The Home of Golf

Shawn Watters is currently abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland and is set to travel to St. Andrews for the British Open this upcoming weekend. The Open is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year at the Old Course at St. Andrews. The tournament is the oldest and possibly the most prestigious of the four major championships in professional golf. The world's top players including Woods, Garcia, Furyk, and Singh and fan favourites like Tom Watson and John Daly are set to tee off this weekend. Come back next week for a recap of play at the Open and a look at Shawn's trip to Scotland - arguably the birthplace of golf.
* For a complete list of the field for the Open, click here.

Construction Update - Oak Bay

Since we last spoke, work on Oak Bay has shown great progression. For those unfamiliar with the project, Oak Bay is an exclusive golf and country club community located in Port Severn, Ontario, just outside of Honey Harbour. Along with the course and homes, the site includes a marina on the edge of Georgian Bay. Oak Bay is Shawn P. Watters & Associates first project in the Muskokas - Ontario's premiere region for golf. The grow-in is coming along quite nicely. The front nine holes are set to open later this month, with the back 9 being ready for play before the end of the golfing year. The course will be ready for a full launch during the 2011 season. Due to favorable weather conditions, Oak Bay construction crews were able to work late into last year. We make weekly (sometimes even bi-weekly) trips up to the site and are happy to report development is coming along quite nicely. Look for even more construction updates to come throughout the summer, especially with the launch of the front 9 holes. Included here are a preview of the work at Oak Bay, or for another look at the course, take a look at the Oak Bay scorecard.

Publications

"Oak Solid" - ScoreGolf Magazine Summer 2012

"Canada's top nine, devilishly fun holes" - The Globe and Mail July 2012

"Elora gas station site reclaimed as new community greenspace" - Guelph Mercury June 2012

"Global Golf" - Ralph Lauren Magazine Spring 2012

"The Year's New Golf Courses" - Golf Digest December 2011

"The Jawdropper" - Ontario Golf Spring 2011

"Ready for Play" - GolfScene Spring 2011

"Doon Valley Gets New Holes" - Waterloo Record July 2010

"Up & Doon" - GolfScene Summer 2010

"Good enough for Momma Bear" - Toronto Star May 2010

"Building a Life: Profile - Golf Course Architect Shawn P. Watters" - GolfScene Spring 2008

"Setting the Course" - Guelph Life May-June 2008

"Ontario's Best New Courses" - Ontario Golf Fall 2007

NOW OPEN: 10 New Holes at Doon Valley

Shawn P. Watters and Associates is pleased to announce the grand opening of 10 new golf holes at Doon Valley Golf Course in Kitchener, Ontario. All the work over the years has finally paid off, with the opening of these holes this past spring. The new holes incorporate difficult water hazards, wetland areas, and pay particular attention to the environment the course was built on. The holes were created to guarantee maximum protection of the surrounding natural features. You can click here for a sneak peek at the new holes. However, even with the 10 new holes finished and ready for play, our work at Doon is not yet done. A new driving range, as well as a Pitch-and-Putt nine hole course (which is geared towards junior golfers), are set to open this fall. Stay tuned for more updates on the course as the new Doon's inaugural season progresses!

We're Back!

After a 10 month long hiatus, Shawn P. Watters and Associates is happy to report that the SPW blog is back up and running! Tune in for frequent updates from our firm - from a look at our current projects under construction, to our thoughts on the game of golf - all right here on the Shawn P. Watters and Associates blog!