As a writer, it has been difficult to determine the correct time to create an article for any destination as the coronavirus mange’s its influence on humankind. For many of us the concept of travelling outside of our provincial borders is not yet a consideration as this virus continues to dictate a new reality for tourism and golf.
Travel to Southern Alberta! There you will discover courses that are unique, memorable and affordable and experience the artistry of some of Canada’s most accomplished course designers, Thompson, Browning, Furber and Newis, championship in nature, historical by pedigree and all a pleasure to play.
Five courses that have become regular stops for me are Lethbridge’s Paradise Canyon, Cardston’s Lee Valley Creek, Waterton Golf Club, within the National Park and the recrafted Crowsnest Golf Club in Blairmore and one more course for consideration, the twenty-seven hole Picture Butte Golf Club. In addition, the nine-hole Fort Macleod Golf Course, the oldest course between Winnipeg and the West Coast is a fun and fitting addition to this list of celebrated courses where two days a week, golf is a “dollar a hole”.
Consider a five-day getaway, or more as the spectacular scenery alone is worth the drive and head south. Each course operates separately but I have taken the liberty of identifying five courses that are within easy reach of one another. I have taken a liberty and created an apt moniker that I believe encompasses the feeling of the grandeur of the region and the consistency of the weather. I hope that in future years that the highways of Southern Alberta will become a destination for all Albertans to experience golf courses and amenities unlike many other parts of our province. Welcome to the Heaven’s Breath Golf Trail!
The “Heaven’s Breath Golf Trail”
Wind appears ever present throughout Alberta and it seemed fitting when attempting to identify a designation for a Trail that “Heaven’s Breath Golf Trail” was a fitting signature.
Charles Blair MacDonald, the first great American golf architect stated, “Wind I consider the finest asset in golf: in itself it is one of the greatest and most delightful accompaniments in the game. Without wind a course is always the same, but as the wind varies in velocity and from various points of the compass, you not only have one course but also have many courses.”
From Lethbridge a circuitous route west along Highway 3, 6 and then 5 will bring into play five memorable golf courses, each unique in their playability and vistas. The Heaven’s Breath Golf Trail takes you along two lane highways ascending from the depths of ancient river coulees to the high passes of the Rocky Mountains. Where 150 years earlier settlers once journeyed for days to reach the Rocky Mountains now it is less than ninety minutes to reach the end of the Trail.
Day One: Paradise Canyon Golf Resort, Lethbridge
There could not be a better course to initiate play along the “Trail” than Paradise Canyon Golf Resort. Golf Digest recognizes it as “Canada’s Top 60 Golf Courses” and “Best Course in Southern Alberta.” This eighteen-hole championship course is another highlight of internationally acclaimed Canadian architect Bill Newis. Much of the course rests beneath ancient cliffs formed by the meandering Oldman River where Newis artfully incorporated an assortment of terrain variations into his award winning design. The course provides four sets of tees ranging from 5282 to 6810 yards.
I still smile at the comment made by Director of Golf, Matt Barkway when discussing the opportunities in creating the Heaven’s Breath Golf Trail, “The perfect name but here the winds can seem a little less heavenly and much more devilish.” This course is a true treasure!
Day Two: Lee Valley Creek Golf Club, Cardston
From Lethbridge take Highway 5 to Cardston less than 50 minutes away. For 115 years the centre of Mormon faith, the area has been “dry” yet there is a spirit of the town reflected by the populaces pride in its historical preservation. Birthplace to King Kong’s girlfriend, Faye Ray, Cardston is also the site of North America’s largest collection of horse drawn carriages and stage coaches housed at the Remington Carriage Museum, so well known that an episode of The Simpson’s identified it as a vacation destination.
But it is not just the historical buildings and collections that have visitors coming to the area. The Les Furber designed Lee Valley Creek Golf Club has been an area attraction since it’s opening in 2004. The course features numerous elevation changes and some of the regions most challenging greens and demanding par threes, a few measuring over 200 yards. But with four sets of tees there are alternatives for every level of golfer. Furber is regarded as one of Canada’s most respected course architects, a protégé of Robert Trent Jones, Furber’s signature courses are found throughout the world, including Predator Ridge, Silver Tip and the Springs Course at Radium. His design philosophy is straightforward, create a course where the average golfer has alternatives for shot making and “learn what people do not like about a course and avoid doing those things”. Lee Valley does not disappoint as the course conditions are kept to a high standard. A grass driving range with plans to build a new clubhouse, Golf Advisor rates the Lee Valley a 4.2 rating out of 5. “ Where Mother Nature would build a course”.
Waterton Lakes Golf Club, Waterton Lakes National Park
There are few courses in North America that are as scenic, historic and affordable as Waterton Park Golf Club. Inspired by the acclaimed Stanley Thompson and constructed in1929 this eighteen-hole gem rests in the shadows of the great peaks of the Rocky Mountains forming an imposing backdrop for the lushness of the course.
In the true sense, this is not a course where one should think of as championship, no, Thompson designed this course to encompass the breathtaking beauty of the land. Not to say there are not challenging holes, there are many, but this is a course for a relaxed game with friends and family, a course where elk and bear keep their distance enriching the natural experience of this historic location.
The course has two sets of tees, white and red that plays 5421 to 6108 yards. You will use every club in your bag!
The clubhouse and ProShop are rustic in their design adding to the historic sense of the course. Definitely enjoy a beverage and a bite to eat on the deck; there are few more scenic spots!
Situated within Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park, the Park borders Montana’s Glacier National Park. In 1932, it became the world’s first international peace park and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Waterton Lake Golf Course is an easy forty-five minute journey from Cardston, a proper finish to your second day of golf.
Another Stanley Thompson gem!
Day Three: Crowsnest Pass Golf Course, Blairmore
Crowsnest Pass Golf Course is Rocky Mountain golf at its finest. First opened in 1918 it has always been recognized as a beautiful and enjoyable course to play.
Where most courses across North America have been “watching their pennies” with regards to major capitol expenditures Crowsnest has recently completed a major redesign and renovation of it’s property thanks to the fortuitous needs of the local mining company who required some land for a rail siding. The opening series of holes were considered the weakest of the eighteen – they are now gone and in return the mining company provided all of the funds necessary to redesign the course and clubhouse.
With the funds available the course set out to contract one of Canada’s premiere golf course designers, Gary Browning, whose award winning projects include The Glencoe Club, Stewart Creek, Priddis Greens and the re-development of Kananaskis.
Under his watchful eye eight new or redesigned holes were created that have transformed this course as a definitive destination for golf in Western Canada. Every fairway and every undulating green is spectacular by nature; pristinely integrating glacial streams, majestic stands of pine with the distinctiveness of the terrain. There are four sets of tees; many of them elevated making the course playable by every level of golfer.
Crowsnest Pass is now the definitive destination golf course. With the recent completion the new clubhouse Crowsnest Pass Golf Course should be considered in Alberta’s “Top Five Public Courses.”
Rocky Mountain golf at it’s finest!
Fort Macleod Golf Course
If you have time, as you return home along Highway 3, it would be a shame if you did not have the opportunity to play one of Canada’s most historic courses, the nine-hole Fort Macleod Golf Course.
In 1890 it became the first course built between Winnipeg and the West Coast. With mature tree lined fairways, well kept greens it is a pleasure to play. Play where the Prince of Wales teed it up in 1924; along the coulee of the first hole, where wagon trails can still is the route that transported the earliest of settlers to Calgary and beyond; on the third, bones are still evident from a cattle drive that perished in a blizzard in 1898. Golf and history for less than forty dollars, the perfect course to end your journey along the Heaven’s Breath Golf Trail.
The nearby Fort MacLeod is the origin of the North West Mounted Police’s musical ride, in 1876 and today the performance is still a popular spectacle.
Historic from tee to green!
As Macdonald aptly stated, “I have travelled many a road experiencing golf courses of many design but one thing is constant, a breath of air is always satisfying, providing rejuvenating bursts of freshness”.
The Heaven’s Breath Golf Trail will be a satisfying journey of fresh air and great golf!
