By Richard Humphreys |
Over 20 years ago, Rod Whitman designed the 18-hole course at Blackhawk Golf Club near Edmonton, Canada. Now, alongside his partners at Whitman, Axland & Cutten (WAC Golf), Whitman is leading a nine-hole expansion that will see Blackhawk become a 27-hole club.
“The existing Blackhawk course occupies an important place in modern Canadian golf architecture,” says Keith Cutten of WAC Golf. “Rod’s design is bold, strategic and intensely connected to its landscape. Its broad playing corridors, expressive bunkering and highly individual greens demonstrate how an architect can create interest and complexity without relying upon narrowness or excessive punishment. Since opening, Blackhawk has consistently been recognised among Canada’s leading golf courses. That reputation creates both an exciting opportunity and a considerable responsibility as we add nine new holes.”
The new nine will occupy a predominantly sandy site that consists of a series of rolling landforms. The proposed layout, with WAC Golf drawing on characteristics of Whitman’s original course, will play to a par of 36 and measure 3,706 yards, with two par fives, five par fours and two par threes.
“Our intention is not to reproduce the existing course hole by hole, but to carry its underlying design philosophy onto a new piece of ground,” says Cutten. “The new nine must feel unmistakably like Blackhawk while possessing its own identity, rhythm and collection of memorable golf holes.”
The site has considerable movement, from larger ridges and elevation changes to smaller rolls, folds and irregularities.
A visualisation of the par-three sixth hole at Blackhawk (Image: WAC Golf)
“Golf architects often speak about finding holes rather than manufacturing them, and that description is particularly appropriate here,” says Cutten. “In many places, the holes seem to be sitting naturally within the landscape, waiting to be uncovered and played.
“That quality has had a major influence on the routing. Rather than imposing preconceived golf holes upon the property, we have allowed the terrain to determine the direction of play, the location of the greens and the character of the approaches. The routing uses the site’s natural rises and depressions to create constantly changing views, lies and strategic questions. The inherent movement should also allow the finished course to feel established relatively quickly, because so much of its character is already present in the ground.”
The new nine will emphasise width, angles and options, with generous playing corridors, greens that offer a variety of pin locations and slopes that will gather some shots and reject others and lend themselves to a ground-game approach.
“Varied green settings and approach conditions will be equally important,” says Cutten. “Some holes will invite running shots and the use of surrounding contours, while others will ask golfers to challenge a feature or find a particular portion of the fairway to improve the angle into the green. The objective is to produce strategic interest for accomplished players without taking away the sense of possibility and enjoyment that less experienced golfers should feel. A golfer should be able to recognise a sensible route through every hole, while continuing to discover more ambitious options over repeated rounds.”
Keith Cutten of WAC Golf says ‘the holes seem to be sitting naturally within the landscape, waiting to be uncovered’ (Image: WAC Golf)
Site clearing is underway, with rough shaping scheduled to begin in autumn 2026. Course construction will take place through 2027, followed by grow-in ahead of an anticipated opening in summer 2028.
“The sandy soils should permit us to employ a restrained and highly field-oriented construction process,” says Cutten. “Our goal is to preserve as much of the natural movement as possible and to concentrate the shaping effort where it will have the greatest architectural value – particularly around the greens, approaches and bunkers. Much of the detailed design will continue to evolve in the field. This is central to WAC’s working method and to the manner in which Rod created the original Blackhawk course. Drawings establish the broad intentions, but the final contours, transitions and strategic details are refined on the ground as the land is exposed.”
The additional holes will provide the club with greater flexibility for member play, maintenance and events.
“For us, this is more than an expansion,” says Cutten. “It is an opportunity to continue the architectural story of one of Canada’s most respected modern courses on a property that is exceptionally well suited to golf. The quality of the sandy ground, the abundance of natural movement and the club’s commitment to thoughtful design give us the ingredients to create nine holes that feel discovered rather than imposed – golf holes that belong naturally to Blackhawk.”
This article first appeared in the October 2026 issue of Golf Course Architecture. For a printed subscription or free digital edition, please visit our subscriptions page.