First Day: Stewart Creek

After a quick continental breakfast at the Delta Kananaskis Lodge we headed north to Canmore. The first course to be played on our trip was Stewart Creek golf course which is located in the Three Sisters Resort Complex. The resort complex sits on 2000 acres of beautiful mountain terrain. For an early 8.30am tee time in September I was pleased to find the temperature already at 50 degrees.

Stewart Creek golf course was designed by Gary Browning. Browning has sculpted the rugged landscape into layered fairways and subtly sloped greens, with landing areas defined by pristine forest. The holes are located around rushing streams, crystal clear lakes, rocky outcrops and restored mine entrances. These restored mine entrances are really a neat feature that brings the essence of old Canmore into the new era.

Brian and I were accompanied by Bill and Judy from Sunbird Travel International. It was a privilege to play with two extremly accomplished individuals from the Calagary area. We could not have asked for anymore than they provided us as our hosts.

Much to my surprise Brian decided we should try the course from the max yardage of 7,150 yards. Hey, I'm a PGA pro but I don't hit it quite as far as I used to. The course was absolutely beautiful, almost exactly what I envisioned a true mountain course to be. The elevation changes added to the beauty and challenge of the holes. The conditions of the greens, fairways and tees were immaculate. Each hole had a unique name and comment noted on the scorecard. Most had something to do with the area in which the hole was placed. A couple holes even had a picture of a mountain range with an arrow that noted which peak to aim for.

The facility was in the process of building a new clubhouse but the temporary facilities proved more than adequate for our needs.

After our round we headed into the town of Canmore for lunch. We dined at a magnific restaurant called Murriettas. The restaurant is on the top floor of a two flat with a 360 degree view of the magnifcent mountains that surround the town. Lunch was very tasty and provided a much needed energy boost as we were on to our next course Mt. Lorette at the Kananaskis Country course.

We were joined by two new golfers from the Texas PGA section office Harold and David.