The wait is finally over. SCOREGolf’s Top 100 is the most authoritative golf course ranking in Canada and has been igniting debates every two years since 1988.
In celebration of SCOREGolf’s Top 100 Golf Courses Ranking, we recently hosted Canada’s Top 100 Golf Giveaway, where we gave away a foursome more than half of the courses on the list. With thousands of entries from coast-to-coast, we want to thank everyone that entered and congratulate all of our winners. And congratulations to our Grand Prize winner Pamela Rawling from Toronto, Ont., who won our Ultimate Whistler Golf Getaway – a trip for four to Whistler and will get to play Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Big Sky and Nicklaus North.
Check out our previous post in the countdown:
60-41 of SCOREGolf‘s Top 100 Canadian Courses
60. Magna
The 2019 CP Women’s Open host has long been known as one of the most immaculate playgrounds in Canadian golf. A narrowing of some fairways and shrinking or removing of bunkers over the years has made it a better all-around test and course. The start is particularly strong at Magna.
Private
59. Predator Ridge – Predator
The original course at the highly acclaimed Predator Ridge Resort in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, the Predator, designed by Les Furber, is an exciting ride that once hosted the old Canadian Skins Game. It’s heavy on elevation changes, windswept fescue areas, pot bunkers and multi-tiered greens.
Public
Winner: Mandy Hanley
58. Georgian Bay
High on beauty with some stunning views of Georgian Bay’s shimmering waters, the course of the same name is a real blast to play. Wide fairways and large greens make for big targets and a few drop-shot holes ratchet it up the excitement factor. The back nine here is particularly strong.
Private
57. The Ridge at Manitou
A good-news story in Canadian golf, this much-loved Thomas McBroom design was on the verge of closing after last season before new ownership was secured. North of Ontario’s Muskoka region on Manitouwabing Lake, it contains all the rocky elements of a cottage country track with one of the best finishers in Canada.
Public
Winner: Jason Valliere
56. Glencoe – Forest
The renovated Forest Course at Glencoe (which had to be redone again once the 2013 Alberta floods hit) has dropped in SCOREGolf’s Top 100 but remains one of the best tee-to-green tests in Canada. An abundance of bunkering and raised, difficult putting surfaces do a great job of protecting par.
Private
55. Osprey Valley – Toot
The parkland-style course at the wonderful 54-hole Osprey Valley is considered the third best on the property but still cracks the top 60. It recently hosted a Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada event and players love the sweeping fairways, terrific green sites and conditioning. Doug Carrick crafted this course, as well as the two others at Osprey.
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Winner: Bob Therault
54. Tower Ranch
Built on bench land high above Kelowna, Tom McBroom’s Tower Ranch drops hundreds of feet over its 18 holes, putting golfers high above fairways on many tee decks. Its vistas extend for miles from start to finish, and some superb holes on the back nine ensure an excellent finish.
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Winner: Peter Corrin
53. Windermere
Robbie Robinson had a great parcel of land to work with in Windermere and took advantage of the North Saskatchewan River that winds through the property on holes such as the par-3 eighth and par-5 11th. In fact, all of the par 3s and par 5s are extremely strong at Windermere.
Private
52. Cobble Beach
Located on the shores of Georgian Bay, with views of the water available at almost every turn, Cobble Beach is one of Doug Carrick’s most beautiful creations. Don’t get too distracted by the views though — the links-like design features plenty of fescue and collection areas around greens to keep you on your toes.
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Winner: Adam Brown
51. Osprey Valley – Heathlands
There are several courses throughout Canada that were built in homage to the great Old World links, where the canvas on which golf is played is fairly open and subject to wind and hazards include pot bunkers and gnarly fescue. The Heathlands at Osprey is truly one of the best.
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Winner: Samuel Corriveau
50. Fairmont Chateau Whistler
One of four Fairmont properties on the Top 100, Chateau Whistler is a Robert Trent Jones, Jr., design built into the slopes of the Coast Mountain Range in Whistler. Massive elevation changes and nature’s accents — creeks, tall Douglas firs and rocky outcroppings — mark the course.
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Winner: Zack Poirier
49. Nicklaus North
Sneaking in just ahead of its fellow Whistler course, Chateau Whistler, Nicklaus North is cut through a valley floor at the base of snow-capped mountains and around emerald-coloured lakes. You can tell architect Jack Nicklaus has a particular affinity for the place as its one of few courses that bears his name.
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Winner: Kelly Ferguson
48. Mad River
The late American architect Bob Cupp picked some great sites for his few Canadian golf course designs with Mad River south of Collingwood, Ont., being a prime example. Cupp puts your game to the test on a few holes at Mad River but offers room to maneuver and have fun.
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47. Ottawa Hunt – South, West
Recently renovated by Michael Hurdzan, the South and West nines at Ottawa Hunt are getting their due as the top layout in the National Capital Region. Just enough undulation in the land makes for an intriguing layout with players at the 2017 CP Women’s Open providing their approval.
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Winner: Brooks Hipgrave
46. Laval-sur-le-Lac – Blue
Mike Weir and his design partner, Ian Andrew, completely rebuilt the formerly mis-matched Blue Course at Laval-sur-le-Lac, turning it into a sensational design with sloping greens and surrounds reminiscent of world-class courses like Augusta National, Riviera and Royal Melbourne, which Weir has played and Andrew has studied closely.
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45. Port Carling G&CC
Thomas McBroom has done a lot of work in Ontario’s cottage country regions of Muskoka and the Kawarthas, and while Port Carling doesn’t get the attention some of his other designs too, it’s just as worthy of praise. Large distinctive bunkers, rugged, rocky outcroppings and accessible greens make for a fantastic round.
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44. Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill returns to the Top 100 with a bang. The Walter J. Travis design 30 minutes from Niagara Falls is a study in subtlety. The parcel of land on which it sits isn’t as dynamic as others on this list but its holes are strategic sensations with excellent bunkers and terrific greens — perhaps the best set in Canada.
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43. Mississauga G&CC
A collaboration between Stanley Thompson and golf professional George Cumming — both members of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame — with tweaks along the way (most recently by Doug Carrick), Mississauga lies mostly in a tranquil valley with the Credit River running through it. It’s a past Canadian Open host.
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42. Big Sky
Bob Cupp’s Big Sky is a great example of a mountain course that doesn’t need to be built up into the mountains to be enjoyable. Rather, Cupp laid out a series of excellent holes at the base of Mount Currie that call for golfers to be smart, precise and creative. Oh, and the scenery isn’t bad either.
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Winner: Joe Monroe
41. Eagles Nest
Doug Carrick’s stunning course in a former gravel site continues to be one of the best public golf options in the Greater Toronto Area. Running fairways through giant, sculpted dunes filled with golden fescue, Carrick created an adventure-filled round of golf with the property’s high points offering views of downtown Toronto.
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Winner: Brad Storey
These are awesome golf courses. Thank you for sharing!