Often called an “Eclectic 18,” this exercise combines 18 holes, each from 18 different golf courses, to create an ultimate scorecard, ensuring that the hole number for each is the same as that at its course.
To arrive at our layout, we surveyed our course raters and used the most popular hole picks as best we could. That was not always possible given the stipulation that only one hole per course was allowed (raters were not saddled with that prerequisite) and that we wanted a scorecard with a total par in the 70s.
Like many architects, we began with the one-shot holes, and those we selected were the overwhelming choices for those hole numbers. That excluded other popular picks, however, including the third at St. George’s, the ninth at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, the 13th at The Paintbrush and the 17th at Nicklaus North. Aside from those omissions, the hole with the most votes that was excluded per the rules was the second at Cabot Cliffs. Next was No. 17 at Cabot Cliffs.
We also put serious thought into how the course would play. We wanted visually stunning holes to start both nines. We wanted breather holes mixed in with tougher assignments. We didn’t aim for back-to-back par 5s on the front nine, but that is where we ended up, although it’s worth noting that the top-ranked course in Canada has back- to-back par 5s at Nos. 7 and 8 as well. We wanted a par 5 at 18 because everyone loves one last chance at birdie, and we ended up with likely the best closing hole in the country. Regretfully, we do not have a short par 3, but hey, not everyone plays from the back tees.
We tried to include as many provinces as possible, but two were left out. We did not limit choices to those courses on the 2026 Top 100 ranking, although all holes selected were ultimately from layouts on that list. We crossed the country from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, reached as far north as the 52nd parallel and as far south as the 43rd. We have holes from courses in and around Canada’s biggest cities and holes from towns that are but a speck on the map. Numerous original architects contributed to this list, with, who else, Stanley Thompson designing the most holes with five. This was not an easy task, but we are pleased with our final tally. – Jason Logan, editor SCOREGolf
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Unless otherwise stated, hole descriptions provided by Alex Hunter, a SCOREGolf panellist and founder of the website On Golf in Canada.
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