Golf Course Scouting Report: Royal Montreal (Blue)

The 2024 Presidents Cup has arrived, and this international competition will be staged at the oldest golf club in North America - The Royal Montreal Golf Club. Established in 1873, this club has been relocated twice leading to its current location of L'Ile Bizard. At this site in 1959, Dick Wilson designed the Blue Course, which would go on to host five RBC Canadian Opens (bringing the Club's all-time total to 10) along with the 2007 and 2024 Presidents Cups.

Royal Montreal will play as a par 70 for these matches and is fairly long at 7,413 yards.

Overall, I won't do summersaults over this golf course, but it does have some exciting holes toward the finish, and it should pose a challenge. As I discuss on my podcast, Linksworms, we can also expect a raucous fan atmosphere with American supporters well represented among the throngs of Canadians.

Overall: Royal Montreal's Blue Course is mostly ordinary but does present a stern test and an exciting finish for match play.

Memorable Holes: 4.0

Arguably the biggest knock on Royal Montreal is its lack of variety and true stand-out holes. There are many monotonous par fours with generic bunkering along the fairways and around the front portions of the greens. This is particularly true of the front nine where all the holes seem to blend together. That said, there are some memorable attributes on the closing stretch of the course. For example, the 448-yard 15th is a par four with the fairway bending to the right until it is running parallel with a lake. The second shot takes golfers over that lake to a narrow green that features sand and water left and a steep drop-off right. The trouble is water hazards like this are also present on holes 14, 16, 17, and 18, so even the dramatic elements of the course begin to feel redundant.

Interest: 5.5

Portions of Royal Montreal's Blue Course are somewhat boring, but there are still some interesting qualities. In particular, many of the greens are wildly undulating or steeply pitched which will make for intriguing chips, putts, and five-footers that need to be started outside the hole. As mentioned in the previous section, much of the fun comes at the final holes; for instance, the 403-yard par-four 14th has an incredibly narrow boomerang-shaped green which hugs a pond on the left side (the pond depicted above that Woody Austin famously fell into in 2007 before making three straight birdies and tying his match). As players get deep into their matches, it will be interesting to see how aggressive they are off the tee to the narrow, lake-side fairway to set up a shorter approach to this tiny target.

Par Threes: 7.0

The par threes at Royal Montreal are solid and quite difficult. They begin at the brutal 231-yard fifth which features a raised green surrounded on all sides by bunkers. The seventh is a cool shorter hole at 160 yards; the back portion of the green is roomy, but the front is miniscule and is pinched between deep bunkers. The 229-yard 13th is another extremely difficult hole as the narrow, deep green is divided into sections by internal undulations and sits between a large deep bunker on each side. Finally, the 160-yard 17th is guarded tightly by water down the right side of the green.

Difficulty: 8.5

Royal Montreal is very difficult for three main reasons: First, as mentioned previously, the greens are very tough and feature a lot of movement; second, said greens are quite small and often elevated to punish inaccurate shots; third, the course is long for a par 70, particularly after the PGA Tour lengthened it further ahead of the Presidents Cup. One hole that encapsulates these qualities is the par-four 11th: At 489 yards, this is a brute. The fairway is narrow, and the cramped green is pinched at the front by bunkers with a shelf-like falloff behind. The back half of the putting surface is bisected by a pronounced ridge so shots missing the correct section are fed farther away from the hole resulting in a difficult two-putt.

Finish: 7.5

Royal Montreal's finishing holes are one of its greatest strengths. The 16th is a very difficult 472-yard par four with water tight down the left side of the fairway. The uphill second shot is played to an elevated green with a cavernous bunker right and a tightly-mown runoff short. The previously described par-three 17th is not very original, but the water right of the green will provide good theater as players attempt to make birdie with a short iron or wedge. Matches that go the distance arrive at the 468-yard 18th, a tight, grueling par four; the tee shot must be threaded to a fairway pinched by water left and sand right before approaching another small, angled green. Canadian Mike Weir made this hole famous by making par in the 2007 Presidents Cup to win his legendary Sunday Singles match against Tiger Woods. This year's Presidents Cup promises to be special as Weir returns to Royal Montreal as Captain of the International Team.

For the criteria used to determine these ratings, please click here.