Doug Carrick, left, and Thomas McBroom stand on one of the new ocean-side links holes they are building for the golf course at Fox Harb'r Resort, in Wallace, N.S., on July 26.Supplied
Two of Canada’s top golf architects – Thomas McBroom and Doug Carrick – looked a little shell-shocked when they heard the news. The two men had already spent weeks this summer carving out nine holes (many oceanside) at the golf course of Nova Scotia’s Fox Harb’r Resort when owner Steven Joyce told them he had changed his mind – and asked for a second 18-hole course as well.
The project is Canadian to the core. McBroom and Carrick, who usually compete against each other for work like this, joined forces with an Ontario-based golf construction company to redesign the play at Fox Harb’r in Wallace, N.S. The resort was originally built by Tim Hortons co-founder Ron Joyce. Steven Joyce is Ron’s son, and his recent decision will unexpectedly keep the teams busy for another two years at least.
Golfers can watch the progress of the front nine while playing Fox Harb’r’s current parkland-style course. McBroom and Carrick’s new holes take advantage of the eye-popping views along the Northumberland Strait. (Yes, that is PEI you can see on the other side.) “Everything revolves around the ocean,” McBroom said of the plan. “It’s a refined links course.”
During a recent visit, red dust swirled around a conga line of golf carts careering over the ochre dunes and rocky swales of a course still in construction. McBroom and Carrick stopped often to point out features such as the “infinity tee” (it appears as if your ball is heading into the strait) or an interesting trout pond hazard. “The clever part of the course,” McBroom said, “is that you will feel like you’re on the ocean most of the time.”
The oceanside holes should be playable by late summer 2024, and the rest of the links-style course will be open in 2025. The latest addition – a parkland course near the resort’s vineyard – should be ready by 2026.
Golf architect Doug Carrick talks with journalists.Supplied
The writer was a guest of Fox Harb’r, which did not review or approve the story before publication.
Catherine Dawson March