A pre-round briefing at Silvertip Resort stressed the importance of being aware at all times — because we were in bear country.
“If you encounter a grizzly bear, stop and evaluate the situation,” I was told. “Identify yourself by speaking in a calm, appeasing tone. Back away slowly, preferably in the direction you came. Walk, don’t run, and keep your eye on the bear so you can see how it will react.”
Gulp!
“If you encounter a black bear, hit it with rocks, pots, pans, sticks or fists – anything handy. The odds may seem against you in a fight, but bears generally do not see humans as prey, and a bear that makes a predatory attack is usually immature, starving or wounded, and may easily be scared away if you hit it.”
Double gulp!
My choice would have been the 4-rescue club, with emphasis on “rescue.” But, I didn’t encounter either kind of bear on the course, which offered plenty of its own beauty and challenge. My two favorites were No. 15, a 145-yard, par-3 over water looking directly at multi-million dollar homes and a section of the Canadian Rockies, and No. 18, a 415-yard, par-4 with a 600-foot elevation drop from tee to green.
If you like elevated tees, this is the place to go. It feels like you’re standing on top of the world on nine different tee boxes at Silvertip. Continuing the theme, I capped my round with a 12-minute excursion aboard a chopper from Alpine Helicopter, including closer views of the Three Sisters (Faith, Hope and Charity), before dinner (a delicious Elk burger) at Tavern 1883 and visits to a couple of local watering holes.
Of the three golf courses I played in the Canmore area, Stewart Creek Golf and Country Club is the baby of the bunch. It opened in 2000 and has received numerous awards for preserving the natural habitat, and was named a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International in 2004.
For a course that is nestled so close to the mountains, the fairways are remarkably level from tee to green, preventing side-hill lies. There are some water holes, the most daunting being on No. 18. Hit your approach shot just a few yards to the left and it’ll go splash. Also, be sure check out the entrance to a mine shaft, located on the left side of the 14th hole.
After the round, I boarded a luxury motor coach for a four-hour ride to Jasper and the Fairmont Jasper Park Resort – a journey on a mostly two-lane road past numerous glaciers, lakes, rivers and wildlife. The driver, Michelle, provided the commentary and mentioned that despite numerous such trips, she never takes the incredible scenery for granted.
“In my mind, it’s the most beautiful drive imaginable,” she said.
After a night’s rest at the Fairmont Jasper Park’s Milligan House, an eight-bedroom, eight-bath log cabin with an expansive meeting room in the middle, I made the short walk over to the resort’s renowned golf course for one of the most pleasant rounds of golf imaginable.
By the fourth hole, I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world Stanley Thompson pulled this whole thing off. Without any heavy machinery, fifty teams of horses and 200 men turned an area of rock and trees into a gem of a golf course that has stood the test of time. Trains hauled in loads of topsoil to spread over the rocky soil, ensuring that the course would drain well to this day. Nearly 100 years later, the Jasper still ranks among the top five golf courses in Canada – and is No. 1 on several lists.
The Jasper course underwent some alterations during its first 70 years, but in 1994, course staff used Thompson’s original blueprints to help restore the course to its original layout. Bunkers and tee boxes received special attention, with many of the tee boxes now incorporating boulders that were unearthed during the restoration.
Clouds obscured portions of the mountains, but our “four seasons” round was superb. It rained on us a few times and hailed on No. 8, but the sun eventually came out and the clouds lifted enough in the late morning for us to get a good glimpse of the peaks that rise more than 10,000 feet, adding to the overall beauty of the 6,663-yard, par-71 course. The featured hole is No. 14, a 355-yard, par-4 over the edge of a lake.