In 1922, when Stanley Thompson designed the 18-hole Uplands course on the hilly forest and farmland on the northern edges of Toronto, he was at the beginning of his iconic career. At Uplands, he routed the course across ravines and valleys, tilted fairways, and placed greens at the tops of hills, saving his most spectacular pieces of property for the par threes. In 1989, nine holes were sacrificed to make way for a new subdivision; fortunately the nine that remain include two Thompson specials. The fourth is a 176-yard par three, where golfers have to negotiate a steep ravine sliced in half by a creek. The eighth, which Golf Magazine has rated one of the top 500 holes in the world, is a 232-yard beast. The par three tee rises 20 metres above the fairway, and plays across a valley to an elevated, tree-wrapped green. These two holes alone make the trip to Thornhill worthwhile.