Devils Paintbrush named top modern course

April 24, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart
There’s no shortage of golf courses in Ontario, that’s for sure.
What determines a great course is based on a variety of factors; design, layout, the challenge, and of course personal taste.
For the second year in a row, the Devil’s Paintbrush on St. Andrew’s Road in Caledon has been named the top Canadian modern course by Golfweek magazine.
Golfweek defines a “modern” course as one that was built after 1960.
That’s modern in the sense that many established courses in Ontario opened in the 1920s, with several dating back more than 100 years.
The Devil’s Paintbrush was established in 1990 and designed by architects Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fryl. It has 18 holes with a total yardage of 6,780.
To produce Golfweek’s Best Courses lists, an expert team of nearly 750 course raters uses a 10-point ranking system to identify the best layouts from two distinctly different eras: pre-1960 and 1960 to the present. The exclusive system recognizes that before 1960 (the year that separates classic from modern) most course designers relied on native contours for course features. Since 1960, as the game became more popular, designers began to utilize high-tech engineering and advanced mechanical means to transform the landscape to suit their designs.
Golfweek began the rating system in 1997. They have included the top Canadian list for the past three years.
The annual ratings include course in the modern and classic category as well as casino, municipal, campus, residential, resort and listings for American, Canadian, Caribbean, Mexico, and Great Britain and Ireland.
On the classic side, the top course was Jasper Park Lodge in Jasper, Alberta — established in 1925.
In second place is the well known St. George’s in Toronto, which was built in 1928.
Golfweek is also featuring news on some of Canada’s best known golf architects.
“This year, along with recognizing Canada’s best golf course, we’re also featuring Canada’s greatest golf course architect, Stanley Thompson,” said Bradley S. Klein, national director for Golfweek’s rating program. “Having designed 16 of the top 40 classic courses in Canada, Thompson is something of a national treasure.”
The Devil’s Paintbrush is next to its sister course, Devil’s Pulpit, in Caledon.