The golf courses and resorts of Western Alberta have to been seen to be believed
By Jim Street
Even from several thousand feet above them, the Canadian Rockies are awe-inspiring.
The view from my third-row window seat featured snow-capped mountain peaks, too many lakes to count, and lush green valleys, a combination that assured me that “Golf That Inspires” — the tagline of Canadian Rockies Golf, who had invited me on a six-day golf adventure — was more than just a slogan.
As the plane continued its descent into Calgary International Airport, following barely a 90-minute flight from Seattle, a golf course came into view. From 20,000 or so feet above the ground, the dark green fairways and white sand traps stood out, and I wondered if that was one of the five golf courses I would be playing over the next six days.
It wasn’t, but as I soon discovered, there are enough superb courses in western Alberta to more than satisfy any golfer. Not to mention a plethora of other activities to keep you busy, like rock-climbing, horseback riding, kayaking, fishing and bicycling.
Clearing customs was a breeze, taking about two minutes to negotiate a short line and engage in a brief chat with a customs agent, who asked why I was in Canada and how long I would be there. He must have been a golfer, as there were no further questions.
My host for the week was Canadian Rockies Golf, a collection of golf courses located in this historic, dramatic and largely untamed mountain destination. Founded in March 2009, the CRG currently offers stay-and-play opportunities at six golf courses in five locations, including three Canmore-based properties (the Canmore Golf & Curling Club; Stewart Creek Golf and Country Club; and Silvertip Golf Resort) and two Fairmont properties designed by the legendary Stanley Thompson — Banff Springs and Jasper Park Lodge. (The popular Kananaskis Country course remains part of the consortia as well. Ravaged by a 100-year flood in 2013, the facility received funding last October to completely rebuild the Robert Trent Jones-designed course, with a projected re-opening in 2017.)
The legendary Thompson is to Canada golf design what Robert Trent Jones, Sr., is to America. Thompson designed more than 200 courses during his epic career, most of them in his native country. Banff Springs and Jasper Park were constructed with horses, wagons, picks and shovels in the 1920s, yet are so good to this day that both are continuously ranked among the top-10 courses in the country.
And with the U.S. dollar worth 20 percent more than the Canadian buck, now is a good time to visit our northern neighbors. The golf is great and the scenery is even better.
“Our objective is to have people from the (United) States look a little farther north,” says Gordon Schultz, President at Golf Canada’s West Ltd. “We can send pictures, but until you see it, you don’t know. Almost to a person, the reaction has been, ‘I had no idea.’”
I’ll admit it — I had no idea that what I was about to experience was destination golf at its best.