Calgary - Columbia Valley Golf Road Trip
There are numerous great road trips all across Canada, but very few that combine exceptional golf and spectacular setting like the Rocky Mountains. Your journey starts in Calgary - grab a rental car and hit the Trans Canada Highway towards beautiful Banff. Along the way the Rocky Mountains get bigger and bigger in the distance until you’re completely surrounded by these awe-inspiring behemoths. At times the golf feels like a passenger to the setting, while great golf, and more importantly inspiring golf architecture is sure to be seen amongst the courses in this guide.
Kananaskis Country
Before reaching Banff and Canmore, turn off the highway to reach Kananaskis Mountain Village and the Kananaskis Country Golf Courses - a popular spot for a game of golf. Our strong preference is to play the Mt. Kidd golf course - its stronger architecture and more interesting topographical features are well suited to be a notable opening or closing event to this golf trip. Onsite accommodations and secondary golf options on the Mt. Lorette golf course are optional - our preference is for 1 round here and travel to Canmore for accommodations, food & beverage, and more golf options.
Kananaskis Country Golf Course (Mt. Kidd)
Robert Trent Jones's return to the mountains that helped define his youthful years in golf architectire alongside design partner Stanley Thompson. The course he built is a reflection of his career - crafting the landscape with a firm hand, and challenging the golfer with his typical directive flair.
Today, the golf course is a reflection of RTJ's work but was rebuilt by the duo of Les Furber and Gary Browning after devastating floods destroyed the course in 2013. Set amongst one of the most beautiful settings in all of Canadian golf, winding its way through the Kananaskis River Valley, sharply contrasted with the mountains as a constant backdrop, the golf course is very picturesque. Holes like the par 3 4th and short par 4 5th express both the visual delights of the setting and creative works of the architects.
$175-$220 | Alberta resident rate $114-$159 | cart extra + tax
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All prices are CAD and reflect rates sourced directly from course websites. Rates vary by season and day of week — confirm current pricing before booking.
Banff & Canmore
Canmore is the most logical place for accommodations during this leg of the trip - with more affordable options than directly in Banff. This trip’s focal point is Banff Springs, as such we’ve not paired this round with any other golf, allowing the brilliance of the setting and the golf course itself to percolate on your mind. If you want to add additional golf in and around Canmore, a multitude of additional options exist, with Silvertip and Stewart Creek being the most popular. But don’t sleep on Canmore Golf & Curling club - this is an underrated gem that’s an overall stronger golf course, but less dramatic or scenic due to its location in the river valley as opposed to built on the side of the mountain.
Banff Springs
The famed Banff Links is one of the world's great golf courses. Set within Banff National Park, its development by the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1920s was nothing short of spectacular.
Following the development of Jasper Park Lodge (1925), architect Stanley Thompson was handed over a golf course designed by Donald Ross just a handful of years earlier, to elevate and successfully established "the last word in golf". His addition of connector holes to and from the hotel, and the trio of holes at the far end of the property, including the famous Devil's Cauldron delivered a cohesive masterpiece that up until the late 1980's played as an out and back routing. Today the golf course, while slightly different in its sequence of holes, continues to offer a world class experience for visiting golfers. Showcasing some of Stanley Thompson's best work, the course illustrates a classic sophistication and style with its flashed bunkers mimicking the mountain backdrops, holes routed through tree lined corridors, and green sites that fit ideally into the setting.
$500-$529 cart included + tax
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All prices are CAD and reflect rates sourced directly from course websites. Rates vary by season and day of week — confirm current pricing before booking.
Invermere & Radium Hot Springs
From Banff, take Highway 1 to Castle Junction where you will head West into British Columbia. The drive between Banff and Radium Hot Springs is one of constant awe, and also no cell service, or much of anything but the vast wilderness of both Banff and Kootenay National Parks. Arriving in Radium Hot Springs or 20-minutes further south in Invermere is an ideal location to set up base camp for this part of the trip. The golf is sublime with the highlight being Greywolf which is tucked up into the mountains like no other golf course seen in Canada.
Greywolf
Before the turn of the century, Doug Carrick built Greywolf in Panorama, a remote location - 30 minutes up and into the mountains from Invermere and the Columbia River Valley. Its location in the Purcell mountain range is stunning. The course gracefully dances across the mountain side giving sweeping views and dramatic elevation changes on nearly every hole. Yet the course never feels like just a scenic trail ride. The balance of good golf holes, that play in all directions, with the scenic elements is excellent. This is mountain golf at its finest.
Of course everyone will talk about and display the lovely Cliffhanger hole front and centre. It is breathtaking. But there are numerous others that deserve attention as well - like the par 5 third which climbs way up hill to a lovely green complex perched into the hillside. Or the par 4 seventh where the fairway sits in a saddle and cants away from the golfers intended line, and it's green is cut into a bench. And who can forget the driveable 11th that will test a golfers might. With a stunning setting, all star packed golf holes and experience, it's easy to see why Greywolf is one of the most dramatic golf courses in Canada. Elevation changes are extreme yet not unplayable, mountain views are constant, and the entire package justifys the trip independently. The overall experience exceeds what most resort courses eagerly attempt.
$210-$230 cart included + tax
Copper Point (Point)
Copper Point is a bit of a divisive course when speaking with architecture enthusiasts. On one hand, the golf course begins with a captivating opening set of holes, traversing up, down, and across a major hillside with rollicking fairway contours leaving few flat lies. While at other times, the golf course rests on flatter land and lacks the inspiration and creativity that could truly elevate this offering into the Top 100. Irregardless, holes like the 12th - a beautifully crafted long reverse redan - and the 14th - a short strategic par 4 - are exceptionally classy and worth visting to see.
$100-$170 cart & tax included
Eagle Ranch
Perched on bluffs overlooking the Columbia River, in between the Rocky Mountain and Purcell Mountain ranges, is Eagle Ranch. A course that dramatically criss-crosses several enchanting canyons, providing sweeping views of the setting, while delivering exceptional challenges for golfers to navigate. The golf course at times is quirky and adventurous, while at others it is more on the simpler side, making the most of both heaving terrain and the flat plateaus it traverses.
$125-$200 | $199-249 all day rate | cart included + tax
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All prices are CAD and reflect rates sourced directly from course websites. Rates vary by season and day of week — confirm current pricing before booking.
Cranbrook, Crowsnest Pass & Waterton Lakes National Park
Those with a sense of adventure may opt to make the journey back to Calgary taking the road south, through Cranbrook and then east through the crowsnest pass. Along the way options for golf are plentiful around Cranbrook. After that, golf is few and far between. But hazard not, the drive is as much of a delight as the golf. Of course, we recommend some places more than others - including the delightful Wildstone in Cranbrook, the hidden gem Crowsnest Pass Golf Club, and of course Waterton Lakes to round out your trip.
Wildstone
Running wild in the hillside of Cranbrook, British Columbia is Wildstone, a Jeff Lawrence design for Gary Player (Black Knight Design). With shaping work done by Rob Collins and Trevor Dormer of King Collins Dormer Golf Design.
The course tumbles up and down the sprawling landscape with dramatic views towards the Rockies. The shaping work here is excellent, with well contoured greens and bunkers that are visually appealing and creative to match the dramatic landscape. The strategic interest is strong on a number of holes, including the short par 4 fourth and the par 5 ninth. A wonderful addition to a golf trip in the Columbia River valley area.
$210-$230 cart included + tax
Crowsnest Pass
In the southern Alberta town of Blairmore is the Crowsnest Pass Golf Club. Golf has been played in Blairmore since 1919 according to the Canadian Golfer magazine. Today, Crowsnest Pass is a delightful offering, largely from Gary Browning, courtesy of a major course alteration in 2019 that overhauled a previous Les Furber design. This development has unleashed the potential for golf tourism to this area by delivering a great golf course in a stunning setting.
Holes like the first and second perfectly illustrate the challenges and the success in navigating such a dramatic mountainous setting. The new holes, opened in 2019, are the overall star of the show - the picturesque 13th and 15th highlight the magnificent backdrop of the golf course all while striking a balance between the show-stopping landscape and low-key, proper golf elements. Crowsnest pairs nicely with Waterton Lakes to the south-east, or Wildstone to the west, a nice 36-hole day can be easily accomplished with a adventurous drive in between.
$100-$170 cart & tax included
If there was any golf course in Canada to recommend on the basic study of golf architecture, Waterton Lakes would be it. Its subtle, yet intricate routing is a master work in design. Its similar characteristics to the early principles of design found on Scottish golf links naturally flows with the land. Its understated nature contrasts sharply against the majestic Rocky Mountains displaying a timeless piece of elegance.
Click the title above to read the course profile.
$56-$71 | $150 all day rate | cart extra + tax
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All prices are CAD and reflect rates sourced directly from course websites. Rates vary by season and day of week — confirm current pricing before booking.
