A Course Worthy of the Next Generation: Credit Valley's Master Planning Journey
“We’ve appointed one of golf’s most celebrated design teams to lead a comprehensive master planning process, and the result will shape the Credit Valley experience for generations to come.”
Credit Valley Golf & Country Club is embarking on an exciting new chapter. After a careful, thorough review, the Club selected Whitman, Axland & Cutten (WAC Golf), one of the most respected golf course architecture firms in the world, to lead the development of our updated Golf Course Master Plan. Partnering with them is Christine Fraser, a trailblazing Canadian architect who will bring a distinctive and deeply considered perspective to the design process.
This is a significant moment for the club. A master plan is not simply a list of proposed changes; it is a long-term vision that ensures every future modification to the course is deliberate, cohesive, and built to last. With a team of this calibre guiding the process, the result will be something the broader golfing community will be talking about for decades.
LEADING THE DESIGN
Whitman, Axland & Cutten
WAC Golf is an internationally recognized design-build firm with a portfolio of projects. Founded on a shared philosophy of uncompromising craft, deep respect for classic architecture, and an insistence on working directly with the land, WAC has produced some of the most celebrated golf courses in Canada and around the world. Their approach is hands-on by design, and the founding partners are known for personally carrying out the most critical shaping work on every project, ensuring the details are never left to chance.
The firm brings together three partners whose combined experience spans over 90 years and some of golf's most storied courses.
Rod Whitman, Founding Partner
Mentored by Pete Dye and long-time collaborator of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Every course he has designed in Canada has ranked in the country's Top 100. His design for Cabot Links is consistently ranked among the Top 100 courses in the world.
Dave Axland, Founding Partner
Four decades in the field alongside Coore & Crenshaw on landmark courses, including Friar's Head and Old Sandwich. Served as project manager for Cabot Links. Regarded as one of the finest hands-on shapers in the game.
Keith Cutten, Founding Partner, ASGCA
Canadian architect, golf historian, and full member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph. Author of The Evolution of Golf Course Design and a board member of the Stanley Thompson Society.
“Rod Whitman has proven himself capable with both good sites and bad, large budgets and small. He is a designer worthy of recognition and appreciation.”
COLLABORATING ARCHITECT
Christine Fraser
Christine Fraser Design
Ontario-born and trained under world-renowned architect Dr. Martin Hawtree in England, Christine Fraser has worked on some of the most storied courses in golf, including Royal Birkdale, Lahinch, Royal Aberdeen, and Tralee. She holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph and earned a Stanley Thompson Fellowship that took her to Scotland, where her passion for classic design was deepened. In 2022, she made Canadian golf history when she became the first woman ever to hold a lead design role on a course in Canada, appointed to lead the comprehensive master plan at the Toronto Hunt Club.
Fraser will work directly alongside WAC throughout the conceptual design phase, contributing a perspective that is genuinely distinct from and complementary to theirs. Her philosophy is rooted in the experiential: how a course feels to play, how inclusive the design is for golfers of different abilities, and how architecture can create a sense of belonging for everyone who steps onto the course. Where WAC brings the weight of world-ranked design credentials and deep construction expertise, Fraser brings a human-centred lens that asks not just how challenging a hole is, but how much it is enjoyed.
Her presence on this project reflects Credit Valley's commitment to thoughtful, forward-looking design, and to a vision of golf that is as welcoming as it is world-class.
THE PORTFOLIO
A résumé unlike any other
The collective work of this team stands among the finest in modern golf. Their projects don't just receive praise — they define the standard by which Canadian and world golf is measured.
Cabot Links (Nova Scotia) — Rod Whitman's design is consistently ranked in the Top 100 golf courses in the world and is considered Canada's only true links course
Cabot Cliffs (Nova Scotia) — Whitman and Axland contributed key shaping to the Coore & Crenshaw design
Sagebrush Golf Club (British Columbia) — a nature-based minimalist masterpiece ranked among the finest layouts in North America
Bandon Dunes Resort (Oregon) — WAC is currently designing a new short course at one of the world's most acclaimed golf destinations
Cabot Pacific, Revelstoke (British Columbia) — WAC's next major new build, set to open for play in 2026
Toronto Hunt Club — Christine Fraser made history as the first female architect to lead a comprehensive master plan at a Canadian private club
WHY IT MATTERS
What this means for Credit Valley
Engaging a team of this standing is not just a statement about the quality of the course; it is an investment in the future of the club. WAC and Christine Fraser bring world-class design thinking, a deep respect for existing landscapes, and the hands-on craft that has produced some of the most celebrated courses. That expertise will now be applied to one of the Greater Toronto Area's most storied private clubs.
World-class design thinking
WAC's architects have shaped some of the most celebrated courses on earth. That expertise and aesthetic sensibility will now be applied to Credit Valley.
Respect for what exists
WAC's philosophy centres on working with the land, not against it — preserving the character and heritage of Credit Valley while enhancing its best features.
Equity & inclusivity by design
Christine Fraser's practice is rooted in creating equitable, welcoming experiences for golfers of all abilities and backgrounds — a perfect fit for Credit Valley's values.
A plan built to last
A master plan from architects of this calibre gives Credit Valley a coherent, phased roadmap that protects the integrity of every future decision made on the course.
What sets this process apart is how deeply it will be shaped by the people who know and love this course best. Rather than arriving with a fixed blueprint, WAC and Christine Fraser will engage Credit Valley's membership throughout the design phase, through open town hall sessions where golfers can meet the architects directly, and through structured surveys that give every member a voice in the priorities and direction of the plan. It is an approach that treats the membership not as an audience for decisions already made, but as an essential part of making them. The result will be a master plan that is as much a reflection of the Credit Valley community as it is of the architects who draw it.