BOW VALLEY – Golf season has returned and Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country courses are ready to get back into the swing of things.
Every local golf course is expected to open this month, with the first of them set for this week.
Here are the opening dates for golf courses in Banff, Canmore, Kananaskis Country, and the MD of Bighorn.
May 4
Brewster’s Kananaskis Ranch Golf Course
May 5
Canmore Golf and Curling Club (driving range open)
Tunnel 9 at Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Course (practice facility open)
May 10
Kananaskis Country Golf Course
Silvertip Resort (driving range open)
May 11
May 12
Stanley Thompson 18 at Fairmont Banff Sprints Golf Course
As the world moves away from the grip of the pandemic, local courses say the demand is still high for tee times across the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country.
“On that front, we experienced a record number of bookings when we opened our reservations office in March,” said Darren Robinson, general manager at Kananaskis Country Golf Course.
He added the record was likely a mix of demand and a new staggering booking system the golf course implemented. However, “overall, it’s looking to be as strong as ever going into this spring.”
“It's a really positive start,” Robinson said.
Over at the Brewster’s Kananaskis Ranch Golf Course in Exshaw, it takes the honour of being the first to open for the fourth consecutive season.
As the most eastern of the local courses, Brewster’s usually benefits from a little extra sunshine to melt away the winter’s snowfall.
“I think it's location, but, I mean, we also work really hard to get the course going,” said owner Alison Brewster.
Brewster added they're expecting to have numbers as similar to last season at the course. During the pandemic, more people from Calgary and beyond discovered the Exshaw course when golf was one of the main activities people could play during that time.
"They just continue to come back because they really are enjoying the course," Brewster said.