Highlands Links

As my Canadian readers surely know, and many of my American friends will also be aware, Stanley Thompson was Canada's preeminent golf designer. He died 53 years ago, but his courses -- places like Highlands Links, St. George's and Banff -- remain legendary homes of golf.
                                                                                      ……. Robert Thompson   Feb. 2006

Robert Thompson writes a golf column for the National Post, Canada's daily national newspaper, and is a contributing editor to Travel and Leisure Golf. He has also written for Golf Magazine, PGATour.com, Ontario Golf, Score Golf and is a course rater for Golf Digest.

Thompson believed in playability and more than any other architect previously mentioned thought of the common man (“dub”) as a target in his designs. While he did create and plan holes for the finest players, he almost always created enough width for them to be comfortable, and often gave them an alternative way of avoiding the greatest of trouble. The only real exception to this was his occasional heroic hole where he asked the player to step up and hit there finest shot after a series of comfortable holes. The most common element of a Thompson course is they are fun.
                                                                                       ………….Ian Andrew July 2007

For the past 18 years, I have worked as a Golf Course Architect. In 2006, I opened my own design firm to build the courses that I think golf desperately needs built. Courses that have less earth-moving are less expensive to build and feature far more hand-made detailing to create something special. I am best known for my restoration work, particularly courses originally designed by Stanley Thompson and Walter Travis. I am member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

So much is made over Thompson’s bunker styling, but not enough emphasis is placed on the fact that the true brilliance of his best works stems from his talent at routing a golf course. Thompson was a master at utilizing a site’s best natural attributes, and also envisioning what was possible through construction where the inherent landscape was deficient.
                                                                                         ………..Jeff Mingay Jan 2007

Jeff works in affiliation with fellow Canadian golf architect Rod Whitman, and participates in every aspect of golf course design and construction, including feature shaping. Mingay has traveled extensively to study the world’s best courses, and has also worked with American golf architects Mike DeVries and Tim Liddy at projects in the United States and Scotland. A keen student of the history of golf and course architecture, Mingay is a noted writer as well. His expert articles and essays appear in publications throughout the world.

Highlands Links Golf Course is a national treasure. Sculpted out of some of the most beautiful land that exists in Canada, it has been one of the country’s premier golf experiences for nearly seven decades.

In a remote location well away from any urban centre, legendary golf designer Stanley Thompson created the ultimate monument to his dramatic, artistic vision. Wildly undulating fairways, that often appear to have been plucked from the surface of the moon, wander from the sea through thick forests before heading back to the water. Treacherous greens rise and fall, forcing perfection with the flatstick. The routing is flawless and several of the greatest golf holes in the world are part of its 18.

Stanley Thompson recognized for national historic significance by Parks Canada
For those who have traveled around the world to play golf there seems little question Canada ranks as arguably the world’s most underrated nation when it comes to its collection of outstanding golf courses coast-to-coast, certainly a product of outstanding design led by a number of classic and modern golf architects.

But if one name personifies the sheer brilliance of Canadian golf at its finest it is clearly Stanley Thompson, the esteemed Torontonian who fashioned so many of this country’s most prestigious layouts including personal favourites Highlands Links, Jasper Park Lodge and Banff and St. George’s G&CC.

                                                                                                    Rick Young - Score Golf Magaine

Stanley Thompson not only created architectural masterpieces, but he also helped change the way we play the game. In developing his style, he was mindful of providing designs which would appeal to all levels of players. He believed in the recreation of golf and its benefits. This design attitude led to his penchant for providing outstanding views to enhance the recreational pleasure of golf. He had an innate ability to route a course through a property to take into account the advantageous natural characteristics.
                                                                   ... Sunningdale Golf Club web site, London Ontario

Who are Canadian golf's biggest powerbrokers?
National Post
Published: Saturday, March 31, 2007

Stanley Thompson, Golf Architect

The only deceased person on our list of key influencers, the reach of Stanley Thompson is so impressive that it extends more than 50 years after his death. His most famous courses -- Highlands Links in Cape Breton, St. George's in Toronto and Jasper and Banff in Alberta -- remain the tracks against which all other Canadian courses are measured. He is the only Canadian architect with a course among the Top 100 in the world according to Golf Magazine and each year tens of thousands of Canadians and tourists from around the world flock to Thompson's creations.

Almost every Canadian golf designer currently working, from Thomas McBroom and Doug Carrick through to Ted Baker and Graham Cooke, have some connection to one of Thompson's disciples, such as Howard Watson or Robbie Robinson.

"His courses are generally player-friendly for beginners, but also challenge great players," noted one pundit. "They complement the Canadian landscape and are a primary draw to some of the nation's most popular resorts. And since classic designs are in vogue today, expect more Thompson-esque courses in the near future."