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:
20-1 of SCOREGolf‘s Top 100 Canadian Courses
20. Bigwin Island
Few experiences compare to that of Bigwin Island, a private club that makes its golf course and amenities available to non-members from opening to the end of June and from September to season’s close. Accessible only by ferry, the Doug Carrick design is a total blast thanks to wide fairways, giant, distinctive bunkers and some astonishing views.
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Winner: George Baker
19. Humber Valley
Another Doug Carrick creation, Humber Valley might be the most overlooked great course in Canada, though it gets its due on SCOREGolf’s rankings. With its two nines cascading in opposite directions from a hilltop clubhouse, Humber Valley offers a sensational golf experience on the Humber River, with its 10th hole among the best par 4s in the country.
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Winner: Isaac Robinson
18. Shaughnessy
Ask any PGA Tour player who regularly plays in the RBC Canadian Open and he’s likely to tell you that his favourite venue of the last 10 years is Vancouver’s Shaughnessy. Given St. George’s and Hamilton have also hosted it that time, that’s high praise. The tree-lined gem’s prime defence is its tiny greens.
Private
17. Oviinbyrd
Thomas McBroom put his name on the map with his work in Ontario’s Muskoka area, beginning with Rocky Crest, but his best build there has become the exclusive Oviinbyrd, which is subtler than most Muskoka courses but still dramatic. Oviinbyrd gets better as it goes with the spectacular drop-shot, over-water par-3 14th is as good as it gets.
Private
16. Muskoka Bay
Coming in just ahead of its Muskoka counterpart, Oviinbyrd, is Doug Carrick’s Muskoka Bay, where in 2006 Carrick and then design associate, Ian Andrew, took full advantage of exposed rock and marshy terrain to build a near-perfect front nine and a more challenging back nine. The finish is among the strongest anywhere.
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Winner: Francesco Luzi
15. Greywolf
Whenever Greywolf, the mountain course in Panorama, B.C., is discussed its par-3 sixth hole, Cliffhanger, garners much of the ink. The all-world, canyon-spanning, cliffside hero hole is worth the green fee alone. Aside from it, though, Greywolf is solid all-around design with Carrick learning about building in the mountains from visiting Stanley Thompson’s Banff Springs.
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Winner: Mike Larsen
14. Blackhawk
Albertan Rod Whitman is a genius on a bulldozer and his shaping chops are on full display at the wonderfully whimsical Blackhawk. Rugged bunkering, wide, contoured fairways and greens with plenty of movement make Blackhawk one of the best modern designs in Canada. This was the course that earned Whitman the invite to build Cabot Links.
Private
13. Westmount
The likes of St. George’s, Hamilton and Capilano get the highest praise when it comes to city courses in Canada, but Kitchener’s Westmount, designed by Stanley Thompson, is right there with them. Gorgeous rolling fairways, superb green sites and a back nine with some of the best par 4s in the land make it a hit.
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12. Toronto GC
Martin Hawtree’s restoration of the famed Toronto Golf Club has pushed it up to No. 12 in SCOREGolf’s 2018 Top 100 ranking. Not that the century-old Harry Colt classic needed much help drawing accolades. Its elegance and beautiful canvas dotted with some of the best bunkering in Canada make Toronto a top-10 threat.
Private
11. Devil’s Paintbush
The Devil’s Paintbrush is where Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry paid homage to the links of Scotland with a course largely void of trees and marked by pot bunkers, blind shots, double-greens, tall fescue and charming accents like stone walls and ruins. The Paintbrush is pure adventure from start to finish.
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Winner: Mike Banz
10. Beacon Hall
Beacon Hall sneaks back into SCOREGolf’s top 10 after placing 11th in 2016. The pristine private club in Aurora, Ont., is acclaimed for its vastly different nines. A front side cut through tall pines that is reminiscent of the Carolinas followed by more open, links-like holes coming home.
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9. Capilano
Capilano is one of three courses to have never been outside SCOREGolf’s top 10 since it began this ranking in 1988. The Stanley Thompson gem with views of Vancouver’s skyline, as well as distant mountain peaks, is tame going out, tough coming in and an overall terrific time.
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8. Cape Breton Highlands Links
Cape Breton Highlands is a course that is truly unlike any other in Canada. The routing is simply sublime as Stanley Thompson takes you from the Atlantic Ocean, to the mountains, into a valley and back to the ocean again. Humps and bumps all the way around. True genius.
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Winner: Matthieu Lacerte
7. Hamilton G&CC – West, South
Significant tree removal has provided Harry Colt’s Hamilton G&CC with a much different look than in the past and as a result Colt’s sensational holes have never played better. The Ancaster, Ont., club will host the 2019 and 2023 RBC Canadian Opens.
Private
6. Fairmont Banff Springs
One of the most well-known Canadian golf courses outside of Canada, the Stanley Thompson masterpiece at the base of Banff’s castle hotel is as memorable as they come. Distinctive bunkering plus the par-3 fourth hole, The Devil’s Cauldron, are Banff’s hallmarks.
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Winner: Kevin Gagne
5. St. George’s
St. George’s G&CC in Toronto remains in the No. 5 spot on SCOREGolf’s list. Stanley Thompson’s brilliant holes at the best in-city course in Canada traverse valleys and have been enhanced by restored bunkers and new greens.
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4. Cabot Links
Cabot Links, Rod Whitman’s true links in Inverness, N.S., remains in the No. 4 spot on the Top 100. With views of the ocean available on every inch of the course and the elements largely determining its toughness on any given day, Cabot Links is the purest golf experience in Canada.
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Winner: Douglas Boettger
3. The National GC of Canada
A bit of a surprise as The National Golf Club of Canada drops to No. 3. Once SCOREGolf’s perennial No. 1, the George and Tom Fazio design is still as good and pure as ever and while its reputation for difficulty is well-earned, it is quite simply a demanding yet fair test with sensational holes throughout.
Private
2. Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge
A course’s fun factor carries the most weighting of the nine categories used to rate golf courses so it’s no surprise that Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is so high up on SCOREGolf’s list. This is Stanley Thompson’s most joyous course, not only in its sheer beauty, but also in its awesome and sometimes quirky design.
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Winner: Cindy Ellard
1. Cabot Cliffs
Coming in at No. 1 on SCOREGolf’s Top 100 is Cabot Cliffs, which debuted in the top spot in 2016 and keeps it for 2018. The Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw jaw-dropper contains several spectacular ocean-side holes, holes through high dunes and holes on both high and low lands. It has it all and it’s the best course in Canada.
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Winner: Dan McKinlay
cabot links and cabot cliffs do not have spectacular ocean-side views but spectacular views of the Northumberland Strait and the Bay of St. Lawrence.