[valveman]

I've got a reservation this Friday at Banff Springs. Any fellow WRX'ers up at the course that day?

I happened to drive through the Banff area last week and was fully expecting the course to be closed already. But it will be open through the 30th of September. So I figured that I better take the opportunity and play a round.

The course was in really beautiful condition, aside from one fairway which was dug up a bit from the resident herd of Elk. It was pretty busy last Friday and I was told continues to be busy right through closing. The greens fees for the Stanley Thomson 18 was reduced today to $125 for the remainder of the season. A bit spendy - but worth it for the combination of scenery and course condition.

This course has definately been on my list of ' must do's '.

Let me know if anyone here is playing this Friday.

Here's a pic of the Stanley Thompson No.3 from last Friday.

[valveman]

Here's a quick rundown with pics to follow.

I was able to get away from work on Thursday. The Banff Springs Golf Course Clubhouse is a brisk 1 hour and 40 minute ride from Airdrie, AB (which is just a bit north of Calgary). I made it to the course at 1430 hours and was able to hit a few practice balls and then walk the Tunnel 9.

It was very breezy with broken clouds and no rain. Temps were in the low 50's (Fahrenheit). Bull Elk were reported on the course - but as long as one keeps his distance there shouldn't be any worries. I am told that neither cart nor Olympic Sprinter can outrun the Elk. Time to use clubs for an alternate purpose I suppose!

There weren't many people on the course. Most were or wanted to play the 18 holer. So essentially I had the 9 to myself. The area is beautiful and majestic. The Tunnel 9 plays inside of the main course. From now having played the Tunnel 9, I can say that it does not feel cramped. I can immagine on a still day with a full course of players on the 18, it could get a bit noisy with hollering, but none the less, on this day it was quiet, and aside from the wind howling, I had the place to myself.

I'm a fairly steady player so the round was just shy of 2 hours from the tips with a little bit of sightseeing and picture taking. I was happy to be playing here, as this area was on my list of 'must plays'. The quality of play on the nine needs to be judged by a few criteria. Firstly, the cost was $43 Canadian, which included all taxes. A little steep for nine holes, but I wasn't too bummed as the scenery and idea of playing in the Rockies is pretty awesome.

The course, having a resident herd of Elk, some Coyotes, Bear and smaller varmints, does have it's fair share of 'damage' (to include hoof marks, dung and territorial markings). With just a little bit of effort, one can learn to sidestep the mess and get on with the game.

One does hit the ball further at this altitude and the fairways did provide plenty of roll. Some of the greens were damaged by a fungus - in one case, the green had a few bare spots. I guess a clarification does need to made - this late in the year, it would probably be unfair to expect perfect upkeep and Major's style greens conditions. I can forgive a bumpy green this late in the season.

The Tunnel 9 is a nice way to get a feel for the area and experience the conditions.

It was a good short walk and I was back in Airdrie that evening by 2000 hours.

I was looking forward to playing the full Stanley Thompson 18 the next day.

I'll have some pics later.

[valveman]

Here's Friday on the Stanley Thompson 18.

After much worry about morning frost delays and even worse - snow. I got out at 0930 Hours as a single following a pair of local ladies. I wanted to go as a single so I could take pictures and just enjoy the course. I can say it was a great experience to play a course which I've had on my Links Computer game for years now. The scenery and quality of the fairway's and greens made this a pretty memorable round. The starter recomended the white tees for my first visit - so I did start out with the whites on No.1. No. 1 is a straight forward par 4 that I smacked right down the middle of the fairway - it was going to be a good day! No. 2 had me waiting for the Ladies to clear the green - so I took some pics and then hit from the blacks. I didn't have any one pushing me - so that's how it remained through No.12, when I finally joined the Ladies group.

No. 3 is a beautiful Par 5 tucked right up to the mountain (so it seems). Bogey from the tips with a 1 put.

The signature hole played to their alternate green to the right of the primary green. A nice view of the hole from the Tee Box!

No. 5 got me in a nice rythem for the next few holes. I tried to get a picture of each hole from the tips, then a pic from the fairway looking bak to the Tee Box and one looking towards the hole. Once on the green various pictures of the pin and some looking back to the Tee. All that made me very relaxed and had me shooting pretty well.

Greeting me at the turn was a longish Par 3 at 218 yards. This was my first bad shank into the left rough seperating the driving range from the hole with my 5W. I took a drop and proceeded to three put!

No. 11 was a nice shot through a narrow tree lined Tee box for a double - disaster on the green.

No 12 I hit a massive shot almost into the ladies group. So I came up and apologized. No big deal they said and welcomed me to join them. So I did and started back on the whites as not to emberass myself on some errant drives that I was sure were gonna come!

At No.14 you are looking right at the Hotel in the distance. This is a very memorable view. Very nice hole!

No.15 typically has the White & Black Tee Boxes on the oposite side of the river. This is the hole which used to be No.1. Players would tee off right from the Hotel accross the river to a huge elevation drop and wide fairway. However, the hotel had a function planned with a big tent right below the Tee boxes. So that meant teeing off in the fairway, making the Par 4 15th a very short hole.

No 16 & 17 are also Par 4's relatively secluded in trees. The company was welcomed and we had a few laughs, jabs and yucks!

No 18 is a long Par 5 (but not the longest) finishing hole. But from the whites I managed to find the last FW Bunker - a few more yards and I could have been on in two.

My round never did see any rain. As a matter of fact, the sun peeked through the overcast sky on occasion. It was a memorable day and I could only immagine the glorious day one could enjoy on a sunny day. I thanked the ladies for inviting me to join their group and was on my way back to Calgary. On my way back I managed to change my flight home and was in my own bed by 2200 hours!

I highly recomend this course! Early and late season prices give a break to the somewhat steep regular season greens fees.

Pics to follow.