It has been said that making a hard golf hole is easy. But making a challenging golf hole that’s fun and offers options for every level of golfer—that’s difficult. We’ve picked 10 on the most difficult—but still enjoyable—holes in Canada. They are the kind of hole that might be unkind to your golf game, but leave you wanting to immediately head back to the tee to try to figure out their riddle. All of these holes are accessible to the public—and many will have already tested themselves against them and found their games lacking!
11th at Glen Abbey (Oakville, Ont.)
Perhaps the most recognizable hole on the list, this is no push over. Yes, there’s the drama of the tee shot, but those who miss on the right will find the bunker, while trees catch everything that misses on the left. Even if you hit the perfect tee shot, you’ll have to carry 16 Mile Creek on your approach to a small green. Miss any shot in the sequence and you’re facing bogey—or worse.
16th at Cabot Links (Inverness, NS)
A long par four that runs alongside the ocean, this hole is protected by bunkers hidden in the fairway that catch some of the best tee shots. From there, you have a downhill approach into a green that is protected by a hollow and the beach on the left. You’ll want to come in with a draw and approach the green from the right with a mid-iron, but the challenge doesn’t end when you reach the putting surface. You’ll breathe a sigh of relief if you manage to escape with par, even though you’ll have two tough holes remaining on your round.
7th hole at Cabot Cliffs (Inverness, NS)
Not the most fabled hole at the course—that would be the 16th—but this par 5 requires a big tee shot over an expansive ravine. If the wind is playing into you, you’ll struggle to carry the cavern, and even if you do, you’ll need two great shots to find the green.
2nd hole at Highlands Links (Ingonish, NS)
Perhaps the best hole in Canada without a bunker, the second at Highlands Links is even tougher than its listed yardage given there’s no warmup range on the property to prepare you. The tee shot slides to the right, and those who don’t play aggressively are faced with a long shot into a green set in the midst of a slight rise. But once you’ve made the green, you face a significant challenge given the wild undulations of the putting surface that were devised by designer Stanley Thompson.
14th at Banff Springs (Banff, Alberta)
Originally the finishing hole at Banff, this was always meant to test your entire game. With the Banff Springs hotel looming over the proceedings, you have to hit a great tee shot that avoids the bunker complex on the left and the forest on the right. As you get closer to the green, designer Stanley Thompson’s bunkers shallow all but the best shots.
11th hole at Sagebrush (Merritt, BC)
Considered one of the great modern designs in Canada, Sagebrush is reopening to the public this summer after being closed for a couple years. That will allow players to tackle this outstanding par 4 where the tee shot must cover a large area of naturalized long grass to find a spot on the fairway. If you play too safely, you’ll be left with a long shot to an uphill green. Balls that come up short often trundle down the hill that fronts the putting surface.
8th hole at Tobiano Golf Club (Kamloops, BC)
A par 5 isn’t usually the most difficult hole on a course. Most par 5s allow you to make a less-than-perfect shot and still have an opportunity at par. Not the 8th at Tobiano, which starts with a hole over a wide chasm. Just finding the fairway is a good start, but then the hole snakes down a fairway with a naturalized area on the right and mounding on the left. If you get to the green without losing a ball, you’ve done well.
9th hole at Muskoka Bay (Gravenhurst, Ont.)
This is a hole that doesn’t immediately appear difficult. After all, it isn’t that long and the tee shot is downhill. But this creation, designed by Toronto golf architect Doug Carrick and his then associate, Ian Andrew, has one of the nastiest approaches in Canadian golf. The green is protected by a rocky wall, with a slight entrance for those who can’t carry it all the way to the green. The actual putting surface is larger than one immediately recognizes, but the rock protecting it is completely unforgiving.
18th hole at Eagles Nest (Maple, Ont.)
Eagles Nest, a faux links north of Toronto, has always been noted as a difficult course, and this is a great final hole to a terrific challenge. With water running down the right on most of the hole, and a green protected by a bunker on the left and water on the right, one has to hit a great approach just to have a shot at par. But if you make it, you’ll forget the other 17 holes that kicked your butt.
10th at Humber Valley (Deer Lake, Newfoundland)
Perhaps the most dramatic tee shot on a par 4 in Canada, this Doug Carrick creation is stunning, with the ball hanging in the air for what seems like an eternity before plummeting to the (hopefully) fairway. In all, the hole drops 180 feet to the fairway and snakes to the left. If there’s ever a hole where you really want to hit a great shot and watch it fly, this is it.
