Highlands Links

As we begin to build awareness for our initative we will use this section of our site to recognize those who have offered their support. We thank those who have helped us to start our initiative and look foward to welcoming more friends to our group.

Stanley Thompson Society

Our society is very fortunate to have the ongoing support of the Stanley Thompson Society. The STS was the first group we contacted prior to undertaking our initiative and from the start they offered to assist us in any way they could.

The STS was founded in 1998 to help preserve the tradition and character of the many golf courses designed by Stanley Thompson. The Stanley Thompson Society was formed to research, record and publicize the life and works of Stanley Thompson and has been instrumental is collecting and archiving working drawings, papers and correspondence associated with Thompsons work. The group consists of aproximately 150+ members, publishes a quarterly newsletter and holds an annual golf tournament at one of Thompsons courses. Anyone interested in learning more about this group is encouraged to visit their web site. Just click HERE

The aims of the Stanley Thompson Society are as follows:

- To research, record and report facts about his life and the courses he
designed, remodelled or constructed, in whole or in part.
- To be a reliable source of information on his life and works.
- To collect and archive his working drawings, papers, and correspondence.
- To encourage clubs with Stanley Thompson courses to preserve them as he
designed them.
- To produce Technical Guides to assist Thompson Clubs in restoration and Master
Plan processes
- To publish a quarterly newsletter called Dormie.
- To hold an annual golf tournament, called the Thompson Golf Classic on a Stanley
Thompson golf course.
.

Robert Thompson

A bestselling author and internationally recognized reporter, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. Currently a columnist with the National Post and Ontario Golf, and a contributing editor to Travel and Leisure Golf and Billboard magazine, he has also contributed to Golf magazine, written for Presidents Cup and Canadian Open programs, as well as for PGATour.com, and worked as the architecture columnist for ScoreGolf.

In 2006 he released his second book, Always Fresh: The Untold Story of Tim Hortons by the Man who Created a Canadian Empire, written with Tim Hortons co-founder Ron Joyce. The book was a major Canadian bestseller. His third book, Going for the Green: On the Links with Canada’s Business and Political Elite, appeared in 2008 and featured interviews and golf games with the likes of Blackberry baron Jim Balsillie, former oil premier Ralph Klein and TD chair Frank McKenna. The Globe and Mail called it “charming and intelligent.”

Robert has written often about Highlands Links and in his opinion Highlands Links is the best golf course in Canada. Given that Robert has personally played almost 100 of the top courses in the country his opinion is very telling. We thank Robert for his invitation to join the golfclubatlas group and his ongoing interest in seeing Highlands Links improved. You can read Robert's blog at: http://www.ontgolf.com/g4g

Lorne Rubenstein

Lorne is considered the dean of Canadian Golf Writers and has written on the subject of golf for almost 30 years. Having travelled the world and had the opportunity to play the best courses it is telling that Lorne holds Highlands Links in very high regard. Lorne attended a Stanley Thompson/Highlands Links symposium in Ingonish during the fall of 2008 and wrote a column about the event and his thoughts on Highlands Links in the Globe and Mail a few days later. You can read his column at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080913.RUBE13/TPStory/TPSports/?query=

Lorne Rubenstein's Record:

Part Time Curator – RCGA Museum/Library/Canadian Golf Hall of Fame: 1976-1982
First Editor of Score Magazine: 1981-1983
Golf Columnist with The Globe & Mail: 1980-Present

Published Books:
Seasons in a Golfer’s Life (with Jim Nelford): 1984
Natural Golf Swing (with George Knudson): 1988
Links: An Insider’s tour through the World of Golf: 1991
Touring Prose: 1993
The Swing (with Nick Price): 1997
The Fundamentals of Hogan (with David Leadbetter): 2000
A Season in Dornock: 2001
Mike Weir: The Road to the Masters: 2003
A Disorderly Compendium of Golf: 2006
This Round's on Me: 2009

Awards:
Golf Writers’ Association of America: 1st Place, Newspaper Columns 1989, 1994 & 1995
National Magazine Awards: Gold Medal 1985
Other Items of Note:

2006 Inductee to the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame
2007 Inductee to the Royal Canadian Golf Hall of Fame

The People who Manage Highlands Links

Since our inception we have been fortunate to have the support of Graham Hudson, Operations Manager at Highlands Links, Chip Bird, the field unit superintendent for Cape Breton Highlands National Park and Joe Robinson, long time CPGA Club Professional at Highlands. Each of these individuals have expressed support for our initiative and have been helpful in allowing us to get our message out

John Ashton - President Cape Breton Highlands Golf Club Society

http://www.cbhgolfclub.ca

The Cape Breton Highlands Golf Club Society, an entity separate from the course, is recognized as the sole "Home Club" of Highlands Links. The Club has been in exsistence for many years and works to provide support to the golf course in the following ways:.

* The Club provides the needed volunteer base to host Course or Club-sponsored tournaments (e.g. the 1994 Nova Scotia Amateur; Labour Day Tournament).

* The Club aids in the development of a junior golf program.

* The Club promotes the course while playing at other clubs and in outside tournaments.

* The Club acts as an ambassador to visiting golfers.

* The Club, on their initiative, contributes financially to course improvement special projects on a project by project basis. Said projects must be approved by the Golf Course Manager prior to their commencement.