From the talents of native son Stanley Thompson to a must-visit destination featuring the country’s top two designs, here’s our list of the top 10 courses in Canada.
1. CABOT CLIFFS, Inverness, Nova Scotia
This stunner shot to the top of the list the moment it opened nearly a decade ago. Coore & Crenshaw’s deft routing combines with a jaw dropping site to produce Canada’s one must-play course.
2. CABOT LINKS, Inverness, Nova Scotia
The slightly older sister to Cabot Cliffs, set on more linksy but less dramatic terrain, is not quite as dazzling but isn’t far behind, and it’s hard to conceive of any golf destination with a more impressive duo.
3. ST. GEORGE’S GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, Etobicoke, Ontario
Host of 11 national men’s and women’s championships, this tight and twisting parkland test via Stanley Thompson, just minutes from downtown Toronto, is always in immaculate condition.
4. HAMILTON GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB (SOUTH & WEST), Ancaster, Ontario
A 1915 Harry Colt classic set on challenging terrain and recently restored by Martin Ebert, it is a seven-time venue for the Canadian Open, most recently the 2024 event won by Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.
5. NATIONAL GOLF CLUB, Woodbridge, Ontario
In 1973, George Fazio and his yet to-be-famous nephew Tom were told to create the toughest course in Canada, and they did exactly that: an unrelenting gauntlet of narrow fairways, small vexing greens, beckoning lakes and streams, steep hills, forced carries, and uneven lies.
6. FAIRMONT BANFF SPRINGS, Banff, Alberta
This Stanley Thompson design is set in one Cabot Cliffs of the most spectacular locations in the world, the star attraction of the stunning turreted hotel known as Canada’s Castle in the Rockies. The signature hole, the par-three 4th hole named “The Devil’s Cauldron,” plays downhill 200 yards across a shimmering glacial lake.
7. CAPILANO GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, West Vancouver, British Columbia
Perched high above Vancouver Harbor, this Thompson course is a delightful walk in the park, its holes terraced into the mountainside to provide a variety of shotmaking assignments.
8. CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS LINKS, Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia
Known as Thompson’s “mountains and ocean course,” it was carved from a national park and takes a links-like coastal journey from sandy beach through dense forest to river’s edge and back. After suffering decades of neglect, an Ian Andrew update has restored its original luster.
9. FAIRMONT JASPER PARK LODGE, Jasper, Alberta
Thompson deployed 50 teams of horses and 200 men, literally moving mountains to create this majestic layout. Dramatic bunkering and numerous water features add both beauty and challenge to a course currently celebrating its centennial year.
10. TORONTO GOLF CLUB, Mississauga, Ontario
The third-oldest golf club in North America (founded in 1876), it moved to its present home on the banks of the Etobicoke River in 1911. Harry Colt created Canada’s first championship course, a rambling heathland design that became the yardstick against which all future courses have been measured.
