if desired.  

The Nest, par three 9th hole

After our fun round on The Nest, we made the short walk down to the first tee of Cabot Cliffs.  I will admit that I was a little skeptical of the greatness of Cliffs before I teed off.  The course has the unusual makeup of 6 par 3's, 6 par 4's, and 6 par 5's.  I have played several courses that have tried this, but nobody has come close to pulling it off because most architects simply can't design 6 interesting par 5's.  Most can't design 4!  

Cabot Cliffs, par five 10th hole

I obviously underestimated Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw, designers of Cabot Cliffs, because they pulled off a course with six amazing par 5's!  I probably should have known the designers of some of my favorite courses would be up to the task, but I was stunned by just how good the course was.  It is one of the best courses in the world and a mandatory journey for anybody interested in golf architecture. 

Me playing the par five 15th hole at Cabot Cliffs

Something else I was very impressed by at Cabot was the tee placement.  The Royal Blue tees, at only 3700 yards allowed my 35 handicap wife to break 90 for the first time in her life.  The firm conditions, coupled with the yardage, allowed her to hit wedges into short par 4' and par 5's.  This never happens for her, as a typical par four for her is driver, 3 wood, mid-iron.  Cabot is the rare resort that understands that higher handicappers deserve tees that allow them to play the game like everybody else.  I really wish more courses would do this.  

The fifth day of the trip began at the original course at Cabot, Cabot Links.  Designed by Rod Whitman in 2012, Links is on less dramatic land than Cliffs but is still a top 100 in the world golf course.  The course offers a genuine links course experience, something that lots of courses claim, but few actually deliver.  As at Cliffs, the tees were well thought out and my wife had another wonderful day experiencing true links golf without having to travel to the UK! 

Cabot Links, par three 14th hole

We left Cabot and took the world famous Cabot Trail into Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  The trail is one of the most dramatic drives in the world and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Cabot Trail

Me on the Cabot Trail

We emerged on the east side of the park and made our way to the original championship course on Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Highlands Links.

Cape Breton Highlands Links, par four 4th hole

Designed by Stanley Thompson, Highlands Links has always been considered a top 100 in the world golf course.  It is that rare course where you experience several different styles of architecture.  You start out near the water for several holes, then you venture into some mountainous property, before finishing on some great parkland holes.  Massive tree removal and drainage work could transform this course into something very special, but with the government owning the course, I doubt that will ever happen.  What is there now is a great representation of the architecture of the Golden Age of golf design.

Cape Breton Highlands Links, par five 16th hole

We began day six of the trip in the eastern part of Nova Scotia at Bell Bay Golf Club in Baddeck.  The course was designed by Tom McBroom, who is probably the biggest Canadian golf architect of the last thirty years.  

Bell Bay Golf Club, par three 8th hole

We made a three and a half hours drive west after our round at Bell Bay to the town of Wallace and the Fox Harb'r Resort.  The course opened for play in 2001 and was designed by Canadian architect Graham Cooke. The front nine is parkland in nature, while the back is links style right on the water.  The resort is in the process of turning the existing course into what will ultimately be 2 courses.  The ocean back nine will be combined with another oceanside nine that is being built now, and after that nine parkland holes will be added to join the existing front nine.

Fox Harb'r Resort, 11th green in foreground with 15th hole and 16th tee in background

On the seventh day of the trip we visited Prince Edward Island.  We began on the Northeast part of the island in the town of Morell.  The Links at Crowbush Cove was designed by Tom McBroom and opened in 1993.  While not really a links course, Crowbush does have several wonderful ocean views and a very interesting set of greens.

The Links at Crowbush Cove, par four 15th hole

We headed thirty minutes south to Carrigan for a round at Dundarave.  This Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry design is part of the Brudenell River resort.  The course works its way through the trees but makes occasional use of the land by the river, most interestingly at the par four 8th hole.

Dundarave Golf Course, par four 8th hole

On the last day of our Canadian adventure we returned to New Brunswick.  The Algonquin Resort golf course is in St. Andrews and sits on the water very close to the US border.  Unfortunately for us, heavy rain the night before resulted in very severe fog during our morning round.  I still enjoyed the course and experience but did lose several balls that I thought were hit towards the fairway, but it's hard to judge when you can only see a hundred yards in front of you.

This was my view when I played the wonderful par three 12th hole at Algonquin.  Look below for what you are supposed to see.

The 12th hole at Algonquin on a normal, fog free day.

Our first Canadian adventure was a great success and we hope to return soon.  I really hope that Cabot is successful in finding land for another course, as I would love an excuse to return to Cabot Cliffs!  If you enjoy spending time in the car, then driving the Cabot Trail should be on your bucket list!

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