St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino is home to a Les Furber design affording spectacular views of the St. Mary River and Fisher Peak. (Image: St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino)
With a lineup that includes Greywolf and Wildstone, two of Canada’s marquee courses, the Kootenay Rockies has become a must-play golf destination.
(Last updated January 2022.)
Tourism operators in the Kootenay Rockies knew they had won golf’s version of the lottery the moment Golf Digest declared Greywolf Golf Course Canada’s best new course of 1999.
Golfers flooded into the southeast corner of British Columbia to play Greywolf and the region’s other mountain courses. The rugged alpine setting—encompassing the communities of Cranbrook, Kimberley, Invermere and Radium Hot Springs—also provides a thrilling canvas for hiking, biking, climbing, river rafting and wildlife viewing.
Only a handful of Canadian course openings have matched the impact of Greywolf, a drama-filled Doug Carrick design located next door to the Panorama ski and golf resort, a short drive from Invermere.
‘Cliffhanger’ at Greywolf Golf Course is one of Canada’s signature par-three holes. (Image: Evan Schiller)
Greywolf’s signature hole, aptly known as Cliffhanger, is a staggeringly beautiful par three demanding a long gut-churning carry over the sheer drop of Hopeful Canyon to a green perched along the edges of vertical rock cliffs. All that’s missing from this postcard-perfect Canadian setting is a Mountie standing on guard at the tee.
The Kootenay region’s packed lineup of noteworthy courses makes this an ideal destination for energetic golfers.
Upscale Copper Point Resort is home to two beauties. Copper Point Golf Club is a lush and challenging layout offering jaw-dropping mountain views. The Ridge at Copper Point, meanwhile, is an innovative Gary Browning design featuring a blend of full-length par-three and par-four holes, but not a single par-five.
A tee off at Eagle Ranch Golf Course is equally essential. This thrill-a-minute Bill Robinson design leaps gaping canyons and sweeps along elevated bluffs.
Wildstone Golf Course is Gary Player’s first Canadian design. (Image: Wildstone Golf Course)
Another local favourite, the Radium course at Radium Resort, is carved through rugged terrain bordering Kootenay National Park. The resort’s even better second course, Springs, is a Les Furber design set on the banks of the Columbia River.
Though thrilling, mountain golf takes a physical toll. Ideal for easing aches and strains, a mineral hot spring billed as Canada’s largest is a major attraction at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, a chalet-style retreat that’s home to two strong golf courses, Riverside and Mountainside.
Sparked by the popularity of Greywolf, the Kootenay Rockies has become one of Canada’s must-play destinations. Resorts and new marquee courses have opened to accommodate the influx of visitors.
Conveniently located near the Cranbrook airport, St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino features an artful Les Furber-designed course affording panoramic views of the St. Mary River and Fisher Peak. Each hole of the course, which was opened in 2000 by the Ktunaxa First Nation band, has been given a Ktunaxa name that is displayed and marked with phonetic spelling and translation—a fun way to learn about one of the most unique and complex languages in the world.
But the most ballyhooed opening since the launch of Greywolf came in 2011, when golf legend Gary Player unveiled Wildstone Golf Course, his first—and still only—design in Canada. Stretching 7,100 yards from the back tees, Wildstone is a brawny test of golf set on rolling mountain highlands above Cranbrook. “Wildstone excels in scenery and strategies,” raved Golf Digest.
Yet another jackpot win for the Kootenay Rockies.
One does not have to play at all these elite courses in order to enjoy the game, especially when our game may not be up to par for such courses. Rossland B.C., for example , has half a dozen courses within half an hour that are exceptionally nice and reasonably priced, and will provide a challenge to all golfers. It’s like golf lesson where they want to teach you to be a pro instead of simply teaching you the basics of the game so you can enjoy it and your commune with nature. B.