Architect Christine Fraser ‘updating and reshaping’ Northumberland Links
Tom Peters
Taking a course that is already well respected, making change takes vision and energy. Enter Ontario golf course architect Christine Fraser. Northumberland Links tasked Fraser to lead its recent re-design and has embarked on a deliberate process of updating and reshaping the course.
Fraser has a long background in golf that includes five years in England practicing golf course design under renowned architect, Dr. Martin Hawtree. Her background also includes a stint playing at the NCAA Division One level in Florida, after which she completed a master’s degree in landscape architecture. Fraser was enthusiastic to take on her first assignment in Atlantic Canada. She says her first impressions of Northumberland Links were that “it has all of the key elements that make a golf course great that you can’t buy.”
For a number of years Northumberland Links, located on Nova Scotia’s North Shore and often impacted by the winds of the Northumberland Strait, has been considered one of the best courses in the Atlantic region. Last year it was named 42nd on SCOREGolf’s list of best public courses in Canada and this year made SCOREGolf’s Top 100 courses, debuting at 91 on the coveted list combining both the best private and the best public courses in Canada.
John Mills, Northumberland’s Golf Superintendent, said the management team and the board of directors were looking to bring in a professional to provide design guidance and, hopefully, develop a master plan to update and further capitalize on the existing layout.
“We are very excited to be working with someone of Christine Fraser’s caliber,” says Mills. “She is the perfect fit for Northumberland Links. She understands the strength of what we currently have and brings a remarkable talent and design vision on how we can make this course an even better golfing experience,” Mills said.
“This course has such great elements already. The routing is great, and what we are focusing on doing currently is taking advantage of the new vistas and views in terms of aesthetics, bringing back the links type of golf that is in the name,” says Fraser.
Fraser didn’t step into her new role cautiously. Her first job was to tackle a redesign of the course’s signature par 3, 13th hole. Opening to rave review in June, the redesign features a new tee location, chipping areas, roll-off surrounds, a treacherous pot bunker, fescue mounds and a completely new putting surface that provides a wealth of pin placement opportunities.
“The new elements in the design are intended to enhance the ‘links’ feel for the golfer. Even the sound of waves rolling onto the shoreline below and the new tee take full advantage of the natural ocean setting,” explained Fraser.
In terms of amplifying the actual playing experience Fraser says, “There is a huge opportunity here and I can’t wait to capitalize on it. The loss of trees throughout the property caused by Hurricane Fiona in 2022 has really provided a great opportunity to widen the playing corridors and that generally leads to more playability and more interesting golf because you can make it a more strategic golf course.”
She adds that Northumberland Links can become one of those “catalysts to bring golfers from other areas out East as it sits well and stands up well to some of those other great golf courses out here,” with reference to the Cabot courses in Cape Breton and the Cape Breton Highlands.
