Golfweek Wades into the Canadian Course Ratings Game

The second hole at Highlands Links from last year.

Score  and Ontario Golf already do it — and even the Globe and Mail tried it at one point — and now U.S. mag Golfweek is presenting a Top 30 Modern (post-1960) and Top 30 Classic (pre-1960).

You can find their lists here.

What’s interesting? Well, Highlands Links is #1 in GW’s Classic list, and #6 in ScoreGolf’s overall list. Based on Score’s list it would be #5 Classic using GW’s criteria. I must admit I like seeing it that high — and with the ongoing restoration, it wouldn’t surprise me if Highlands gets another jump once people see the completed work later this year.

1. Highlands Links

Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia

1939, Stanley Thompson 8.25

2. St. George’s G&CC

Islington, Ontario

1928, Stanley Thompson 8.16

3. Jasper Park Lodge

Jasper, Alberta

1925, Stanley Thompson 8.14

4. Hamilton G&CC (West & South)

Ancaster, Ontario

1914, Harry S. Colt 7.41

5. Capilano G&CC

West Vancouver, British Columbia

1937, Stanley Thompson 7.17

6. Toronto GC

Mississauga, Ontario

1912, Harry S. Colt 7.14

7. Mount Bruno CC

St. Bruno, Quebec

1918, Willie Park Jr. 6.71

8. Victoria GC

Victoria, British Columbia

1893 Harvey Combe 6.60

9. Royal Montreal GC (Blue)

Ile Bizard, Quebec

1959, Dick Wilson (1959); Rees Jones (2006) 6.50

10. Banff Springs

Banff, Alberta

1928, Stanley Thompson 6.48

Banff is No. 5 overall on Score’s list, but only #10 on GW’s classic list, quite surprising frankly. Maybe the raters at GW are suggesting the haphazard way in which Fairmont has supported the course (it has been in dire need of a proper bunker reno for years) has caught up with it. I love the course, but I must admit I thought it was high in the Score list. If properly restored, I’d suggest it is a candidate for Top 100 in the world — but not in its current state.

Of course there are the obvious strange bits in GW’s ratings, which must be largely American raters since the magazine has not done a Canadian ranking before. There are three courses in GW’s Classic list — Royal Montreal’s Blue course, Manoir Richelieu and The Algonquin — that are all recent renovations and have basically nothing to do with the “classic” courses they were built on. All three are, to my way of thinking, modern courses.

Nice to see Mount Bruno get the love it deserves — the Montreal-area course is very quiet and only ranks 72 on Score’s list — much too low. GW puts it at #7 on its Classic list, just ahead of Victoria GC.

The 18th at the National.

The modern list is, in some ways, more interesting and troublesome at the same time. The strange ones — Fox Harb’r at #11 when it might be the worst modern course on a great site (and also sits ahead of Eagles Nest and Oviinbyrd, which is just wrong) — are head shakers. That Shaughnessy is a modern course, though it still uses Vernon Macan’s routing, while Royal Montreal, which was completely redone five years ago is a classic is bothersome. Nice to Sagebrush get some love, but behind Devil’s Pulpit? Who are we kidding?