Hole #5

Harmon Seaside Links:

A True Seaside Links Experience on Bay St. George, Nl.

Posted by Alistair Orr

Very few North American golf courses can legitimately use the word "links" in their name. Harmon Seaside Links located in Stephenville Newfoundland may be one of those few. Built on a narrow spit of land wedged between St. Georges Bay and the Gulf of the St. Lawrence on one side and the Port of Harmon on the other with the surrounding Long Range Mountains as a back drop,  Harmon Seaside presents an old world feel golf experience.

The course's beginnings were as a nine hole facility built in the 60’s for the US Servicemen posted at the adjacent Air Force base with Graham Cooke stepping in to design the expansion to 18 holes in Y2K. To this day reminders of the local military influence can still be seen with the presence of several munitions bunker tucked amongst trees between holes on the front nine and the remnants of a WWII gunnery turret greets you as you pull into the parking lot.

Military buffs would be interested to know that the over sized runways at Stephenville were manufactured to handle bombers during the war to refuel before the long trek overseas and as a result of these extended runway lenghts Stephenville was appointed as an alternate abort site for the Space Shuttle program should an emergency landing be needed.

The course ranges from 5300 yards to just under 6600 yards and can be described as flat and is a walkers delight, however, the winds coming off the ocean can wreak havoc with ball flight making this course play much longer that the yardage posted. The front side is routed through pines and clumps of tuckamore forest featuring stunted spruce and fir with a lengthy lagoon lurking on holes 5 through 9. In contrast to the front nine the back side is void of trees to buffet the wind and framed with deep fescue defending the fairways. The green complexes throughout the course are on the smaller side making hitting greens in regulation when the “wee” breeze blows an accomplishment indeed.

Editor's Shot Maker's Picks at Harmon Seaside Links

Feature Holes Descriptions:

Although the scorecard posts that the 5th hole is 167 yards from the tips a way back teeing ground can be found measuring in at 255 yards.  Perched precariously on the banks of one of Harmon’s unique salt water lagoons it will take all you’ve got from the longest club in your bag to reach this dance floor. If the 255 yards isn’t enough to defend this one shotter it must be mentioned that the drive is all carry over the lagoon and the prevailing winds blow stiffly off the left and into your face –Good Luck! Making par from this tee deck when the winds are blowing will put you in the super human category.

Harmon's unique salt water lagoons

Every course has a stretch of holes that can make or break your round. If you managed to cruise through the front nine unscathed and you hope to post a low score then handling holes 12 through 14 effectively could prove key to your rounds success.  Don’t let the wonderful panoramic views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the west, the runways of the adjacent airfield or the surrounding Indian Head Mountain Range distract you from the task at hand for your full attention is required to navigate the 1350 yards of par 5, par 4, par 4 that are in front of you. There is no trickery in the design of these holes in the treeless section of the course. Number’s 12 and 13 are slight dogleg lefts while 14 is straight way. The defense on this stretch is coping with the gales blowing off St. Georges Bay in an attempt to keep the ball out of the penal rough.  A wetland between the 12th and 13th fairways will catch the wayward shot left while the miss right on 14 may find a similar fate. The undulating green complexes are not large targets and two putting a challenge if the wrong side of the green is found. A 13 shot total here is spectacular.

The views of Wreckhouse

If you are heading south, post round, towards Channel Port-aux-Basque to catch the ferry to Sydney, NS you will first need to traverse the stark yet beautiful Wreckhouse. Wreckhouse is an area that is situated between the Long Range Mountains and the ocean which many of the locals claim to be the second windiest place on earth next to the apex of Mount Washington. Winds from the southeast off the ocean funnel through the mountains and are squeezed through gulches and released into the valley at speeds known to exceed 200km/hr. This phenomenon tends to occur only during the winter and spring months so travelling this section of the Trans Canada during the golf season should not be a worry and the beauty of the area can be marveled.

Course Stats:

Contact:

Harmon Seaside Links

Massachusetts Drive
Stephenville, NL

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