Play Alberta’s best golf courses during staycation
Don’t worry if your golf getaway’s delayed, there is more than a slice of good news
Bucket-listers and course-collectors have this place pinned on the map.
It’s a bummer if your annual golf getaway has been postponed, but there is more than a slice of good news for Calgary-based birdie-seekers in this staycation summer — one of Canada’s most celebrated courses, one of the most famous par-3s on the planet, is right in our backyard in Banff.
“There’s a guy who has been up (from Calgary) four times — four times already — and he hadn’t played us in over 20 years,” said Steven Young, the director of golf at Fairmont Banff Springs. “He was like, ‘Wow, I’d forgotten how good it was’ and ‘Look at what you’ve done to the place!’ He’s loving it. And he’s not the only one. We’re hearing those stories.”
Indeed, if you’re going to be stuck anywhere, this isn’t so bad.
That will become clear over the next three weeks, as SCOREGOLF Magazine rolls out its latest ranking of Canada’s top 100 golf courses. I’m proud to be a panellist.
You can bet both of the sibling stunners at Kananaskis Country will be on the list. Ditto for the two tracks at Wolf Creek, near Ponoka.
Stewart Creek, carved into the scenery in Canmore, should again score a lofty perch, while a hat trick of local private hangouts — Calgary Golf & Country Club, Glencoe’s Forest Course and the Hawk at Priddis Greens — are also rankings regulars.
Stanley Thompson’s iconic layout at Banff Springs will, without a doubt, be rated as one of Canada’s very best. Always is.
I’ve long been surprised by how many Calgary-area golfers haven’t played this masterpiece in Banff National Park, perhaps because of the price — the Alberta resident rate can knock off up to 35 per cent, but this is still a splurge — or because it’s tough to carve out enough time in the usual hustle-and-bustle of summer.
Whether it’s a first crack or a rematch, maybe your next much-anticipated golf getaway is just 120 kilometres west on the Trans-canada Highway. Trust me, Devil’s Cauldron — the famed fourth hole at Fairmont Banff Springs — is alone worth the trip.
“You just can’t find a setting like this many other places, and I think that’s what people remember when they’re here. It’s like, ‘Oh wow,’ ” Young said. “People are so excited to come play No. 4 — it was ranked one of the top 18 holes in the world at one point — and with all the hype about playing it, they’re still amazed by it. I don’t get people who come out and go, ‘Meh.’ ”
That goes for the locals, too.
It’s great to be able to glimpse the Rockies from your deck or kitchen window. It’s different, though, when you’re staring straight up the sheer face of a mountain or watching your tee-shot hang against this jagged backdrop.
If you’re hoping to save time or money, Fairmont Banff Springs is also home to the Tunnel Mountain Nine, a 3,287-yard, par-36 setup that lacks the accolades but not the eye-candy.
As Young points out, “it’s the same scenery and the same setting” and is maintained to the same standard as the Stanley Thompson 18. And if a bear or elk wants to wander through the course, not an uncommon occurrence, it doesn’t stick just to the original.
If you’re really keen, play all 27 holes on the same day and your spin of the Tunnel Mountain Nine is half-price.
“It doesn’t disappoint,” Young promised.
It’s not often that a Calgary Golf Association event makes front-page news, but Reef Caulder certainly deserves the recognition after Friday’s heroic and selfless act.
Caulder was competing in the City Match Play at River’s Edge in Okotoks when his foursome heard cries for help and spotted a seven-year-old boy struggling in the Sheep River.
While another golfer called 911, the 36-year-old scrambled down a steep hillside and pulled the youngster from the fast-moving water.
You hear talk of “heroic” shots on the golf course. This is the true definition.
Caulder, a certified heavy mechanic, a regular at Inglewood G&CC and a CGA executive, insists he reacted the same way that anybody else would have.
People are so excited to come play No. 4 — it was ranked one of the top 18 holes in the world at one point ... they’re still amazed by it.
Maybe so, but if he wasn’t there, this story could have had a tragic ending.
“It’s nice to feel the appreciation,” Caulder said. “But I’m just happy that, in the end, I was able to save the boy.”
(Glencoe’s Jesse Galvon won the City Match Play title, defeating Jamie Welder of Country Hills by a 2&1 score in Sunday’s championship showdown. Galvon and Welder were facing off in the final for the third time in four years and had split the previous meetings.)