They will cringe. Grimace. Sweat, grind and agonize. The top players in the game of golf will have their games put in the crucible that is Pinehurst No. 2 this weekend at the U.S. Open.
The architect of their peril is Donald Ross, a bespectacled and grandfatherly-looking Scottish native who was probably the most influential course designer of the 1920s (Canada's Stanley Thompson gave him a run for his money, according to the outstanding book The Architects of Golf, by Geoffrey S. Cornish and Ronald E. Whitten).
Area golfers wanting to sample some of Ross' work -- in a much more serene setting than Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen and the rest will experience this weekend -- will have to drive to upper New York State or New Hampshire.
Ross didn't do much work in Canada (his name is on only 10 courses, with Rosedale in Toronto the closest to us).
The bulk of Ross' courses closest to us are mostly private clubs in the Rochester area (like Oak Hill) or resort courses in the White Mountains of New Hampshire or the Adirondacks in New York.
The Panorama Course at the Balsalms Grand Resort Hotel is located in Dixville Notch, about a five-hour drive from Ottawa.
The clubhouse, perched on Keyser Mountain, affords some spectacular views into Quebec from its wide patio, where you can sit in an Adirondack chair and sip a Rolling Rock after your round.
The Sagamore, in Bolton Landing (near Glens Falls, N.Y.) is another well-maintained resort course.
There is also the Tupper Lake Golf and Country Club near Lake Placid, which was designed by Ross in 1915, according to the Donald Ross Society website (donaldrosssociety.org).
These courses won't come close to the test that is Pinehurst No. 2, of course, but they will give you at least a taste of Ross' design genius.
HEAR AND THERE: Ottawa's Ashley Bickerton will have a home-course advantage when the BMO Financial Group Canadian Women's Tour comes to Rivermead tomorrow through Tuesday. Bickerton, a sophomore at the University of Washington, will be playing for one of the five exemptions available into the BMO Financial Group Canadian Women's Open next month at Glen Arbour Golf Course in Halifax. Leila Chartrand has already earned an exemption based on her victory in the tour's first event in Victoria. Other locals entered are Jennifer Layman of Pembroke, Julie Cashaback of Ottawa, 14-year-old Brittney Henderson of Smiths Falls, Louise Hotte of Buckingham, Rebecca Mulville of Smiths Falls and Susan Pearl of Ottawa. Bickerton and the latter four are all amateurs. Chartrand, the winner of this event and the next three players on the Order of Merit will gain exemptions for the LPGA event next month.
TAP-INS: The University of Ottawa men's team finished eighth at the RCGA Canadian University College Championship in B.C. Carleton University missed the cut. The tournament was won by the University of Victoria. On the women's side, the University of British Columbian won its third straight title...Heavy rains wiped out the final round of Quebec Golf's Mid-Amateur championship, which was claimed (again) by Summerlea's Graham Cooke with a two-round total of 72-71-143. Top local finishers were Scott Ray of Camelot (72-79), Barry Nesrallah of Rivermead (76-75) and John Taylor of Upper Canada (77-74), who were all T12.
TOURNEY TALK: T.J. Barber of Smiths Falls had the low score at the OVGA's Class B Field Day at Vieux Moulins with a 75, two better than Jason Wilkes of Emerald Links. Bob Brady of Tecumseh had a 78 while Howard Radford of Smiths Falls and Murray Sutherland of Greyhawk were at 79...Topping the 11-13 handicap group with 79s were a pair of golfers from Tecumseh, Andre Imbeau and Phillipe Marion...The 14-and-over handicap group was topped by Shawn Thomson of Emerald Links with an 86...In an Ottawa ladies' field day at Larrimac, Jan Wagner of Greensmere and Marthe Hilliker of Algonquin were the class of the field with 73s, a shot better than Carole Letendre of Algonquin and Danielle Pepin of Tecumseh...Ev Anderson and Carolyn Moore of Arnprior won the Ottawa Ladies District Marjorie Strong tourney with a net score of 65.4, a stroke better than Bev Oderkirk and Melanie Coates of Hylands ... Brett Perkins of Rideau Glen won the OVGA's Junior Field Day last week at Mont Ste-Marie with a fine 71. That was two shots better than Danny Munger of Tecumseh, Chad Skinner of Rideau View and Corey Willard of Glengarry. Five players were at 75: Matt Boucher of Camelot, Luke Glofcheskie of Arnprior, Adam Henderson of Rideau View, Philip Shields of Larrimac and Kyle Tobin of Rideau View. They will be back at it again today in Pembroke ... The CPGA Ottawa Junior Challenge Tour will hold its Tour School and first event of the season today at Iroquois.
FROM THE FRINGE: James Lepp of Abbotsford, B.C. has been extended an exemption for the Canadian Open in Vancouver in September. Lepp is the first Canadian to win the NCAA Division I individual championship. A quirky fact: In the Oscar-nominated movie Sideways, during a scene in a hotel room, Lepp is on the television playing in a Canadian Tour event.
chris.stevenson@ott.sunpub.com
