About 10 days ago, the Golf Historical Society of Canada hosted the Ontario Open Hickory Golf Championship over “the weekend of Friday, October 2 – Sunday, October 4, 2026, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was a glorious celebration of hickory golf. Fifty-five players participated in the Event, coming from both Southern and Northern Ontario, plus three players from Alberta and five from the U.S.” (GHSC) To host the event, Whirlpool Golf Course stepped up, again, and they did not disappoint. For the fifth year in a row Whirlpool Golf Course is the facility of choice for the Open Hickory Golf Championship and I hope to continues to be in the future.
“Whirlpool Golf Course stands as one of Canada’s most esteemed public golf destinations, boasting a rich history dating back to its opening in 1951. Crafted by the legendary architect Stanley Thompson, Whirlpool represents the culmination of his illustrious career, embodying the essence of his masterful course designs. Nestled alongside the breathtaking Niagara River Gorge, the course showcases Thompson’s signature style with its classic parkland layout and strategic hole placement, offering golfers a delightful mix of challenges and scoring opportunities.” (Niagara Parks)
Whirlpool is a very picturesque golf course in the heart of the Niagara Valley. It offers a variety of challenges that will test all level of golfers. While using hickory clubs, I found the course was designed with enough difficult and easy holes to allow for players to be challenged. Many of the players played off the forward tees, however the Open category played back to 5800 yards. From this distance, I found hitting the green in regulation a challenge, but that had nothing to do with the golf course.
The second hole at Whirlpool Golf Course was a beautiful as it is challenging. It is about 40 feet lower to the green from the the tee box. My tee shot was blind and hitting the fairway was critical. With a tough water hazard on the right and bunker to go over in the front, accessing the pin was very challenging on the second day. I played left of the bunker and opted for a longer birdie putt on the second day. I walked off with par and was happy to do so!
This 160 yard par thee was all carry. As you can see, there was no room for error and fortunately I cleared the water each day. This was another beautiful hole to play. It offered strong sight lines to the pin and enough distractions to force us to focus on the shot at hand. I refused to acknowledge the water and that worked for me. Others, unfortunately, had challenges clearing the 145 yards before landing safe on land again. That is the nature of golf and especially hickory golf!
Whirlpool did not have a ton of roll as in previous years. They experience a tremendous about of rain a couple days before the event which restricted the advantage I have with hickory sticks. Although the course was drying up, it was still in amazing shape. Every hole was well manicured and tended. I thoroughly enjoy playing at Whirlpool and look forward to teeing it up again next year.
Lastly, I want to give a shout out to all the staff at Whirlpool Golf Club. Regardless of the service being provided on and off the course, the staff were professional, positive and dedicated to making our golf experience something to remember. Thanks for all your hard work.
If you are in the Niagara area and looking for a game of golf, check out Whirlpool. I think you will be happy you did.
I am a grateful golfer! See you the links!
