Rod Whitman from Ponoka, AB has designed golf courses in Canada, United States and Europe. He once worked for Pete Dye and has long assisted the firm of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw on the construction side of their designs. He launched his Canadian career with the design of Wolf Creek Golf Club in Ponoka, which opened in 1983. His designs are heralded as among the best in the country. Each of his courses in Canada have held spots in the Top 100 Canadian Courses and Top 59 Public Courses in Canada by SCOREGolf. And his design for the first course at Cabot Links is regarded as among the Top 100 designs in the world! His design of Sagebrush, often regarded as one of the best in Canada, has been surrounded by uncertainty with ownership changes and is currently not open.

Best Known For: Cabot Links (Inverness, NS); Blackhawk Golf Club (Edmonton, Alberta); Sagebrush (Quilchena, BC); Wolf Creek (Ponoka, Alberta).

Style: While some might consider him a minimalist (a designer who doesn’t move a lot of land in constructing a course), Whitman is actually a master shaper who is able to construct landforms and make them appear as if they are natural. His best work features wild, free-form bunkering, and elaborately-conceived greens, as well as wide fairways.

One thing you didn’t know: Known by his nickname, “The Great Whit,” Whitman helped build Erin Hills, the course that hosted the 2017 U.S. Open.

What’s next?

Last year, Whitman, along with associate Keith Cutten, rebuilt much of the Algonquin’s course in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, NB. The pair reworked many of the existing holes near the ocean, moving fairways closer to the water, adding more drama to the tee shots, and creating some of the most spectacular and dramatic seaside holes in Canada. It’ll surely garner a lot of attention when it fully reopens later this year.

Stay tuned as we profile more designers behind many of Canada’s best golf courses, offering a glimpse into what makes their creations so special.