Second hole | par 4, 415 yards: The most memorable hole, on the course comes early in the routing. From the tee, the hole is blind, with the fairway dropping away in the distance. The hole narrows considerably as it descends, trees pressing in from both sides and out of bounds running the full length of the left. Get past the tee shot and the approach reveals itself as admittedly pretty, with the green set diagonally at the bottom of the hill, defended by hummocks left and long of the putting surface, a pond on the right, and single bunker on the inside of the corner pinched between the pond and the green. The green itself has two humps in the rear portion that act as a natural backstop for approach shots that take the slope. It is not a complicated hole on paper, but the sequence of blind commitment off the tee, the tight corridor, and the precise demand of the approach make it one that stays interesting on your 100th visit as much as the first.

Third hole | par 3, 234 yards: One of the key design traits often easily found on a course designed by Stanley Thompson is a long par three. Thompson believed par 3’s should test a players shot making abilities throughout the bag, including with a wood — not just one’s use of mid or short irons. At Whirlpool, four of the five par 3’s play over 200 yards from the back tee — a particular oddity given Thompson’s common use of one (or perhaps two) long one-shot holes that counteracted his deployment of a short one. A good example of this can be found at Jasper Park Lodge where the brutally long fourth (Cavell) is juxtaposed against the devilishly short fifteenth (Bad Baby). For most players, the longest of the par 3’s found at Whirlpool, comes at the third which plays over a valley and the same pond which guards the right side of the second green. The placement of the green, and this hole to a greater extent, beyond the valley is a really good use of the minimal topographical highlights available to Thompson on this piece of property. The green itself is sloped back-to-front, as it is with most Thompson greens, but is perched up above it surrounds to add additional character to its surrounds and further place emphasis on accurate approach from distance.

One of the key defining features of Whirlpool is this knoll and valley system which cuts through the interior of the property. The knoll organizes a full third of the course around its geographical character. Here, the fifth, 11th, and 15th greens are benched directly into the slope — cut into the hillside so that the approach plays upward and the green sits against the rise of the land. While the back tee’s of the sixth, 12th, and 16th tees sit atop the mound, launching downhill into their respective holes. It is one of the more interesting, topographically organizing, features of this particular golf course. Thompson's use of it gives the routing a sporadic variety and vertical interest that the remainder of the golf course largely fails to match due to its flatter and more micro oriented properties.

10th hole | par 4, 457 yards: The 10th hole isn’t particularly remarkable from tee to green, its elevated tee shot is hit to a straight away fairway with no bunkers. The notable features of this hole appear within the green surrounds, which are one of the most intriguing on the golf course, where an abundance of wavy rolls, hummocks, and hollows surround the land. These contours showcase the distinctive green placement within the confines of the small but noticeable elevation change. Yet, these key features of the land are largely obstructed from playing character by way of inadequate mow lines — covering up the potential for shots to be played along the ground. A simple but meaningful change would be to mow these areas with tighter short grass surrounds allowing for running shots that come in from a distance to bound around the land just as the game intended.

11th hole | par 4, 405 yards: At the 11th, another straight away tee shot looms over the player, this time with the hole playing slightly uphill through a rippled fairway. In the landing zone a natural depression heaves the ball across the undulations with few flat lies. From this area, the approach is played to the green which is benched into the central hillside. As such the putting surface is narrow, with a long false front, sitting in what feels like a natural amphitheatre of rough and rise. A glance at historical aerial images shows this green was well bunkered — today those bunkers are gone, replaced by grass hollows. There is no casual way to approach this green — the lengthy approach, elevation, and delicate pitch shots for those who are unable to navigate the former on the first attempt make this a challenging test. It is a good character hole, that reveals the hillside's architectural value most clearly.

16th hole | par 4, 403 yards: In Thompson’s original design, this was the only golf hole with a fairway bunker. Which, if you’ve studied Thompson’s catalogue of original designs, wouldn’t be too surprising. For a man who is known for his bunkers, most of his original work rarely built features, like bunkers, for strategic importance — bunkers often sat on the perimeter of fairways as visual targets or none were built at all until Thompson or one of his disciples made changes to a property in future years. Today the hole has 6 bunkers scattered throughout, with the primary hazard on the outside of the hole, the bunker on the inside is primarily a visual deception, largely not in play, from such a short distance. The green site is raised above the fairway, causing the surface to be blind on approach. It’s a fun, shorter hole on the closing stretch that feels just a little different than most of the course.

18th hole | par 5, 506 yards: Whirlpool finishes with one of the more exciting holes on property. The tee shot plays downhill with the Niagara River gorge sitting just beyond, out of bounds and a road running the full length left. Bunkers threaten both sides of the landing area off the tee. From there the fairway tumbles into the valley that cuts across the ninth, and 10th holes, a duo of bunkers tightening the lay-up zone on either side. The green sits on a shelf within the cascading hillside, elevated above the approach, angled back-to-front, and defended by four bunkers beyond and one short. With the clubhouse sitting further up the hillside and the surrounding bunkers tucked into the slope it’s a pretty finisher.