COURSE RATER GUIDE
ARCHITECT: Doug Carrick (2001), Renovated by Ian Andrew (2023)
#19 - SCOREGolf Top 59 Canadian Public Courses
NORTH COURSE
A parkland-style course built around wide corridors and challenging green sites with deep bunkers, the North was originally designed to offer signature playability and a strategic challenge for players of all skill levels. In 2023, the North saw a full-scale renovation led by Ian Andrew to transform the course into a venue for high-level competition and offer a championship experience for all golfers.
“The new North course at TPC Toronto shined nicely during this year’s RBC Canadian Open, with its fantastic par-5 finishing hole providing playoff drama that ended in a Ryan Fox victory. The big and bold parkland design is impeccably conditioned and kept firm and fast.”
-SCOREGolf, 2025 Top 59 Canadian Public Courses
“The North carries an almost mountainous feel as the large-scale holes roam across a big, isolated section of land.”
-Golf Digest
1ST HOLE
PAR 5 | 542 YARDS
The first tee asks players to determine how aggressive they'd like to be with their first shot of the round. The fairway slopes hard from left-to-right, requiring players to take a dangerous line down the left hand side to find the optimal landing zone on both the tee shot and lay-up, while conservative plays down the right side are made complicated by the presence of two imposing bunkers that flank the right side of the hole.
1st hole
1st hole
1st hole
1st hole
1st hole
2ND HOLE
PAR 4 | 481 YARDS
The camber of the second fairway offers multiple ways for a player to place their tee shot, either by drawing (for a right-hander) a shot along the left-to-right sloping fairway and taking advantage of a 'speed slot' on the left side of the fairway, or letting a fade run along the fairway's contours. The elevated green features a generous shortgrass bail-out area to the left and a new, steeply sloped shortgrass runoff area short and right where players can attempt nearly any kind of shot to reach a green that slopes steeply from back to front and right to left.
2nd hole
2nd hole
2nd hole
2nd hole
3RD HOLE
PAR 4 | 440 YARDS
With a relatively narrow fairway that turns against a left-to-right natural slope, the third hole asks players to precisely match distance and direction on what Renovation Architect Ian Andrew describes as a Cape-style tee shot. Longer players and those who choose to hit driver must take an aggressive line down the left side, with a key maple tree obscuring the approach of players who bail out from the challenge and miss right. The green features a very deep protective bunker short right, with a seemingly welcoming shortgrass chipping area left and long leaving extremely delicate pitches back down to the green.
3rd hole
3rd hole
3rd hole
3rd hole
4TH HOLE
PAR 3 | 158 YARDS
A short par-3 with a severe back-to-front tilt, the fourth is an exercise in precision and spin control, with severe contours making the large putting surface play effectively much smaller depending on the hole location. While most players will hit a short iron or even wedge, the contours of the green and steep runoff area to the right will funnel any shot that leaks to the right or lands with too much spin down a steep runoff area and create a very difficult second shot. The fourth plays shortest of the North9s four par-3s, sandwiching scoring opportunities (along with the short par-4 sixth) around the brawny par-4 fifth.
5TH HOLE
PAR 4 | 497 YARDS
Another brawny par-4, the fifth carves along a right-to-left slope, snaking between one fairway bunker on the left and two fairway bunkers that pinch in from the right. Each bunker can more prominently depending on tee boxes, offering a variety of setup options for the PGA TOUR during the RBC Canadian Open. The heavily contoured putting surface opens upfrom the right side, while players approaching from the left face a nearly blind approach over a raised lip above a deep greenside bunker. A steep slope at the back of the green offers players a chance to creatively funnel their ball towards the hole.
5th hole
5th hole
5th hole
6TH HOLE
PAR 4 | 350 YARDS
A short risk-reward par-4 framed by five bunkers, the sixth is the first of three memorable 'half par' par-4s (followed by nos. 12 and 15) on the North course, offering players a chance to score with a well-placed lay-up or an aggressive drive to the green. Regardless of what strategy a player ultimately chooses, the sixth tee shot demands precision and execution. A sharp right-to-left fairway camber is accentuated the further one plays up the hole, funnelling balls well below the putting surface. Players who successfully carry the last bunker on the right can take advantage of a ‘feeder slope’ that kicks balls towards the putting surface.
6th hole
6th hole
6th hole
6th hole
6 north
7TH HOLE
PAR 3 | 237 YARDS
A long par-3 framed by two large back bunkers, a short-left bunker and a lurking pond short and left. With a large opening to the green from the right side and an ample bail out area, the hole offers players the chance to safely play short and right or take on the challenge of hitting the green from a long distance. A spine through the left side of the green protects left side hole locations, with a back-to-front slope presenting an alternate option for players to funnel the ball to the back-left of the green.
North 7
North 7
North 7
8TH HOLE
PAR 5* | 530 YARDS
An uphill par-5 that seems straightforward at first, the eighth serves as a classic example of Doug Carrick’s use of greenside surroundings to take a straight hole and make driving and approach angles consequential. A wooded penalty area sits to the far-right side of the hole, but playing safely away from it forces tee shots to deal with a large fairway bunker that obscures visibility for second shots - or turns them into sideways pitch-outs. Those who successfully find the fairway are rewarded with a superior angle into the green, which has ample shortgrass short and left to help a player run the ball on the green, while a deep greenside bunker sits to the right.
*= Plays as the par-4 17th for the RBC Canadian Open
8 North
8 North
8 North
9TH HOLE
PAR 4 | 500 YARDS
A par-4 with an elevated green that serves as another classic example of Carrick’s use of greenside surroundings to make angles consequential, the ninth was enhanced by Ian Andrew’s addition of a large fairway bunker and new tee deck to become one of the most difficult and strategically challenging of the North’s numerous long par-4s.
A single fairway bunker pinches into the fairway, protecting the optimal angle into an elevated green guarded by a deep greenside bunker. The further away tee shots are played from the bunker, the more difficult they become, with a multi-tiered and heavily sloped green making for a variety of interesting shots from around the green.
9 North
9 North
9 North
10TH HOLE
PAR 4 | 415 YARDS
A change of pace from the massive scale of the par-4 ninth, the bunkerless 10th opens the back nine with a test of precision on a smaller scale. A winding S-shaped fairway curves from right to left, requiring players to lay well back off the tee or curve their tee shot from right-to-left to hold the fairway.
The green is protected by a pond short, which comes into play for poorly struck approaches due to the severely-sloped shortgrass area and front of the green - a feature that effectively moves the line of the hazard five or six paces into the green. Players who fail to hold the fairway and miss in the right rough have to navigate carrying their approach shot far enough onto the green, with any balls that come up short rolling back into the pond under firm and fast conditions.
10 North
10 North
11TH HOLE
PAR 3 | 225 YARDS
A long par-3, the 11th represents one of the most dramatic changes from the 2023 renovation of the North course. The green sits between a pond and a massive slope on the left side, requiring players to either hit a courageous shot over water or play out left and suffer the consequences. A small shortgrass area sits short and left of the green as a bailout option for more timid tee shots, while the fescue-covered hillside punishes approaches that sail long left. The green features a distinct spine in the middle separating the putting surface into two main sections.
11 North
11 North
11 North
11 North
12TH HOLE
PAR 4 | 375 YARDS
The only hole that was actually shortened in the 2023 renovation, the 12th is now another 'half-par' scoring opportunity for high level players. The elevated, multi-tiered green is protected by a trio of bunkers on the left and right side, offering players a chance to push their drive close to the green but requiring an incredibly precise approach shot. At 375 yards, the hole is not driveable from the back tees but just short enough to require players to think about what yardage they want to hit their approaches from.
12 North
12 North
12 North
12 North
13TH HOLE
PAR 5 | 375 YARDS
The 13th tests a player’s physical and strategic skills, centred around the large, fescue covered mound that obscures half of the green. The fairway tilts severely from left-to-right and is flanked on the right side by bunkers and thick fescue, but taking on the risk of finding those hazards nets a reward: an opening into the green around the imposing mound left of the green.
Players may aim safely away from the dangerous right side, but the longer one plays up the left side, the more difficult their subsequent shots into the green become.
*= Plays as a par-4 for the RBC Canadian Open
13 North
13 North
13 North
14TH HOLE
PAR 3 | 190 YARDS
Know widely as The Rink Hole during the RBC Canadian Open, the 14th features a hilltop tee box that plays downhill to a green that Renovation Architect Ian Andrew, who worked on the original shaping of the green, says is inspired by the internal bowl shaping of Royal Melbourne’s fifth hole. The putting surface is surrounded by three distinct and deep bunkers, with the raised perimeter of the putting green offering a chance to play the ball off slopes back to the middle of the green but punishing any shots that miss the green and end up short sided.
14 North
14 North
14 North
15TH HOLE
PAR 4 | 434 YARDS
Another 'half par' scoring opportunity for high-level players, the 15th is a sharp dogleg right with a signature maple tree at the corner of the fairway. Longer, more daring players can cut the corner over the trees to set up a short approach or even drive the green, while the more conservative play out to the left side leaves a longer approach in.
A new tee box was added next to the 14th tee across the defunct railway tracks that bisect the course, extending hole to over 430 yards and making the selection of the right line off the tee essential. A deep shortgrass runoff area lies to the left of the green opposite a right-side fairway bunker, offering a variety of short game shots for players who miss the green.
15 North
15 North
15 North
16TH HOLE
PAR 4 | 513 YARDS
A long-par 4 that can extend to 500 yards, the 16th is what Renovation Architect Ian Andrew calls a ‘perseverance hole,’ demanding excellent long game play in contrast to more strategically versatile holes like the 15th and 18th.
The hole begins with a blind tee shot over a hill crest, revealing a dramatic downhill approach to a green that opens up from the right side and is protected by a deep greenside bunker short left. To set up an angle into this green, however, players must hit their tee shot down the riskier right side, where thick fescue lurks just out of view from the tee box. The left side of the fairway offers plenty of space to play safely, but will yield a much more challenging approach shot into one of the course’s most wildly contoured greens.
16 North
16 North
16 North
16 North
16 North
17TH HOLE
PAR 4 | 440 YARDS
An angled fairway curves from left-to-right and is guarded by a massive fairway bunker down the right side, setting up a challenge for longer players who try to take advantage with an aggressive line. The severely right-to-left sloping green is protected by three large bunkers and a sharp drop-off slope long and left.
Matching line and distance off the tee is critical, while any shots that miss the green to the right are presented with a difficult up-and-down due to the right-to-left slope of the green.
17 North
17 North
17 North
17 North
18TH HOLE
PAR 5 | 581 YARDS
The risk-reward closing hole is built to be a dramatic closer for everything from a match with buddies to the 72nd hole of a national championship, with everything from eagle to double bogey or worse in play.
The 585-yard par-5 is set up by a series of angled bunkers down the right side, the last of which requires a 330+ yard carry to safely cover. The more tee shots can cut off, the greater the reward, as a ‘speed slot’ kicks tee shots forward and can shorten approaches by 30 yards or more. Conversely, tee shots that decline the risky line off the tee and play safely out left are faced with a more complex decision on the longer second shot.
The front and left of the green is protected by a pond and severely-sloped shortgrass runoff area, punishing shots that come up just short or left with a slow roll back to a watery demise. The net result is an opportunity for players to pull off daring risk-reward shot on both the tee shot and approach and finish the round with anything from tragedy to glory.
18 North
18 North
18 North
18 North
HOLE FLYOVERS
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HOLE 1
PAR 5: 542 YARDS
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HOLE 2
PAR 4: 481 YARDS
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HOLE 3
PAR 4: 440 YARDS
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HOLE 4
PAR 3: 158 YARDS
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HOLE 5
PAR 4: 497 YARDS
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HOLE 6
PAR 4: 350 YARDS
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HOLE 7
PAR 3: 237 YARDS
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HOLE 8
PAR 4: 530 YARDS
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HOLE 9
PAR 4: 500 YARDS
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HOLE 10
PAR 4: 416 YARDS
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HOLE 11
PAR 3: 225 YARDS
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HOLE 12
PAR 4: 375 YARDS
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HOLE 13
PAR 4: 536 YARDS
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HOLE 14
PAR 3: 190 YARDS
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HOLE 15
PAR 4: 434 YARDS
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HOLE 16
PAR 4: 513 YARDS
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HOLE 17
PAR 4: 440 YARDS
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HOLE 18
PAR 5: 581 YARDS
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
Dive deeper into specific holes and features on the North course
Course Architect Ian Andrew describes the changes to the dramatic 18th hole green
PGA Tour Americas player Jake Scott walks through the changes to the 10th hole on the North Course
Course Architect Ian Andrew describes the changes to the dogleg right 15th hole
Course Architect Ian Andrew describes the additions to Hole 13, making it the longest par 4 on the North.
Course Architect Ian Andrew describes the changes to the short par-4 6th hole
NORTH COURSE IN THE MEDIA
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Q&A with Taylor Pendrith
In our exclusive Q&A with Taylor Pendrith, journalist Adam Stanley talked with the Canadian PGA Tour player about the North course, and how he thinks Tour players will take it on for the 2025 RBC Canadian Open.
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Q&A: Ian Andrew
Faced with the challenge of renovating TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s North course to host the RBC Canadian Open, golf architect Ian Andrew focused on transforming the course from being a a public course where a championship could be held to a championship course that the public can play.
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Q&A: Ian Andrew (Part 2)
In part one of our Q&A, North course renovation architect Ian Andrew discussed how the course transformed from being a a public course where a championship could be held to a championship course that the public can play. Part two is a deep dive into specific holes and how they’ll play for the RBC Canadian Open.
