12 St George’s Canada Stanley Thompson, 1929 Throughout its eighty-plus year history, the golf course at St George’s has had a seamless design history, beginning with Stanley Thompson and passing first to his design associate Robbie Robinson, who oversaw significant changes to the course in the 1960s and, before his death in the 1980s, handed the reins over to business partner Doug Carrick. St George’s rolling topography and outstanding routing, combined with the fine bunkering handled largely by then Carrick associate Ian Andrew, make it the highest placed Canadian course on our list. Thompson’s works of art Stanley Thompson is Canada’s founding father of golf and designed the two courses from the country that made our Top 100. We asked golf architect Doug Carrick, who has worked at both, to tell us more “A little bit of England, far from England.” This was the vision of Robert Home Smith, the founder and developer of the prestigious Kingsway area in the west end of Toronto, which includes the St George’s Golf & Country Club (formerly known as the Royal York Golf Club). Robert Home Smith began purchasing land west of Toronto in the early 1900s and by 1928 had assembled over 2,000 acres for the development of a prestigious residential neighbourhood. Smith’s plans also included the establishment of a first class golf course that would serve clients of the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto that was also being built at the same time, by Canadian Pacific Railways. Stanley Thompson had just completed the Banff Springs course in 1928, also for CPR, and was the logical choice to design the new course for the Royal York Hotel. Not only was Thompson commissioned to design the course, but he was also responsible for selecting the property for the golf course within the 2,000 acre land holding. Thompson’s selection of the beautifully rolling and wooded landscape was brilliant, as it was ideally suited to the development of a world class golf course. The property is intersected with a series of broad rolling ridges and dramatic valleys, covered in mature Oak savannah. Thompson’s routing of the course takes full advantage of the dramatic terrain with holes that flow naturally through the valleys and across broad ridges, creating an infinite variety of shots from the heaving and undulating fairways. Many of the green sites are elevated and framed with spectacular, artistically shaped bunkers that Thompson is so well known for. Each and every hole at St George’s has its own unique look and personality and is easily remembered long after the round is finished. Such is the genius of Stanley Thompson. My mentor and former partner, the late CE (Robbie) Robinson, began his career in golf course architecture with Stanley Thompson in 1928, during the building of St George’s. Robinson recalled asking Thompson why he was building such a difficult golf course and Thompson’s reply was: “Young man, I’m not building this course for today, I am building it for posterity”. Capilano’s first golf professional Jock McKinnon, who served the club from its inception in 1937 until his retirement in 1979, said: “Capilano was and still is a tribute to the architectural genius of Stanley Thompson. There is no need for any tampering apart from taking care of the normal wear and tear. The members have a work of art in their care and possession.” To this day, Jock McKinnon still holds the world record eclectic score (which totals the best score made on each hole of a particular course by one person) McKinnon’s total score of 33 includes hole in ones on four of the five par threes, eagles on all of the par fours and double eagles on all of the par fives except the 18th hole, where he made just a mere eagle. Having served the club for more than 20 years as their consulting architect, I have come to know every inch of the golf course quite intimately and I can heartily attest to McKinnon’s assessment of the course. It truly is a work of art. Capilano is not the longest or most demanding golf course in Canada, however it may be the finest example of great golf course architecture in the country. The routing of the course alone is absolutely brilliant, especially when you consider Architects’ Choice Top 100 Golf Courses Photo: Clive Barber ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #81 ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #81 “ Each and every hole at St George’s has its own unique look and personality” Doug Carrick
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