Canada's Toughest Golf Course

The Royal Canadian Golf Association asked Canadian golfers to vote on Canada’s toughest golf course. The RCGA received over 300 votes for what Canadian golfers think is this country’s most difficult golf course.

Votes came in for courses right across the nation, from Victoria Golf Club on the west coast to Admiral’s Green in St. John’s, N.L. It’s obvious that Canadians are knowledgeable and passionate about the game of golf, as evidenced by the insightful comments that accompanied some votes.

The following are the top-3 most difficult courses as voted on by Canadians:

1. National Golf Club of Canada, Woodbridge, Ont.
One course was continually mentioned by voters and seems to have a firm hold in Canadian golf folklore as being the toughest track around. That course is the National Golf Club of Canada, located in Woodbridge, ON. The National received 21 percent of the votes, well ahead of any other contender. The National is famous for its fast, sloping greens and the demand it places on accurate and intelligent shot-making…nothing less than perfect will suffice.

2. Royal Montreal Golf Club (Blue Course), Ille Bizard, Que.
The Royal Montreal (Blue Course) received the second most votes at 10 percent. The Blue Course has recently undergone a renovation at the hands of golf architect Rees Jones in preparation for the 2007 President’s Cup. Mr. Jones is well known for his ‘doctoring’ of venues for the US Open so it should be no surprise that the Blue Course is perceived by voters as ‘tough as nails’.

3. Highlands Links, Cape Breton, N.S.
Receiving the third most votes (5 percent) was the venerable Highlands Links, located in beautiful Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Highlands Links is not particularly long but there is not a flat lie to be found on the wonderful, rolling terrain. Legendary Canadian golf architect Stanley Thompson is said to have buried huge boulders in the fairways when the course was built.