Alberta

Stanley Thompson's most famous design set within the Canadian Rockies. The Rundle and Devil's Cauldron holes are among the most photographed in the world, but it is the routing's intimate relationship with the Bow River and surrounding peaks that elevates this beyond spectacle. Thompson's bunkering and green complexes remain imaginative and demanding, a fitting match for one of the great natural settings in golf.

Rod Whitman's prairie counterpart to Sagebrush where the architect's characteristic restraint and intelligence showcases varied design, avoiding ornamentation entirely. Fairways work with the land, hazards are natural, and the greens are endlessly interesting. Blackhawk is one of the finest private courses in western Canada and a benchmark for thoughtful minimalist design.

Stanley Thompson's mountain companion to Banff, built in 1925 on a glacially formed plateau surrounded by the peaks of the Canadian Rockies. Thompson's clever routing instincts are evident throughout in the brilliant use of elevation, visual deceptions, and mimmicing of distant mountain ranges in the bunker designs. Lac Beauvert and surrounding wilderness make for a setting that is impossible to replicate.

Rod Whitman's links design on the open prairie near Ponoka, Alberta, is a delightful experience. Fairways roll and tumble across the natural landscape which is covered in wind swept sand dunes. Whitman brings the same minimalist intelligence he applied at his other designs to an open prairie setting, with results that are distinctive, demanding, and deeply satisfying.

The original course at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, plays through a mix of open links like terrain and lightly treed corridors. The design philosophy is dedidedly Scottish in roots, mimmicking the fine ground focused concepts just as if this were built in the old country. Together the two courses make Wolf Creek one of the most compelling golf destinations in the Prairies.