Granite Springs Golf Club

Oh, Canada!

The scent of the sea followed me wherever I went in Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, Canada’s Atlantic coastal province and the secret setting for some of the best golf in North America. At Granite Springs Golf Club, a half-hour drive from Halifax’s historic downtown, I kept losing my focus in the panorama of green fairways overlooking the seductive blue water of Shad Bay. It seemed too beautiful a spot for mere golf.

Yet it was golf that had brought me to Nova Scotia, despite my ignorant prejudice that golfing here would be a poor imitation of what I was accustomed to. Never had I been so wrong. With a climate warmed by the Gulf Stream and a seaside landscape of spectacular scenery, Nova Scotia quickly earned comparable status, in my golf experience, to its namesake, Scotland.

Playing Granite Springs’ white tees at just over 6,000 yards, I began slowly with bogeys on the two dogleg par-4s that open the course. But my best tee shot of the day, on the 520-yard, par-5 third, left me with the temptation to go for the undulating green in two. Throwing caution to the sea breeze, I took my 3-wood and bounced my ball past the flag, where it came to rest near a large granite boulder. After a delicate chip, I one-putted for a hard-earned birdie.

Another birdie followed two holes later, on the club’s signature 159-yard, par3 fifth, where I somehow managed to finesse a choked-up 6-iron over the pond that guards the green. Then I parred out the rest of the picturesque front nine, narrowly missing the third birdie on the very short (253 yards) par-4 seventh.

Playing alone at the beginning of the day, I had some fun on what became my favorite hole, the par-54, 389-yard 15th. It’s the second shot, I discovered, that earns this hole its No. 1 handicap rating on the card. With water to the right front of the green and a large bunker to the rear, my approach with a 5-iron had to be near perfect. Alas, I just cleared the pond and that left me a very long putt.

Since I wasn’t competing in a match, I decided to hit a second ball, this time with a9-iron so I would purposely come up short of the pond. Choosing my 58-degree wedge, I then hit the sweetest shot of my round, followed by only a tap-in for an interesting albeit unofficial, par. Ironically, I three-putted my first ball for a bogey, reminding me of the adage that it’s not how you swing but how often that counts in your score.

I loved the whole finish of Granite Springs, with a gorgeous par-3 of 156 yards that traversed three ponds and four bunkers guarding the two-tiered 16th green, the temptingly short (310 yards) par-4 17th (where I played an iron off the tee) and the superb 381-yard, par-4 18th. Like the par-5 ninth, the 18th began from an elevated tee, but here the landing area was more forgiving, as long as you avoided the large spruce on the fairway’s right side.

I was tempted to go around Granite Springs again. The laid-back atmosphere, bucolic surroundings and intelligent shot values that characterized almost every hole had made it a memorable morning. But lunch in the cedar-log club-house and more golf at several other Nova Scotia courses awaited me.

That afternoon and the next day, I was able to play a Cornish and Robinson-designed course, friendly, sporty Grandview Golf & Country Club, and the terrific Glen Arbour Golf Course, an up-scale layout designed by Graham Cooke that has attracted a number of famous visitors. Hockey greats such as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux played there. I was told, and so did Canada’s top professional golfer, lefty Mike Weir. Getting to both of the courses took me in different directions from Halifax.

Settled in 1749 on the shores of a deep-water harbor, Halifax is perhaps best known today as the place where many of the Titanic’s victims were brought for burial. Although culturally sophisticated with a fine arts museum and symphony orchestra, the city retains the rustic charm of its ocean setting.

Thrilled with my discovery of this unique golfing area, I made plans over a 19th-hole celebration for a return visit. My goal then, everyone with whom I spoke insisted, had to be the Highland’s Links Golf Course, on the coast of Cape Breton Island. Although it’s a long drive from Halifax, I learned that this Stanley Thompson masterpiece was now ranked by many as not only the best in all Canada, but among the world’s finest.

My bags are packed.

Massachusetts-based writer Carl Vigeland is Continental’s columnist.

Granite Springs

By John Gordon

The advertisement for Granite Spring Golf Club calls the course “an effort in which no compromises have been made, no corners cut.” This statement is proof of truth in advertising, as is the name: there are granite outcroppings almost everywhere, and the course boasts 42 spring-fed ponds on its forested acres.

Aside from the two storey cedar clubhouse where the motto is “the member is king,” the strength of the Cornish and Robinson layout between Halifax and Peggy’s Cove immediately places it among the upper echelon of Canadian courses. Bentgrass tees and greens, separated by Kentucky bluegrass fairways, dotted with bunkers filled with glistening silica sand, combine with the abundance of water which will impress any golfer.

Owned by King Valley Development Corp., which also claims the equally impressive King Valley Golf Club in Ontario among its holding, Granite Springs opened in 1991, offering non-equity transferable memberships. Under this plan, the member may sell, lease or will his or her membership at any time. This is in contrast to the traditional membership plan where the initiation fee is lost when the member leaves the club for whatever reason.

Granite Springs will cap its membership at about 500 to ensure it retains its “club” atmosphere.

“We have an interesting situation here where we don not differentiate between the ladies and the men,” says manager Paul Corcoran. “The fee structure and playing privileges are the same.

“We make no pretense of the fact that we are looking to be an upscale operation, a golf club that is going to be a credit to the Halifax area. We are attracting individuals who are looking for a quality club, a club that is going to look after their personal and business needs. The clubhouse is geared to that type of operation. It is not enormous and we can’t have large parties, so we will be catering to the needs of our members. However, the dining will be quite special.”

The course is quite special, as well. The starting hole is a short par 5, a slight dogleg left which culminates at a green nestled among four mounds and two partially hidden ponds on the right. The second is an intriguing par 4 from both a strategic and aesthetic viewpoint: jagged white granite fairway, and another rock hazard faces the slightly elevated green. A long-iron tee shot should be played to the left side to avoid the water on the right.

Number 3 is a medium-length par 4 characterized by a large boulder at the back of the green. On Number 4, the long hitter must be sure to clear the brook running across the fairway. The fifth hole, a 190-yard par 3, requites a very precise shot to ensure par. On Number 6, a short but tough par 4, the tee shot should land in the right-centre of the rolling fairway to ensure the best approach to the undulating green.

On paper, the 294-yard par 4 seventh hole is prime birdie material, but in reality a par is well earned after coping with the contoured fairway sloping upward from tee to green. The par-3 eighth hole is the number on rated hole on the course and presents a challenge for everyone. A large rectangular water hazard extends in front of the tee, while a pond encroaches on the front and left of the green. From the tee, it appears your only play is to hit the green. The front nine concludes with a straightaway, relatively open par 5 with the requisite boulders and ponds.

While the 10th is seen as one of the most difficult holes, the 11th is the longest at Granite Springs. The 545-yard par 5 requires an accurate tee shot to a narrow fairway. Getting home in two is nearly impossible, due to the small size of the well protected green. The lack of length on Number 12 is mitigated by the difficulty of the three-tiered green. Club selection is vital on the 13th, a mid-length par 3 with a green surrounded by mounds, mature oaks, birches and maples.

As you step onto the 14th tee, you are at the highest point of the course and your reward for the climb is a spectacular view – and a blind tee shot to the narrow, sloping fairway of this 507-yard par 5. The smart player will hit a long-iron just short of the three pot bunkers on the left. The 15th is a mighty par 4 at 447 yards and although the water on the left does not come into play, the two swales in the middle of the landing area do. Combine them with a brook and a sprawling pond, and you have a classic gambling hole where one could be rewarded with par – or a triple bogey.

After surviving 15, you can catch your breath on 16, the shortest hole on the course at 130 yards. Number 17 is a 356-yard dogleg-left with a boulder in the middle of the approach shot area as targets. Approaching from the right side, there is a small, undulating green with a large rock outcropping in back. Overshooting this green finishing hole, you see a pond in front of the tee as well as a large spruce in the right-centre of the fairway which makes an excellent target.

Once again, the ads for Granite Springs speak truly: “A new challenge and a new standard of service for player who expect more from the game.”