Devil’s Pulpit Golf Course, Ontario, Canada, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Devil’s Pulpit was designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan, ASGCA Fellow, and Dana Fry, ASGCA. Upon its opening in 1990, Devil’s Pulpit was awarded Best New Course in Canada by “Golf Magazine,” and it consistently rated in the top courses in Canada.
Its sister course, Devil’s Paintbrush, also designed by Fry and Hurdzan, won this same award when it opened in 1992. Attending this event were Scott Abbott and Sarah Haney, representing the owners; Ken Wright, the original and only superintendent the club has had; Hurdzan and Fry; and 400 guests.
Participants enjoyed a 25th anniversary golf outing and a party followed by speeches from Abbott, Haney, Wright, Hurdzan, and Fry. Fry spoke of all the great memories he had about the course stating, “Devil’s Pulpit was the most significant projects of my career,” and “Paintbrush is my personal favorite course I have ever worked on. Simply put, it is one of a kind.” Fry went on to state how, “Chris Haney is still to this day the most crazy and interesting person I ever worked for.” He continued by stating his respect and admiration for Ken Wright, who he considers to be, “one of the very best golf course superintendents anywhere.”
The Devil’s Pulpit, built on 315 acres, was a massive earthmoving job. It is grassed with bentgrass greens, tees, and fairways. It is a course that is very visually dramatic with fantastic views of the Niagara Escarpment and downtown Toronto over 30 miles away. In contrast, The Paintbrush, about 4 kilometers away on 166 acres from an earth-moving standpoint, is the opposite type of course. It is a great piece of natural topography with the same awesome views of the Niagara Escarpment and downtown Toronto. It is all fescue except for the greens, which are bentgrass. All the bunkers are stacked sod wall bunkers, and the course has low stone walls running around the entire course and, in some places, right thru golf holes.