SCOREGolf’s Top 59 Canadian Public Golf Course Rankings are back! Using a rating scale that measures beauty, strategy, challenge, design, conditioning, Par 3s, Par 4s, Par 5s and fun factor, SCOREGolf’s Top 59 Canadian Public Golf Courses is the most authoritative ranking in Canada that always ignites a great debate.
Check out all of the countdown posts here: 50–41 | 40–31 | 30–21 | 20–11 | 10-1
59-51 of SCOREGolf‘s Top 59 Canadian Public Golf Courses
59. Seguin Valley
Parry Sound, Ont.
Ted George/Chris Hudswell, 2003
SG Rating: 7.2692
2023 Rank: 58
Seguin Valley makes the cutoff as this year’s Top 59 bubble course. Its secluded holes cut through forest, rocky outcroppings, lakes and streams. They are highlighted by the par-3 seventh, a hole that spans McCrae Lake and sees golfers cross a 180-yard bridge connecting the tee deck and green.
58. Nicklaus North
Whistler, B.C.
Jack Nicklaus, 1995
SG Rating: 7.2781
2023 Rank: 38
Nicklaus North is a gorgeous course that cus through a valley floor around the glacier-fed Green Lake at the base of snow-capped mountains. This Whistler, B.C., layout is one of few that that architect Jack Nicklaus put his name on. The signature 17th, a long par 3 along Green Lake, is indeed a bear.
57. Copper Point – Point
Windermere, B.C.
Gary Browning/Wade Horrocks, 2004
SG Rating: 7.3146
2023 Rank: 50
Broad fairways, elevation changes and holes that run through forested terrain in the foothills of the Kootenay Rockies define the Point Course at Copper Point, a Gary Browning/Wade Horrocks collaboration. The strong 18th hole caps a solid routing at this 57th-ranked public course in Canada.
56. Wolf Creek – Old
Ponoka, Alta.
Rod Whitman, 1984
SG Rating: 7.3435
2023 Rank: 49
Rod Whitman’s first solo design was certainly a glimpse of what was to come as the Old Course at Wolf Creek is peppered with native fescue areas, nasty pot bunkers and spacious, undulating greens. Whitman loves to make the ground game a part of golf and that is the case here.
55. Gallagher’s Canyon
Kelowna, B.C.
Bill Robinson, 1990
SG Rating: 7.3527
2023 Rank: 59
Gallagher’s Canyon is known for the wonderful vistas of Kelowna it yields as you play along a canyon’s edge. The popular Bill Robinson design has a great variety of holes, especially when it comes to the collection of par 3s, and its fairways are framed by Ponderosa pines and offer distant mountain views.
54. Deerhurst Resort – Highlands
Huntsville, Ont.
Bob Cupp/Thomas McBroom, 1990
SG Rating: 7.3618
2023 Rank: 40
Deerhurst Highlands remains an enjoyable layout with some very intriguing holes, including the tumbling first frame that overlooks Fairy Lake, the 10th that plays alongside a dramatic rock face, and a linksy three-hole stretch on the front nine.
53. Fox Harb’r
Wallace, N.S.
Graham Cooke, 2001
SG Rating: 7.3713
2023 Rank: 39
(Fox Harbr’s new Doug Carrick/Thomas McBroom Ocean Nine not yet rated.)
Fox Harb’r has undergone a significant redo by Doug Carrick and Thomas McBroom with a new Ocean Nine that’s now open and more reworking to come. Its ranking of 53rd here is largely based on the original Graham Cooke holes on the Northumberland Strait.
52. Taboo Muskoka
Gravenhurst, Ont.
Ron Garl, 2002 (Alan Chudnovsky)
SG Rating: 7.3786
2023 Rank: 33
Originally designed by Ron Garl and refreshed by Alan Chud and the club’s turf team, Taboo Muskoka remains a great play in Ontario’s Muskoka region. New white-sand bunkers added more beauty to the resort course that was always pretty to the eye with granite rock outcroppings throughout.
51 .Trickle Creek
Kimberley, B.C.
Les Furber, 1993
SG Rating: 7.3875
2023 Rank: 48
High up in the Kootenay Rockies, Trickle Creek is a thrilling Les Furber design that navigates the slopes of Northstar Mountain. Marked by white-sand bunkers and of course several dramatic tee shots, the signature hole here is the par-3 11th that drops to a green tucked into tall pines.
Check out all of the countdown posts here: 50–41 | 40–31 | 30–21 | 20–11 | 10-1