Click on one of the designers for more information regarding the mark they left on Summit.
George Cumming
Scottish by birth, Cumming came to Canada to work in the golf business, becoming the Head Professional at Toronto Golf Club when the club was located in the east end of Toronto. He quickly established himself as having an eye for course construction, picking the sites for several courses, including Scarboro Golf Club, and the new home of Toronto Golf Club. After the conclusion of World War I, Cumming went into business with the Thompson brothers, Stanley and Nicol. As Nicol was also the Head Professional at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, the partnership didn’t last long, and soon Cumming has off on his own again. Over his career, Cumming was responsible for crafting the routings of many of Canada’s classic designs.
“Having thoroughly examined the proposed grounds for Summit, I would report that, in my opinion, a good course of eighteen holes could be laid out,” Cummings told the club in 1912. “In addition, I think the outlook and surroundings are extremely picturesque, which is always a consideration in selecting a golf course.”
George S. Lyon
The winner of the Olympic Gold Medal for golf in 1904, Lyon was a founding member of Summit and was asked to assist Cumming on the design. It would be the only course Lyon is credited as having a hand in the design.
Stanley Thompson
Generally regarded as the best golf architect Canada has produced, Thompson played a central role in refining Summit into the course it is today. Noted for his work on courses like Jasper Park Lodge, Banff Springs, and Capilano, his bold bunkering and ambitious routing skills are fully on display at Summit. Thompson came to Summit following the war, with a budget of $16,000 and instructions to get the course into a championship state. Thompson had the course prepared for the official launch in 1921. For the second time, George S Lyon was in the first group to play the newly revised Summit. Thompson last worked on Summit in 1938, proposing a modernization strategy the club did not undertake.
Doug Carrick
A member at Summit for much of his life, Doug Carrick is often heralded as the best modern golf designer in Canada, a man responsible for many great modern courses, including Eagles Nest, Bigwin Island, Humber Valley, and Osprey Valley. The late Bob Cupp, a former associate of Jack Nicklaus and the designer behind courses like Beacon Hall, worked on Summit in the 1980s, but in the following decades, any changes to Summit have been guided by Carrick.
In recent years, under the guidance of Carrick and Summit's former GM and PGA Tour pro Ian Leggatt, Summit has undergone an ambitious plan to improve the playing conditions of the course. Carrick, who has worked on more than 25 of Thompson’s designs, rebuilt all of the course’s greens using modern agronomic practices, removed trees to open up vistas, added new tees for length, and completely reworked the course's short par 4 seventh hole, now called “Carrick’s Corner.” Carrick’s work at Summit has been widely celebrated.
