In celebration of SCOREGolf’s Top 59 Public Golf Courses Ranking, we recently hosted Canada’s Top 59 Golf Giveaway, where we gave away a foursome to every course on the list! With thousands of entries from coast-to-coast, we want to thank everyone that entered and congratulate all of our winners.
When SCOREGolf first launched its Top List in 2013, they chose 59 to coincide with golf’s coveted score, which had been carded at the game’s highest levels only a few times. Despite Jim Furyk coming along and bettering the score when he shot a 58 in 2016, the list remains the same size this year.
Using a rating scale that measures beauty, strategy, challenge, design, conditioning, Par 3s, Par 4s, Par 5s and fun factor, below is the Top 59 Public Golf Courses in Canada in 2017.
Check out our previous posts in the countdown:
29-20 of SCOREGolf‘s Top 59 Canadian Public Courses
29. Wildstone
Wildstone has the good fortune of being the only Gary Player Design course in Canada. And the Black Knight certainly impressed with his first effort here, carving a wonderful layout through tall pines on rolling highlands above the city of Cranbrook.
Winner: Philippe Viel
28. Copper Point — The Point Course
A newcomer to the Top 59, Copper Point has been around since 2004 but is now finally getting the acclaim it’s long deserved. Built by Alberta-based architect Gary Browning of Stewart Creek fame, the Point Course features wide fairways and plenty of elevation changes through forested terrain.
Winner: Walter Pitton
27. Black Bear Ridge
A homemade design by owner Brian Magee, Black Bear Ridge is a pristine place with several stunning holes cut through tall pines and around wetlands. Drop-shot tee shots on holes such as the first, 10th and 17th are particularly memorable.
Winner: Sylvain Fleury
26. Nicklaus North
Another Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in Canada, Nicklaus North is laid out over a mountain valley floor surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. With holes adjacent to glacier-fed lakes, it’s a breathtaking spot.
Winner: Ian Brown
25. Predator Ridge — Predator Course
The first course at the massively popular B.C. resort of Predator Ridge was designed by Les Furber, and features windswept holes over rolling hills with fairways bordered by tall, golden fescue. Be on your game with the flatstick because Furber’s greens are large and rollicking.
Winner: Richard Lemke
24. Gallagher’s Canyon
Now an annual host of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada, Gallagher’s Canyon, which opened in 1990, is known for offering stunning vistas of Kelowna as you play along a canyon’s edge. Ponderosa pines line most fairways on this Bill Robinson design.
Winner: Jay Price
23. Wolf Creek — Links Course
Local architect Rod Whitman took nine holes from his existing 27-hole course at Wolf Creek and combined it with a new nine he built in 2010 to create the Links Course. It’s been received even better than Whitman’s original 18-holer and features the architect’s trademark old-world aesthetics.
Winner: Jeff Cockburn
22. Le Maître
With a name like 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples on board as a co-designer, Le Maître has always been a draw for golf course enthusiasts. Couples collaborated with Graham Cooke and Darrell Huxham on the project and the result is a stunner along Devil’s River.
Winner: Brendan Heffernan
21. Cobble Beach
On a shelf above Georgian Bay, Doug Carrick’s wide-open Cobble Beach is well regarded for its amazing views, climbing fairways and complex greens, with collection areas providing players who miss targets plenty of short-game options. The par-3 17th, with a lighthouse and the bay in the background, is phenomenal.
Winner: Abe Ho
20. Osprey Valley — Heathlands Course
Though it’s been passed in recent rankings by the Hoot Course at Osprey Valley, the Heathlands Course is the layout architect Doug Carrick is most proud of there. It was his first foray into developing a links-inspired track and he hit a home run.
Winner: Shawn Blaquiere
Would be honoured to play any of those beautiful courses.