Angus Glen (South)

In 1957, Arthur Stollery purchased around 230 acres of farmland in Markham, north east of Toronto, for his horse and cattle breeding business. Thirty-five years later, he and designer Doug Carrick began transforming part of the acreage into the first of Angus Glen’s golf courses – incidentally, in the quirky world of naming North American courses, Angus Glen comes from the type of cattle that were once bred on the former farm – Aberdeen Angus!

Such was the quality of the golf facility that was created, the South course hosted the Canadian Open only seven years after it came into play and the North course which was opened in 2001 held the Canadian Open in 2007 after it was toughened up by none other than Davis Love III.

But professionals are not the only golfers who have appreciated the strengths of the South course. Angus Glen is maybe Canada’s top executive golf destination and the South course has seen many hundreds of corporate golf outings take place during its first ten years in existence.

This wonderfully groomed course offers a mix of various design features from subtle, natural holes in open, rolling terrain with dramatic elevation changes to deep-faced bunkers which the architect designed to penalize unless a formidable recovery is played.

Angus Glen’s beauty is enhanced by Bruce Creek winding throughout the property with adjacent patches of wetlands. Three lakes also present additional hazards, the most prominent of which is at the 475-yard, par four, double dogleg opening hole. Water not only runs up the right side of a narrow green but also eats into the entrance to the putting surface.

Another couple of holes are worth mentioning. At the par four 10th hole, the golfer is forced to lay up in front of Bruce Creek before playing to an elevated green that’s protected by bunkers front left and back right. Then, at the last hole, accuracy and distance off the tee is essential to avoid the trees and Bruce Creek on the left, giving a clear opening at an easier angle to an uphill green with a pond on the right.

Angus Glen is, without doubt, one of Canada’s premier public golfing facilities with a clubhouse that will more than meet ones golfing needs as a 19th hole at the end of a round.