Prince Edward Island Offers Special Golf Experience
by Scott A. Sumner
www.golfingnews.ca
Canada is a beautiful country. I think people from all over the world know this. One of the most exceptional places to visit is Prince Edward Island on the east coast of Canada! In September I had the opportunity to travel to PEI to play some golf on the island’s exceptional courses with 6 other writers from England, Switzerland and the Czeck Republic. It was a great experience and one you should try.
The Links At Crowbush Cove
PEI is an island 140 miles in length from tip to tip and 40 miles at the widest point with 4 miles at the narrowest point. Their population is about 140,000 with 40,000 living in the Charlottetown area, the largest city on the Island. One of the most spectacular things you will see first on PEI is the Confederation Bridge which connects PEI to the mainland of Canada. It was completed in 1997, a 5 year project from the planning stages until construction finished.
“ Confederation Bridge was the best thing that ever happened to PEI. It was built with global positioning, started on both sides and met in the middle. One night they put the last girder in place and the architect said we are out 1/16 on an inch but I guess it will have to do,” smiled Clifford Affleck, a life long resident of PEI who helped on our tour transportation. “ There is enough concrete in the bridge to build a side walk from this side of Canada to Vancouver.
It is an engineering marvel built by a head architect from Calgary. There is a tunnel you can walk through under the bridge which they use to inspect and look over the electrical components for instance. It came in on budget at $1 billion in 1997 and will be retained until
2032 by the company that build it and then turned over to the government.”
Golfers Natascha and Vera Came From Czeck Republic
It doesn’t cost anything to come to the island by the Confederation Bridge but they charge $42.50 per car to leave the island with any amount of people. The water under the bridge is 110 to 120 feet in depth. The bridge is siting on the bottom of the straight and is the longest in the world over ice covered waters. The water does freeze in the winter. The bridge allows almost 95% of the ships to travel through.The Confederation Bridge is something to see.
My first golf game on PEI was at the Dundarave and Brudenell golf course development owned by the government of PEI. Brudenell was built 40 years ago and Dundarave 10 years ago. “ The courses are very different. Dundarave is more of a links style with longer, wider fairways and a lot of sand traps with red sand beach sand. Brudenell has white sand. The north side of PEI is white sand and the south is more of a red clay beach, “said Marc Derry, Golf Shop Supervisor at Brudenell and Dundarave. " We have a huge resort here
owned by Rodds Resort, a PEI based company. Dundarave has fast greens. The Brudenell is a more lush park style course with 6 par 5’s, 6 par 4s and 6 par 3’s, which is unique."
Marc Derry, Golf Shop Supervisor at Brudenell and Dundarave
" We have distinct seasons here at the courses. In June you have groups of guys, corporate tournaments and charity events. In July we get into green fee players from all over including the GTA area of Toronto, Quebec and quite a few from Western Canada. Another course owned by the PEI government here, Mill River had the Big Break challenge event on the Golf Channel recently and we saw some spin off from that coverage, " said Derry. " On Dundarave I like the tight fairways which are simliar to some greens they are so well conditioned. You know you are going to have a good lie everytime. The greens are fast but true and the ball runs well. Also I enjoy the solitude of the Dundarave course where every hole is its own distinct hole.There are some real pretty holes. It is a great golf experience. We have had a pretty good year."
The Dundarave course usually opens in Mid May and goes through to Mid October. This was the second time I had the opportunity to play Dundarave, the first being 5 years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the course again and was especially struck by the perfect fairways and
smooth fast greens. Dundarave is a course you must play!
After a beautiful dinner at the Crowbush Cove Resort the next day we would play the famed Links at Crowbush Cove course. It was a real treat to stay at Crowbush Cove, a 5 star resort where they have a hotel and selection of cottages on site. The views here are excellent and provide a very relaxing feel for their guests.
Terry Hamilton, GM at Links of Crowbush Cove
The Links at Crowbush Cove Cove golf course was opened in 1993 and voted then by Golf Digest magazine the Best New Golf Course in Canada. It has been consistently ranked in the top ten in Canada ever since. " It has got the ocean which most courses don't have. You are not always playing golf adjacent to the ocean but you can always smell the ocean and hear the ocean. It makes it special. I am surprised we have so much coast line in Canada and not very many courses on the coast line. There a couple on the west and not many in the east," said
Terry Hamilton, GM at Links of Crowbush Cove. " We had a slow start weather wise this year but the course is in good shape. Our customers are giving us good comments which is what matters most to us. The hotel and cottages are fantastic as well. It is a totally different experience here, like a step back in time. No hustle and bustle. You can walk on the beach, play some golf and then watch the sunset. The food is unbelievable as well. Many groups come and have their meals on the beach."
Ocean front hole of Crowbush Cove
"Our players come from all over: 30% are regional, Atlantic Canada, 50% from Quebec and Ontario and the other 20% from anywhere in the world such as Switzerland , Denmark, Germany and every province in Canada and state in the US. The Big Break held recently on the Golf Channel helped us quite a bit this year as we had golfers from some states like Nebraska we had never seen before," said Hamilton. " Peak Season our highest rate is $113 plus cart at $18 per person which is reasonable. We do have many package deals as well. We partner with Rodds so you can get your golf cheaper that way. Recently we had Hootie Johnson from the Masters with the President of US Steel on the course."
" September is probably our best season. The leaves and colours are changing and it is great sweater weather. July and August are also good with no humidity. There is always a gentle island breeze, sometimes a wind but it is fun. I moved here from Montreal 26 years and couldn’t think of going back. It is laid back and adds years to your life. PEI is great." smiled Terry Hamilton.
My golf day at Crowbush Cove was really enjoyable. This year I was able to play the course in bright sunshine and I was totally impressed with the overall experience. It really is a beautiful place to be in Canada, especially on the golf course. The unique 17th hole designed by noted Canadian architect Tom McBroom is one all golfers should experience.
Green Gables course Hole 10
Our final course to play on PEI was the famed Green Gables course, owned by the government of PEI, which recently underwent a $5 million renovation by Tom McBroom. When you are on the 11th and 12th holes you can see the famous Ann of Green Gables house which each year attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from close by and far away places such as Japan. Green Gables is one of our oldest golf courses on PEI along with Mill River, Brudenell and Belvedere. They were the main courses of PEI that stood the test of time. Today there has been much golf course development where PEI has over 30 courses.
Alex MacLauchlan, Corporate Sales & Marketing
" The course was right on the ocean but they had to make renovations to preserve the land environmentally. It lost some character but we have renovated it to the orignal Stanley Thompson design with help from Tom McBroom. Both architects combined have 50 of the top 100 courses in Canada. This is the first project they got to be associate with," said Alex MacLauchlan, Corporate Sales & Marketing. Building courses in the 20s and 30s etc was much more difficult with less equipment. " Some of our best courses ever are Stanley Thompson designs. They had great pieces of land to work with back then. Green Gables is one of the most popular courses in PEI. The renovations have allowed it to be up to date with different tee decks, bent grass greens, a fully irrigated watering system and new traps. It also is the course to open up earlier in the season with the new grasses. In the old format it might take longer to rebound after a winter. Green Gables came through this winter in flying colours."
The Green Gables course was very interesting for me to play. At home I live on a Tom McBroom designed golf course and you could definitely see his influence in areas such as trap placement. You get a nice feel on Green Gables due to the history of the famous series
of books. It is an excellent golf course you should always include on your trip to PEI.
Ann of Green Gables house
Prince Edward Island golf was a real treat for me. There is something about playing superb golf courses in a relaxed setting and a very comfortable climate. Above all the famous friendly hospitality of the Maritimes was evident everywhere we travelled in this special part of Canada!
www.golfpei.ca
