Hillsdale (Laurentien)

Howard Watson designed both courses at Hillsdale Golf and Country Club and the premier Laurentien layout has hosted both the Canadian Amateur Championship (in 1998) and the Canadian Women’s Open of 2011.

Measuring 6,414 yards and playing to a par of 73, the Woodside course is the shorter of the two 18-hole layouts at Hillsdale, featuring tight, tree-lined fairways – many of them sharply doglegged – and small greens.

Contrasting, but also complementing its smaller sibling, the Laurentien course extends to 6,926 yards from the back markers with open, gently contoured fairways leading to large, reasonably sloped greens.

There’s a fine set of nicely balanced par threes on this layout: the 185-yard 4th plays to a raised green with bunkers on either side, the 204-yard, downhill 8th features sand to the right, left and rear of the green, the 212-yard 11th requires an intimidating water carry to the green and the 155-yard 15th is played to a small green that’s bunkered on either flank.