National champions heading to the birthplace of golf

ETOBICOKE – The reigning national champions are embarking on a memorable journey to the birthplace of golf, spending a week in Scotland, April 22-29.  

Humber Golf will travel to Glasgow, Scotland, for an extraordinary life experience, playing on five of the world's top 100 courses (according to Golf Digest Magazine) while exploring the country's most appealing attractions.

"We were looking to provide our student-athletes with a great educational, cultural and international golf experience," said head coach Nick Trichilo. "I am excited that our student-athletes will be able to take advantage of this amazing educational opportunity, be exposed to another culture, and be ambassadors for Canada and Humber College during our visit to Scotland."

The week-long escapade will see the Hawks playing on these seven tracks:

1. Nairn Golf Club (April 22) – Founded in 1887, Nairn is consistently ranked amongst the leading courses in the United Kingdom.
2. Cabot Highlands (April 23) - Located in Inverness, Scotland, surrounded by the breathtaking Scottish Highlands, this celebrated property is woven into the fabric of the region's rich golf history, featuring a rugged natural landscape hugging the shoreline of the storied Moray Firth.
3. Royal Dornach (April 24) – Formed in 1877, the curving bay of the Dornoch Firth and its magnificent white broad beaches are backed by a narrow strip of softly contoured dune land rising in two distinctive levels, providing just enough room for parallel fairways. In 2022, Golf Digest ranked the Royal Dornach the third-best course in the world.
4. GlenEagles, The King's Course (April 25) – Laid out over sandy heathland, the course has cavernous bunkers and rolling fairways with slick greens.
5. Turnberry (Ailsa) (April 26) - Named after the third Marquess of Ailsa, who owned the land on which it was built, this par-71, 6,474-yard Championship course is one of golf's storied places. Home to four Open Championships, Ailsa has shaped some of the most remarkable moments in the tournament's history.
6. Royal Troon (April 27) – An historic major championship venue – hosting the Open on nine occasions, dating back to 1923. The champions at Troon include legends like Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson.
7. Torrance Course, Fairmont St. Andrews (April 27) – A final qualifying course for The Open and home to the Scottish Seniors Open since 2009, The Torrance is one of Scotland's most dramatic and challenging courses in St Andrews, the spiritual home of golf.

Aside from golf, the Hawks will have the opportunity to submerge themselves inside Scottish culture, learning about the history of golf and the country – which has a history dating back to the first century.

On April 25, they will visit Stirling Castle, a centuries-old symbol of Scottish independence and national pride. Featured in Mel Gibson's Braveheart, Stirling Castle was first mentioned around 1110, and many royal dramas have unfolded there. Until the Union of the Crowns in 1603, almost every Scottish monarch had lived in, been crowned, or died at Stirling Castle.

Before they leave, the Hawks will also make a pilgrimage to St. Andrew's, golf's 'Capital City.' According to the earliest surviving document from 1552, the "playing of golf" on the links adjacent to the "water of Eden" was granted permission by Archbishop Hamilton. The most famous track in town is the Old Course, which dates back to medieval times and was most recently the host of the 2022 Open Championship.