The Links at Crowbush Cove on Prince Edward Island

The Links at Crowbush Cove is laid out near the dunes on the north shore of Prince Edward Island; you reach Crowbush Golf and Beach Resort from the Nova Scotia mainland by taking the ferry over Northumberland Sound.

The first few holes are tree-lined, parkland holes before the golf course winds toward the sea. It's a very well-groomed course, with sharp-edged bunkers and clear distinctions between fairways and roughs, unlike the more natural, true links layouts. You can hear the roar of the ocean from over the dunes in the middle section of the course.

The Links at Crowbush Cove is a Thomas McBroom design, as so many golf courses in Canada are. McBroom installed a lot of fairway bunkers on Crowbush, on the edges of the fairway and in the landing areas themselves, the more to confuse your eye as you stand on the tee.

It's a relatively flat layout, though the terrain picks up movement as you approach many greens in the form of mounds, elevations shifts, drop-offs and swales. Most every green has different levels, with ridges running across several.

The stacked sod bunkers do give the golf course a links-like feel as do the sand dunes and ocean, obviously. Just as obvious is the effect the wind can have when it blows in off the St. Lawrence Seaway, up to a three- or even four-club difference.