Golf’s Treasured Island: With more than two-dozen courses, Canada’s Prince Edward Island has cast
- Brad King
- Aug 19, 2016
- 4 min read
Prince Edward Island is the place where a nation was conceptualized, where color collides with contour and where golf has become as much a part of the landscape as its iconic counterparts. The island and its capital city of Charlottetown initially became famous in 1864, when it hosted the Charlottetown Conference. That is where the unification of Canada as a nation was first proposed.
Canada’s smallest province added to its notoriety in the early 1900s when its red sandstone cliffs and dramatic scenery served as the backdrop for Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic fictional novel “Anne of Green Gables,” which was eventually spun into North America’s longest continually running musical by the same name. Other claims to fame include its long stretches of dune-backed beaches, its “Cows” Creamery and brand of ice cream, its wide range of culinary delights, its brews and even its moonshine. PEI is one of the world’s largest suppliers of mussels — 80 percent of the mussels in North America come from there — as well as a haven for lobsters. Due to its rich soil, PEI also represents nearly a third of all of its country’s potato production.
Canada’s only province with no land boundary, Prince Edward Island’s reputation as a golf destination was sealed with the 1993 development of the Links at Crowbush Cove on the island’s north shore. The notoriety generated by this seaside links-type course, with eight holes playing near the sea or dunes, has continued to reverberate across Canada. “Until Crowbush Cove came along, there were only seven golf courses on PEI,” said Terry Hamilton, general manager at the Links at Crowbush Cove. “When it opened for play, it became one of the few places in Canada you could golf right on the ocean.”
So the word began to spread. And golfers — including some of the big names — began to investigate. Crowbush Cove would soon host a televised “Skins Game” with then recent British Open champions Mark O’Meara and John Daly along with former Masters champion Fred Couples and eventual Masters champion Mike Weir in attendance. “The event was held in absolutely perfect weather and it was broadcast across the country,” Hamilton added. “Crowbush Cove — and soon golf on PEI for that matter — really became famous after that.”
Crowbush Cove still maintains its presence among the top 10 courses in Canada. This lively, dramatic Thomas McBroom design plays hard along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with half the holes highlighting views of the sea and others skirting some of the best fishing grounds in world. This blended parkland and links-style layout has been described as an “unbelievable combination of nature and imagination.”
The island’s imaginative inhabitants have also kept up with the times, spurred on in part by an engineering marvel known as the Confederation Bridge. Opened in 1997, this eight-mile crossing connects PEI with New Brunswick and ultimately the rest of Canada and the Northeast U.S. Prior to this watershed event, the only way to get on or off PEI other than by plane was via one of two ferries.
With such easy automotive access from the mainland, PEI’s fine restaurants, elegant hotels, and all types of businesses and industries have flourished in its primary cities of Charlottetown and Summerside, not to mention the 27 golf courses that dot the island. Still a rural land shaped by Mother Nature, PEI is dominated by fishing, farming and tourism. Its iron-rich red soil, evergreen trees, white birches, blue skies and sparkling waters are what make it colorful — and the ideal location for outdoor adventure.
“Things on Prince Edward Island are great,” said Mark McLane, CEO of Golf Prince Island, a non-profit organization formed to promote the island as Canada’s premier golf destination. “In July and August there is no better place to be in Canada. (In 2016) we had an early start to the season and ideal conditions, so we are having a great season. Paid rounds are up more than 15 percent so far and overall rounds are up 25 percent. By early June, our reservation center had already exceeded all of 2015 bookings.”
GOLF
Whether playing along the descending hills overlooking Charlottetown Harbor of Fox Meadow, or deep within the forested corridors of Mill River — with its more subtle elevation changes and curving doglegs — Canada’s most desirable and affordable golf destination offers great variety. During the summer, prevailing winds shift from south to north, bringing warm currents of air with them. Long days and no humidity make for ideal golf conditions throughout the prime season.
A foursome of the elite golf layouts on Canada’s Prince Edward Island are owned and operated by the provincial government. Crowbush Cove’s success, along with the timely opening of the Confederation Bridge, helped spark the development of several other instant classics, including Dundarave on the eastern side of the island; Eagles Glenn, Glasgow Hills and Anderson’s Creek in the popular Cavendish region on the north shore; and Fox Meadow on the outskirts of Charlottetown in the south central portion of the island. They join a group of pre-existing venues including the vintage 1971 Mill River in the west, the classic Green Gables in the north, a 1939 Stanley Thompson creation and the 1969 stunner Brudenell in the east. This blending of traditional 18-holers, which also includes Stanhope and Glen Afton, with modern designs — add Clyde River and Countryview to the mix — is what put PEI on the global golf map.
Today, they say that no matter where a person stands on Prince Edward Island, they are never more than a half-hour away from either fairway or sea — oftentimes both.
