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Renovations enhance playability at ...
The Rock GC
After undergoing renovations designed to further enhance the playing experience for golfers of all skill levels, The Rock GC, the award-winning Nick Faldo design in Muskoka, ON, will officially re-open in late May. |
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Highlighting the project was the strategic redesign of six holes to enhance approach shot views while eliminating blind shots and sloped landing areas. Renovations also included the expansion of tee areas and widening and levelling of fairway landing zones - changes designed to increase visibility, maximize playability, and improve shot-making opportunities while maintaining the integrity of The Rock’s original design. Renovations included alterations to 14 holes, the removal of exposed surface rock, and the reconstruction of all greenside bunkers. |
| Located on the shores of Lake Rosseau in Muskoka, The Rock GC originally opened in 2004, sculpted out of breathtaking pine forests and stunning granite cliffs. The layout has been recognized for both the challenge it provided to golfers and its natural beauty.
“Refinements made to The Rock will enhance the overall playing experience for golfers of all skill levels,” said Greg Downer, Director of Golf at The Rock Golf Club. “We have been eagerly awaiting the completion of this project and I am confident that enhancements will offer a challenging and fair test of golf, further establishing The Rock’s reputation as one of the most spectacular courses in Canada.” ( The Rock GC website ) |
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Restoration project complete at ...
The Cutten Club
It is no coincidence that the Cutten Club will closely resemble its original design first introduced to golfers more than 75 years ago ! |
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Under the guidance of golf course architect Ian Andrew, the Cutten Club has completed a major renovation project that involved upgrading the entire irrigation system and the restoration of all of the golf course's 90 bunkers. The project's intention was to restore the golf course to its original design that dates back to 1929 when founder Arthur W. Cutten and architects, Charles (Chick) Evans and the legendary Stanley Thompson, began construction of the Cutten Club - the most unique Stanley Thompson golf course - since he not only designed and built the course, but later owned and lived on the property. The Cutten Club officially opened for play in 1931.
Ian Andrew's work reflects the true sense of what Chick Evans and Stanley Thompson set out to create many years ago, and he has done a remarkable job protecting the integrity of our golf course. |
| Using a 1955 aerial photo, Ian Andrew set out to restore the course to that time. "It was fun duplicating Thompson's work along with some original Evans bunkers that were left over from 1930. The course is a bit of an amalgamation of the two architects but it manages to work together beautifully," says Andrew. ( Cutten Club website ) |
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Course Renovations complete at ...
Mississaugua G&CC
The Mississaugua G&CC will unveil its most significant renovation project in club history this spring with the re-opening of its newly transformed greens. |
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| Carrick Design and Evans Golf have re-designed, rebuilt and sodded all 19 green complexes (the club has an extra short hole) and made minor changes to the bunkering at the storied 102-year-old parkland layout that meanders through the Credit River Valley. | |
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As part of a plan developed by Carrick's office, associate Steve Vanderploeg increased the overall size of the greens to 110,000 square feet from 85,000 square feet. The project also improved drainage around the greens, increased the number of pinning areas on each green and helped improve entry & exit points to & from the greens to reduce turf stress. |
| As part of the green rebuilding program, hole # 1 has been lengthened by about 20 yards, and new tee complexes on holes # 3 & 4 were added. All bunker surrounds and putting surfaces have been built to USGA specifications. For more info, visit the Mississauga G&CC website |
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Returning to Donald Ross roots at ...
Essex G&CC
After a decade of work, the Essex G&CC (1902) is a remarkable tribute to Donald Ross' brilliance as a golf course architect and is one of just two 18-hole Ross originals in Canada. |
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| The restoration project started with a new pump house, followed by a new sprinkler system and an intensive tree-clearing program to open up the fairways off the tee as originally intended. This also helped to improve turf conditions. More recently, the club completed the strategic bunker and greens renovation project.
Using an original Ross course layout and older photographs, the classical sod-faced bunkers were re-established with traditional lines and depths of three to five feet. Initially, the course had more than 100 bunkers. Over time, about 20 bunkers were eliminated and now several key cross bunkers in the Donald Ross style have been brought back. The fairways lines were also redefined to present strategic shot options and to bring more fairway bunkers into play.
Many of the plateaued greens at Essex G&CC had lost their original shape and had shrunk in size. The "new" design has maximized the plateaued putting surfaces by eliminating bluegrass that had grown up between the greens and the bunkers, allowing additional and sometimes more challenging pin placements. For more info, visit the Essex G&SCC website |
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Restoration nears completion at ...
Scarboro G&CC
There will be a different look and an old, familiar feel around the bunkers and greens when Scarboro G&CC opens for play this spring. |
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| Architects Ian Andrew and Gil Hanse have all but completed a comprehensive bunker restoration and renovation project of the course initially designed by the legendary American golf course architect, A. W. Tillinghast in 1924. Scarboro G&CC is the lone Canadian course among an elite group of Tillinghast courses and has hosted four Canadian Opens.
The pproject includes restoration of all known A. W. Tillinghast features, removal of all recent changes to the course in order to return it to its original character, the addition of new fairway bunkers, particularly in the second landing of all the par fives, the restoration of chipping areas and feeder slopes around greens, the recovery of lost green surfaces,the addition of new tees and added length where appropriate.
An added Sahara grass bunker complex comes into play down the left side of hole # 1 on the second shot. It’s a distinguishing Tillinghast feature that can be found at many of the par-5s in his designs. Some of the most significant changes have been made to par-5s where the bunkering was altered to reflect the typical patterns of Tillinghast’s work. ( Scarboro G&CC website ) |
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