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By Robert Thompson | July 8, 2010
Sometime last year a French publisher approached me about assisting with an ambitious project it was undertaking. In conjunction with Rolex, the publisher was looking for rankings and descriptions of the Top 1000 courses in the world. In turn they asked if I could do the Canadian reviews and then the written descriptions. The reviews ... read more »
Tagged: Rolex, Rolex World's Top 1000 Golf Courses, Royal Montreal |
By Robert Thompson | December 22, 2009
With golf showing for the holidays (and me tiring of writing about Tiger), I thought I’d take the time to reflect on some of my experiences in 2009.
As anyone who reads this blog knows, I have a passion for golf design and great golf courses. This year was a spectacular one for me in that ... read more »
Tagged: ancaster, bandon dunes, bandon dunes resort, British Open, Cape Breton, Highlands Links, IMG, macdonald, national golf links of america, old macdonald, pacific dunes, private club, Richard Zokol, Rod Whitman, sagebrush, ScoreGolf, St. George's, urbina |
By Robert Thompson | October 30, 2009
Course Preview: Turnberry GC (Brampton, Ont.)
Opens: May, 2010
Designer: Cam Tyers/Doug Carrick
Let’s call Turnberry Golf Club, the new course designed by Carrick Design just off Highway 410, exactly what it is — a grand experiment.
Sure this is the same team behind Eagles Nest, one of the best public courses to open in Canada in recent years. ... read more »
Tagged: carrick design, course design, Doug Carrick, eagles nest, golf club, north berwick, Turnberry |
By Robert Thompson | October 29, 2009
This afternoon I’m going to play Turnberry GC, the new sister course to Eagles Nest in Brampton.
It is an 18-hole course with only two par-4s. But before you call this an executive course, note that it was designed by Cam Tyer and Doug Carrick, the two men behind Eagles Nest. Specifically Tyers used hole concepts ... read more »
Tagged: Doug Carrick, eagles nest, golf links, north berwick, Ontgolf.ca, sister course, Turnberry, visiting ontario |
By Robert Thompson | August 29, 2009
I had a nice conversation with designer Rod Whitman before heading to see his Sagebrush design in BC this week. Whitman has been working in Nova Scotia on Cabot Links, a course that has been delayed but is going forward. Anyway, here’s a shot from this week of the roughed-in 11th hole, a par-3.
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By Robert Thompson | August 28, 2009
I’m actually not quite back from B.C. In truth I’m sitting in the Vancouver airport using their terrific free wi-fi and getting ready for the red-eye back to the centre of the universe. The trip was a bit of a whirlwind — into Vancouver, do an interview, fly to Kamloops and drive to Merritt the ... read more »
Tagged: golf course, Richard Zokol, Rod Whitman, sagebrush, ScoreGolf, tobiano, whitman |
By Robert Thompson | August 25, 2009
Course Preview: Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club
Im in Vancouver today (interviewing Michael Buble, who is part-owner in a golf course and says his short game is sharp), before heading to Merritt tomorrow to see if one mans dream became a success.
It was five years ago that I started to hear about Richard Zokols concept for ... read more »
Tagged: Richard Zokol, Rod Whitman, Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club, ScoreGolf |
By Robert Thompson | August 4, 2009
I think Toronto GC may be the most important golf course in Canada. Not the best. Or the hardest. Just the most important. I can’t say I came to this conclusion on my own — I know several others who put forth this point and I’ve become convinced by their arguments.
So why is the course ... read more »
Tagged: Canadian Golf, Canadian Open, golf course, Golf Design, harry colt, IMG, martin hawtree, Stanley Thompson, sunningdale, Tarandowah, toronto golf, willie park |
By Robert Thompson | April 3, 2009
Course Preview: Old MacDonald (Bandon Dunes Resort, Oregon)
Designers: Tom Doak and Jim Urbina
Here’s the premise so far for those that think Old MacDonald is a child’s sing-song.
Bandon Dunes creator Mike Keiser wants to build a fourth course. And he’s fascinated by the Lido, a now defunct design by fabled golf designer CB MacDonald. He is ... read more »
Tagged: bandon dunes resort, old macdonald, pacific dunes, Scotland, st. andrews, tom doak, urbina |
By Robert Thompson | March 31, 2009
I spent a crazy day heading across country to get to the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort this afternoon. Crazy as in Toronto, San Fran, North Bend, half hour drive. But it is worth it. The late afternoon saw me wander around with Jim Urbina, part of the design team with Tom Doak at Pacific Dunes ... read more »
Tagged: bandon dunes golf, bandon dunes golf resort, old macdonald, tom doak, urbina |
A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in Golf Magazine, the Globe and Mail, T&L Golf and many other media outlets. Currently a columnist with Sympatico.ca and Ontario Golf, and a contributing writer to ScoreGolf, his blog, Going for the Green, was launched in 2004. 
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