Oak Solid - ScoreGolf article

Shawn P. Watters and Associates' work at Oak Bay Golf and Country Club is spotlighted in the Summer 2012 edition of ScoreGolf Magazine. Oak Bay was featured with a full page review of the course, in addition to a nomination for Canada's Best New Course since 2011 - which will be announced in November 2012. The article can be read below.

 

Oak Solid  

by Jason Logan

Oak Bay G&CC is the latest addition to the Muskoka area and offers a shot and slender moderately priced option. 

     Setting aside any discussion of first, whether Ontario's Muskoka region needed another golf course and second, whether the long-planned-and-now-coming-to-fruition Oak Bay Residences will flourish in the present-day economy, the Shawn Watters-designed Oak Bay G&CC, which opened last May, is a fun golf course with enough teeth to present a good challenge. 

     With its clubhouse under construction and not due to open until this fall, the course, which lies near Honey Harbour on the east side of Georgian Bay, currently begins on what will eventually be the eighth hole and finishes on the 10th, though there is no awkwardness to the temporary routing. The layout has much of what golfers have come to expect from Muskoka tracks - rock outcroppings, marshy hazards, lake (in this case bay) views and, unfortunately, black flies. But with the exception of the fourth - a narrow par 4 that drops down to the left from a hill crest - there are no blind shots or mystery holes at Oak Bay. Though fairways are narrow with Watters, who's based in Elora, Ont., placing a premium on accuracy off the tee, the remaining frames are, for the most part, right out in front of you. The exception is the par-5 18th, a brutally difficult closer with a razor thin fairway. A greater landing area would have been prudent and as is, the hole is bordering on unfair, but environmentally protected areas prevented such a widening. 

     The strongest collection of holes at Oak Bay is undoubtedly the par 3s. In particular, the 15th is a get-your-camera-out hole. It plays 170 yards at its longest and traverses a hazard to an imposing, multi-tiered green set high on a steep rock face. The original routing had the hole playing in the opposite direction, however a snake pit close (but not that close) to the current tee decks prevented Watters from having the space to design a green there. In truth, it would have been a shame had that original plan come to pass; it's a much better hole for the reroute. The second is also strong, playing a beefy 220 from the tips (191 from the white tees) over another hazard and to a narrow green while the 200-/173-yard 17th juts out into the bay for perhaps the best view on the course.

     Balancing the difficulty of putting the ball in play are relatively benign green complexes. With the exception of that on the previously mentioned 15th, the putting surfaces are fairly flat and shouldn't strike any fear into the hearts of golfers. At only 6,500 yards from the tips and 6,050 yards from one deck up, Oak Bay's length doesn't present much of a problem either. Truthfully, it's the bigger hitter who'll suffer the most here if he or she isn't on point.

     Oak Bay's summer rates are $79 before 2 p.m. on weekends and $69 on weekdays. Considering the steep fees of most Muskoka courses the price is reasonable, though there is currently no practice facility and the location isn't exactly in the heart of Muskoka, lying some 20 minutes from Gravenhurst. While the course is easily walked, the rates do not include use of a power cart.

Canada's Best New Course Award 

ScoreGolf has not produced a Best New Course in Canada ranking since 2010 when Doug Carrick's Ridge Course at Predator Ridge Resort took top spot. There simply haven't been enough course openings in recent years to warrant such a ranking. That will change this year when we announce the best courses to open since 2011 on ScoreGolf.com in November. The following courses, which were not eligible for this year's Top 100 because they had not been opened for two years, are candidates for Canada's Best New Course: 

- Blue Devil, Calgary, Gary Browning

- Cabot Links, Inverness, N.S., Rod Whitman

- Oak Bay, Muskoka, Ont, Shawn Watters

- The Quarry, Edmonton, Les Furber

- Southwood, Winnipeg, Thomas McBroom

- Wildstone, Cranbrook, B.C., Gary Player

These articles appeared in the Summer 2012 edition of ScoreGolf Magazine. It is currently unavailable online.

Canada's top nine, devilishly fun holes - The Globe and Mail article

Shawn P. Watters and Associates' work at Oak Bay Golf Club in Port Severn, Ontario, was recognized in a recent edition of The Globe and Mail for having one of the top holes in Canada. The paper chose the scenic hole number 15 for the distinction, amongst other holes from some of the most notable courses in Canada including Banff Springs, Highland Links and Glen Abbey.

by Brian Kendall  
15th Hole, Oak Bay Golf, Port Severn, Ont.
Last season's launch of Oak Bay Golf and Country Club revealed one of Canada's most picturesque par-threes. Designed by Shawn Watters, Oak Bay's 170-yard 15th hole plays into the prevailing wind over a marsh to an elevated two-tiered green, perched like an emerald crown atop a gigantic outcropping of Canadian Shield. Completing this wild-and-wooly Group of Seven setting is a Georgian Bay inlet seen far to the left, while another bay laps the rocky shoreline to the rear of the tee box. oakbaygolf.com

It was also featured as part of Brian Kendall's Canadian Golf Traveller website, where Oak Bay's hole number 15th is labelled "Muskoka's New Signature Hole" - destined to become "one of Canada's signature holes".

This piece was featured in the July 2, 2012 edition of The Globe and Mail. It is available online by clicking here.

Elora gas station site reclaimed as new community greenspace - Guelph Mercury article

Shawn P. Watters & Associates was featured in the Guelph Mercury recently for their involvement in designing the new greenspace at the corner of Mill and Metcalfe Sts., downtown Elora. Read on to learn about the drastic changes taking place to the old gas station.

by Scott Tracey 

ELORA – For a couple of years, Shawn Watters would look out the window of his Elora office and let his mind wander.
What could become of the former gas station in the core of the village’s downtown?
Eventually Suncor, the owner of the site at Mill and Metcalfe streets, demolished the building, removed some material and fenced off the site.
Watters, a landscape architect, obtained from the township a site plan drawing of the property and started sketching out what he would like to see there “with no real thought that it would ever turn into anything.”
Watters didn’t know it, but at the same time a small group of local residents and businesspeople were also looking at the site and seeing what could be there.
“We sat for at least a year with an ugly vacant lot there,” said Amy Corner, chair of Elora’s Business Improvement Association, “so a few of us started talking about trying to have it turned into a park or something.”
Centre Wellington Township Coun. Kirk McElwain also got on board “and began to seriously represent the idea to the council,” Corner said. “That’s when the wheels began to turn much more quickly than our small group of citizens could have made them turn.”
Township officials began negotiations with Suncor, eventually gaining permission to use the property as “greenspace,” since the province would not allow them to call it a park because of the contamination still below the surface.
“We began to seriously look at ways to use this property because it is so integral to the downtown,” McElwain said at the site Saturday, as a small army of residents gathered to plant more than 100 donated shrubs.
The BIA chipped in $8,000 to the project, and also obtained a $25,000 interest-free loan from the township to make Watters’ vision for the property a reality.
Locals have taken to referring to the project as “Corner Grass,” a take on the Canadian television series Corner Gas about life in a small-town gas station.
McElwain said everyone knows the greenspace could be temporary – as Suncor could decide to sell the property if it finds a buyer willing to deal with the contamination from decades as a gas station – “but in the meantime we have this wonderful space for people to sit or take in a performance or whatever.
“I think this is a good indicator of what this type of property can be used for,” McElwain added.
Watters’ son, Haydn, has been photographing the transformation daily. Watters said eventually those photos will likely be compiled into a video to illustrate the potential for derelict service stations.
“We know similar properties all over Canada sit vacant and unused for years because nobody steps up and takes ownership of them,” Corner said. “We’re trying to show you can do something with them and turn them into usable community spaces.”
The transformation should be completed within a couple of weeks, though Watters said it will be a couple of weeks after that before the fence comes down and people can start using it.
“It’ll be like a picture people can look at but can’t use,” he laughed, “but we have to make sure the turf takes root before we have too many people on it.”
After so much time wondering what could become of the spot, Watters is looking forward to being able to use it.
“I might even get wi-fi from my office over here.”

This piece was featured in the June 25, 2012 edition of the Guelph Mercury. To read it online, click here.

Site Visit: May 2012 at Oak Bay

As evidenced in our recent trip up to Port Severn, construction is still ongoing at Oak Bay. Work has continued on the model homes and residences, and has commenced on the construction of the clubhouse, which is slated for completion this fall, as well as the marina. The golf course is now open for the 2012 season and is maturing in its second season of play. The weather turned a tad sour towards the end of our visit, thus we will return again shortly and capture some prettier photographs. These photos however should give you an idea as to the developments taking place in Port Severn.

A view of the clubhouse under construction from the 18th green. The clubhouse is set to open in Fall of 2012.

From the tees of the 17th hole. The pond on the right gives the appearance that Georgian Bay is creeping up beside the hole.

A view from the forward tees on the infamous, picturesque 15th hole.

SPW & the World of Social Media

Back when this blog began in 2009, our firm was eager to enter the world of social media. The blog has acted as a tool to provide individuals with insight into the intriguing industries of golf course and landscape architecture. Shawn P. Watters & Associates is pleased to announce that we have also joined Facebook. In becoming a fan of our firm, you can receive updates on the latest developments at our offices and within the industry. To become a fan, follow this link. You can also get connected with Shawn via LinkedIn. Stay tuned as SPW branches off into even more social media mediums.

Global Golf

 

Oak Bay Golf & Country Club (Ontario, Canada)

On the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, Canadian golf course architect Shawn Watters, one of the country’s most respected, has created a picturesque but sturdy course: this just-opened, 6,503-yard track in the town of Honey Harbour, Ontario. With islands in the distance, water woodlands, granite outcroppings, and native shrubbery, the Oak Bay course offers a naturally challenging setting. Featuring large green complexes and unbounded lakeland, the par 72, including the par-3, 170-yard all-carry 15th hole, presents a fair but rigorous test to the most seasoned of golfers. - by Farhad Heydari, Ralph Lauren Magazine

This piece is from the Spring 2012 edition of Ralph Lauren Magazine. It was featured as part of Farhad Heydari's article, Global Golf. To read it online, click here.

The Year's New Golf Courses

Shawn P. Watters and Associates appeared in the December 2011 edition of Golf Digest Magazine, one of the golf industry's premier publications. In addition to the magazine piece, the firm was also made mention of in a Golf Digest online slideshow chronicling The Year's New Golf Courses. 

Oak Bay seen featured in a screenshot from Golf Digest's online slideshow

Oak Bay Golf & Country Club

"Canadian architect Shawn Watters relied more on rocks, pines and water as hazards at Oak Bay Golf & Country Club in Honey Harbour, Ontario, producing the year's most awesome new par 3, the 170-yard 15th over a lake cove to a green atop a granite outcropping." - by Ron Whitten, Golf Digest Magazine

This piece was featured in the December 2011 edition of Golf Digest Magazine. To read online, click here.

Back for the Season

After a lengthy winter, the gears at Shawn P. Watters and Associates have been set in motion to prepare for our busiest season of the year - summer. We invite you to join us by way of this blog to stay up to date on the exciting developments taking place inside of our office. Over the next couple of months, we will be posting on our projects which are currently in production, our developments on the horizon, publications that we have been featured in throughout the past year and our take on the golf course/landscape architecture industry. Have a suggestion on something we should write about? Comment on this post and we will make sure to reply. If you are looking for insight into the world of golf course and landscape architecture, look no further. For the next 5 months, it will come by way of this blog.