Western Canada golf updates - choices?

[puttnforthe8]

Any inputs/advice

 

First question:  if travelling in mid/late Sept, which would be the better choice:  Banff area or Whistler/Kamloops area?

 

Any post-covid advice - conditions, new courses to play, other.

 

Cheers.

[Shushwap]

Late Sept can get cool in the kamloops area.. I would look at early Sept 

Kamloops area courses I would look at

Tobiano

Sagebrush 

Talking rock 

Salmon arm golf club 

The dunes..haven't played it yet.. heading there in the next month..I hear its nice 

Hyde mountain.. I have a soft spot for this place..most don't like it..you need to play it a few times to get the lay of the land 

[mikedejong33]

We do a trip to Canmore every September (its like 10 minutes short of Banff coming from Edmonton or Calgary). The mornings and evenings are cool, but the middle of the day is nice. Several great courses you can play: Banff Springs, Kananaskis (two courses), Stewart Creek, Silvertip. Even the little course in Canmore is pretty good. Awesome trip, plenty of good places to eat and have drinks in Banff and Canmore, and quick drive to Calgary for flights. 

 

I just got back from Kamloops yesterday. We played Tobiano 4 times, and a couple of lesser courses right in town (Eaglepoint, Rivershore, and Bighorn). Essentially the only good course in Kamloops is Tobiano. Otherwise you are driving a bit. Talking Rock is good, Salmon Arm is awesome, but they are a bit of a drive.

 

For a variety of courses Canmore / Banff is better I think. Plus staying in Banff or Canmore is way nicer than Kamloops, which is pretty much an industrial town with not much going on. 

 

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I have played in both areas quite a bit and happy to answer any other questions you may have.

[mikedejong33]

Sorry, you asked about Covid as well. It is pretty much not an issue at all anymore other than flights and airports. Everything is open, no masks, no vaccine passports anymore. Pretty much an entire non issue nowadays.

[Instron4204]

23 minutes ago, mikedejong33 said:

We do a trip to Canmore every September (its like 10 minutes short of Banff coming from Edmonton or Calgary). The mornings and evenings are cool, but the middle of the day is nice. Several great courses you can play: Banff Springs, Kananaskis (two courses), Stewart Creek, Silvertip. Even the little course in Canmore is pretty good. Awesome trip, plenty of good places to eat and have drinks in Banff and Canmore, and quick drive to Calgary for flights. 

 

I just got back from Kamloops yesterday. We played Tobiano 4 times, and a couple of lesser courses right in town (Eaglepoint, Rivershore, and Bighorn). Essentially the only good course in Kamloops is Tobiano. Otherwise you are driving a bit. Talking Rock is good, Salmon Arm is awesome, but they are a bit of a drive.

 

For a variety of courses Canmore / Banff is better I think. Plus staying in Banff or Canmore is way nicer than Kamloops, which is pretty much an industrial town with not much going on. 

 

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I have played in both areas quite a bit and happy to answer any other questions you may have.

I will second Mike's suggestions as the Banff / Canmore area has outstanding courses.  You could even venture out a little more west and play Grey Wolf in Panorama and the Invermere courses as well.

[mikedejong33]

Yes Invermere is great too. Or you could go a little east toward Calgary and play the new Mickelson National course. I have not played it, but I have heard good things. We are doing a trip in June where we will play Mickelson, both at Kananaskis, then into Invermere for Greywolf, Eagle Ranch, etc.

[puttnforthe8]

Thanks all....Perfect.  I am getting sorted this week on plans.  Banff sounds more like what we would prefer.

 

If anyone has suggestions on non-golf things to not miss, fire away; especially fishing.

 

 

[puttnforthe8]

6 hours ago, mikedejong33 said:

We do a trip to Canmore every September (its like 10 minutes short of Banff coming from Edmonton or Calgary). The mornings and evenings are cool, but the middle of the day is nice. Several great courses you can play: Banff Springs, Kananaskis (two courses), Stewart Creek, Silvertip. Even the little course in Canmore is pretty good. Awesome trip, plenty of good places to eat and have drinks in Banff and Canmore, and quick drive to Calgary for flights. 

 

I just got back from Kamloops yesterday. We played Tobiano 4 times, and a couple of lesser courses right in town (Eaglepoint, Rivershore, and Bighorn). Essentially the only good course in Kamloops is Tobiano. Otherwise you are driving a bit. Talking Rock is good, Salmon Arm is awesome, but they are a bit of a drive.

 

For a variety of courses Canmore / Banff is better I think. Plus staying in Banff or Canmore is way nicer than Kamloops, which is pretty much an industrial town with not much going on. 

 

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I have played in both areas quite a bit and happy to answer any other questions you may have.

 

Sept ay?  Maybe we can get a round in together! Ha.

[2bGood]

7 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

 

Sept ay?  Maybe we can get a round in together! Ha.

eh

[mikedejong33]

10 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Thanks all....Perfect.  I am getting sorted this week on plans.  Banff sounds more like what we would prefer.

 

If anyone has suggestions on non-golf things to not miss, fire away; especially fishing.

 

 

My wife and I go every September. Stay in Canmore and walk around town, and we usually play 1 or 2 rounds at Silvertip. That course is not everyone's favorite as it is a little gimmicky, but it is spectacular. If you look up photos you are playing golf right on the side of a mountain. Yeah, honestly if you wanted to play, you could join us for sure. The patio is one of our favorite places to have lunch and a drink, its pretty unbelievable. 

 

Stewart Creek, Kananaskis, and Banff are better golf courses. But all are worth playing I would say. 

 

Other things to do: plenty in Canmore and Banff. Everything from white water rafting, fishing, hikes, etc. If you are interested in fishing you should for sure look into it. The Bow River in Canmore through Calgary is world class for fishing. We have brought our rods before and just fished in the river in the town of Canmore and have caught a few little ones. But if you are big into it you could like into a guide, boat, etc. and I bet it would be awesome. I have never done that, just found streams and parked on the side of the road and gave it a go. 

 

Otherwise, both towns of Canmore and Banff have cool little shops and pubs. Lots of patios and interesting things to do. It is pretty touristy. My wife loves just walking around town and poking into shops, etc. But there are tons of good hikes, sight seeing tours, etc. Lots to do other than golf.

[Strategery]

On 4/11/2022 at 1:14 PM, mikedejong33 said:

We do a trip to Canmore every September (its like 10 minutes short of Banff coming from Edmonton or Calgary). The mornings and evenings are cool, but the middle of the day is nice. Several great courses you can play: Banff Springs, Kananaskis (two courses), Stewart Creek, Silvertip. Even the little course in Canmore is pretty good. Awesome trip, plenty of good places to eat and have drinks in Banff and Canmore, and quick drive to Calgary for flights.

 

Excellent golf and food in Banff and Canmore. This is a great suggestion. It would an awesome visit. Suggest you try keep the Sept dates and not push into Oct.

[Strategery]

On 4/11/2022 at 1:47 PM, mikedejong33 said:

Yes Invermere is great too. Or you could go a little east toward Calgary and play the new Mickelson National course. I have not played it, but I have heard good things. We are doing a trip in June where we will play Mickelson, both at Kananaskis, then into Invermere for Greywolf, Eagle Ranch, etc.

 

Invermere and Panorama: You have Greywolf and Copper Point which are fabulous! Greywolf is ranked #1 for BC/public. Make sure to pick up BBQ @ Smokehouse 93 in Invermere. Another course in the area is Eagle Ranch which has good reviews but I'm not a big fan.

[puttnforthe8]

BBQ in Canada?  🤪  Will add it to the list.

 

Thanks all - I have my TA working on a Banff early Sept trip!!  

[samwm]

Good restaurants in Banff: 

 

- Lupo for Italian

- Block Kitchen for Asian/NA fusion

- 3 Bears and Bear St Tavern for pub food or beers

- The Rundle Bar at the Banff Springs for happy hour

- The Bison or Chuck's Steakhouse 

- Una for pizza

- Both Ramen places are authentic and fantastic - if it gets cold and you enjoy ramen

 

For me, Banff Springs, Stewart Creek, and Kananaskis are the must-play courses in the area.

 

(Do note that if you plan to base out of Banff, Kananaskis is a 2+hr round-trip. Albeit a beautiful one.)

 

 

[Golfnuck]

On 4/15/2022 at 4:05 PM, Strategery said:

 

Invermere and Panorama: You have Greywolf and Copper Point which are fabulous! Greywolf is ranked #1 for BC/public. Make sure to pick up BBQ @ Smokehouse 93 in Invermere. Another course in the area is Eagle Ranch which has good reviews but I'm not a big fan.

 

If you like German food .....

 

https://www.blackforestrestaurant.com/

 

 

[doctorgolf]

On 4/15/2022 at 4:05 PM, Strategery said:

 

Invermere and Panorama: You have Greywolf and Copper Point which are fabulous! Greywolf is ranked #1 for BC/public. Make sure to pick up BBQ @ Smokehouse 93 in Invermere. Another course in the area is Eagle Ranch which has good reviews but I'm not a big fan.

Greywolf is #1 for public BC courses? That surprises me. Couple years ago did a golf trip to Invermere. Played Greywolf, Copper Point, Eagle Ranch, and Radium Springs. Greywolf was probably my least favourite. Too quirky. The setting and views are incredible of course. As far as playability and course architecture... meh. Would play Copper Point twice and skip Greywolf next time. 

 

Rankings in that area for me are:

1) Copper by far. Fantastic layout and even better conditioning.

2) Eagle Ranch. Some of the other guys on the trip weren't fans of it similar to you. But the general consensus was it was a better golf course than Greywolf.

3) Radium Springs - really surprising how great the conditions were for the price. Nice little layout and a good course for competitive play in my opinion.

4) Greywolf

[Double K]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:09 PM, puttnforthe8 said:

Thanks all....Perfect.  I am getting sorted this week on plans.  Banff sounds more like what we would prefer.

 

If anyone has suggestions on non-golf things to not miss, fire away; especially fishing.

 

 

I think I remember you from the Phoenix thread. 

If you have any questions, fire away. If done pretty much everything there is to do in Banff. 

[puttnforthe8]

15 hours ago, Double K said:

I think I remember you from the Phoenix thread. 

If you have any questions, fire away. If done pretty much everything there is to do in Banff. 

Will do - planning right now.  T-70 days to my sabbatical. 🙂