Highlands Links

Stanley Thompson (September 18, 1893 – January 4, 1953)

Thompson designed courses from 1920-1952, mostly in Canada, with a philosophy of preserving the natural lay and flow of the land. He got his start with George Cumming, longtime professional at the Toronto Golf Club, who had designed several Canadian courses around the turn of the 20th century. Thompson's many world-famous courses include the Banff Springs Golf Course in Banff, Alberta, the Jasper Park Golf Course in Jasper, Alberta, and the Highlands Links in Ingonish, Nova Scotia, all three which are publicly accessible and located in Canadian National Parks. Two outstanding private clubs designed by Thompson are the Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, British Columbia, and the St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto. In 1946, Thompson was a co-founder, with Donald Ross, of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), and helped to train many top golf course architects, including Robert Trent Jones. Thompson was an excellent player himself, and he had four brothers, all of whom became outstanding Canadian players in the 1920s.

Stanley Thompson:

   Born: September 18, 1893 in Toronto, Ontario
   Died: January 4, 1953 in Toronto, Ontario
   - Mr. Thompson is widely regarded as Canada's most renowned golf course
     architect.
   - Of the more than 150 courses he completed the 95% were in Canada
   - Mr. Thompson attended the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, Ontario
     (University of Guelph).
   - Thompson was a World War One veteran was mentioned in dispatches
     for Valour at Vimy Ridge
   - Some of his most prominent legacies include: Highlands Links, Capilano
     G&CC, Jasper Park , Banff and St. George's G&CC.
   - Stanley and his brothers Nicol, Matt, Frank and Bill are regarded as some of
     the best golfers that Canada has ever known.
   - Mr. Thompson and the legendary American golf course architect - Robert
     Trent Jones were close friends and partners for many years.
   -Many successful Canadian and International golf course architects
    apprenticed under Stanley Thompson, they include: Clinton E. 'Robbie'
    Robinson, Geoffrey Cornish, Howard Watson and Robert Moote.
   -Stanley Thompson was a charter member of the American Society of Golf
    Course Architects (ASGCA) in 1948 and President of the ASGCA 1949
    - Inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1980

Chronology of Stanley Thompson’s Canadian Courses

1920
Muskoka Lakes GC (Port Carling, Ont.)
Summit G & CC w/ George Cumming (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
1921
Bigwin Island GC (Huntsville, Ont.) NLE
The Briars Golf & Country Club, Nine holes (Jackson’s Point, Ont.)
Highland G & CC w/George Cumming (London, Ont.)
North Bay (9 holes) (North Bay, Ont.)
1922
Niakwa G&CC (Winnipeg, Man)
Halifax (Old Asburn) (Halifax, NS)
Lingan (9 holes) (Sydney, NS)
Burlington G&CC (Burlington, Ont)
Cedar Brook G&CC (Scarborough, Ont.)
Cedarhurst GC (9 holes) (Beaverton, Ont.)
Lake Shore GC (Toronto, Ont) NLE
Shore Acres GC (Scarborough, Ont.) NLE
St. Thomas G &CC (Union, Ont.)
Thornhill G&CC (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
Uplands GC (Richmond Hill, Ont.) 9 holes NLE
1923
Couchiching GC (9 holes) (Orillia, Ont.)
Fort William CC (Thunder Bay, Ont)
Islington G&CC (Toronto, Ont.)
Kenora G &CC (Kenora, Ont.)
Queen Victoria Park (Niagara Falls, Ont.) (NLE)
Marlborough GC (Montreal, Que.) (NLE)
Sleepy Hollow GC (Cleveland, Ohio) (U.S.)
1924
Jasper Park GC (Jasper, Alberta)
Big Pay Point GC (Barrie, Ont.)
Erie Downs (Bridgewater GC) (Fort Erie, Ont.)
Ladies Golf Club of Toronto (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
Minaki Inn (9 holes) (Minaki, Ont.) (NLE)
Three Rivers (Ki-8-Eb) (Trois Rivieres, Que.)
Neilhurst GC (Jacksonville, Florida) (NLE)
Squaw Creek G&CC (Yongestown, Ohio)
1925
Saugeen Golf Club (Nine holes) (Port Elgin, Ont.)
St. Andrews GC (Toronto, Ont.)
Royal Regina G&CC (Regina, Sask.)
Floridale GC (Jacksonville, Florida) (NLE)
Hyde Park GC (Jacksonville, Florida)
Beachmont G&CC (Cleveland, Ohio)
Chagrin Valley GC (Cleveland, Ohio)
Geneva-on-the-Lake GC (Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio)
Florindale GC, Milford, Florida (NLE)
1926
Huntsville Downs GC (Huntsville, Ont.)
Big Met GC (Cleveland, Ohio)
Oakdale G&CC (Toronto, Ont.)
Orchard Beach GC (Nine holes) (Keswick, Ont.)
St. Catharine’s G and CC (St. Catharines, Ont.)
1927
Banff Springs GC (Banff, Alberta)
Royal Mayfair GC (Edmonton, Alberta)
Little Met GC (Nine Holes) (Cleveland, Ohio)
Richford Frontier Club (Richford, Vermont) (NLE)
1928
Allandale GC (Nine holes) (Barrie, Ont.)
St. George’s G&CC (Toronto, Ont.)
1929
Prince Rupert GC (Prince Rupert, B.C.) (NLE)
Digby Pines Golf Course (Digby, N.S.)
Dundas Valley G&CC (Dundas, Ont.)
Sir Harry Oakes Estate Course (20 Holes) (Niagara Falls, Ont.) (NLE)
Oshawa G&CC (Oshawa, Ont.)
Peterborough G&CC (Peterborough, Ont.)
Galt CC (Cambridge, Ont.)
Westmount G&CC (Kitchener, Ont.)
Le Chateau Montebello GC (Montebello, Que.)
Constant Springs GC (Kingston, Jamaica)
1930
Aurora Highlands GC (Aurora, Ont.) (NLE)
Brockville G&CC (Added nine holes) (Brockville, Ont.)
Cataraqui G&CC (Kingston, Ont.)
Glen Mawr GC (Toronto, Ont.) (NLE)
Willowdale Golf Club (Toronto, Ont.) (NLE)
Mount Royal GC (Montreal, Que.) (NLE)
1931
Kawartha G&CC (Peterborough, Ont.)
1932
Capilano G&CC (North Vancouver, B.C.)
Woodbine GC (Toronto, Ont.) NLE
Sao Paulo GC (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Gavea GC (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
1933
Muskoka Sands (9 holes) (Gravenhurst, Ont.)
Noranda GC (9 holes) (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.)
Sunningdale G&CC (London, Ont.)
Itanhanga (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Waterdown GC (Waterdown, Ont.) (NLE)
1935
Rockway Golf Club (Kitchener, Ont.)
Teresopolis GC (Teresopolis, Brazil)
1937
Kenogamisis GC (Nine holes) (Geraldton, Ont.)
Norway Bay GC (Nine holes) (Norway Bay, Que.)
1938
Highlands Links (Ingonish, N.S.)
Green Gables GC (Cavendish, PEI)
1941
Beaconsfield GC (11 new holes, remaining holes Willie Park Jr.) (Pointe Clair, Que.)
1946
San Andres (36 holes) (San Andres, Columbia)
1947
Lachute GC (Lachute, Que.)
Saguenay D’Arvida GC (Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Que.)
Glendale G&CC (Winnipeg, Man.)
1948
Whirlpool GC (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
Lockport GC (Nine holes) (Lockport, N.Y.)
1949
Fundy National Park (9 holes) (Fundy National Park, N.B.)
North Oaks G&CC (North Oaks, Minnesota)
Moncton Golf Club (Moncton, N.B.)
Peninsula GC (9 holes) (Marathon, Ont.)
1950
Chedoke GC (New Course) (Hamilton, Ont.)
1951
Watertown Lakes (Watertown Lakes, Alberta)

Thompson Renovations, Remodels and Other Involvement
Brantford G & CC (Nicol Thompson with possible nine by S. Thompson, Brantford, Ont., 1920)
Sarnia G & CC (9 holes) (Sarnia, Ont. 1921)
Trumball G & CC (Ohio, 1922)
Wanakah (Buffalo, NY, 1922)
Alcrest (Winipeg???, 1924)
Mount Bruno (Mount Bruno, Quebec, 1925)
Norfolk G&CC (Simcoe, Ont., 1926)
Southwood G&CC (Winnipeg, Ont., 1926)
Lambton G&CC (Toronto, Ont., 1927)
Assiniboine GC (Winnipeg, Man. 1928)
Clear Lake GC (Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, 1928)
Mississaugua G&CC (Mississauga, Ont. 1928)
Lethbridge G&CC (Lethbridge, Alberta, 1929)
Brampton GC (Brampton, Ont., 1929) (NLE)
Cutten Club (Guelph, Ont., 1930)
Truro GC (Truro, NS, 1930)
Manchester GC (Jamaica, 1930)
St. Leonard’s GC (Montreal, Que., 1932) NLE
Credit Valley G&CC (Mississauga, Ont., 1934)
Sault Ste. Marie G&CC (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., 1951)

Thanks to the following people for contributing to the Thompson course list

Ian Andrew
Jim Barclay
Mickey Boyle
Geoff Cornish
Ken Donovan
Micheal J Hudson
Tyler Kearns
Tom MacLeod
Jeff Mingay
Robert Moote
Greg Murphy
Bill Newton
Chris Parker
Gary Slater
John Smith
The Stanley Thompson Society
Robert Thompson