Canadian splendor

CRANBROOK, British Columbia – When it comes to providing an abundance of scenic, interesting and accessible 18-hole golf courses, this remarkable region of western Canada knows how to do it right.

And now there is a new – pardon the pun – “Player” on the scene in the majestic form of the Wildstone Golf Course, located in the northwest corner of this city of just over 20,000.

Wildstone, which opened for public play in early June, is Canada’s first Black Knight Design by Gary Player Design layout, and it’s a keeper.

Stretching a hefty 7,127 yards from the deepest of five sets of tee boxes and playing to a par of 72, this magnificent creation offers a delightful challenge – along with some of the most beautiful forested mountain backdrops on the planet – to golfers of all skill levels.

The massive A4/T1 bentgrass greens pitch and tilt in dramatic fashion and fit naturally into the rolling highlands terrain. And they give the person cutting the holes on any given day the chance to be as devious as he or she would like to be.

The lush, inviting bluegrass fairways are well bunkered, but feature wide landing areas for those not willing to try to overpower the golf course.

And then there are those aforementioned views that start on the 350-yard long practice range, which boasts two 100-yard wide natural-grass hitting tiers and gives golfers a chance to belt range balls into a jaw-dropping background provided courtesy of the jagged Rocky Mountains and Fisher Peak, whose prominence can be appreciated from nearly every vantage point on the course.

The range, according to General Manager Chris Andrews, has even picked up some votes in an ongoing on-line survey that asks golfers what they consider to be Wildstone’s signature hole.

“It was a little surprising to see that,” Andrews admitted, “but, then, the views from the range are pretty spectacular.”

The results of the on-line survey, Andrews added, are all across the board, with almost every hole getting at least a couple of votes – which is hardly surprising since Jeff Lawrence, the lead designer on the project, called Wildstone one of the “most beautiful sites” the Gary Player Design group has ever worked with.

In designing the course, Lawrence and his partners came up with a diverse assortment of holes ranging in length from the 604-yard par-5 seventh to the 152-yard par-3 sixth. The front nine, which plays to a par of 37, features three par-5s, all stretching over 500 yards from the tips, while the par-35 back nine incorporates three par-3s, including the difficult 242-yard 15th, into the eclectic mix.

One of the most scenic holes is the short sixth, which plays across a pond to a severely undulating green protected on the back left by a large white sand bunker, and offers one of the best mountain backdrops on the course.

Another part of the design strategy, according to Andrews, was to intermingle some relatively easy holes where birdie is not out of the question, with the assortment of “beasts,” like the 532-yard par-4 18th that doglegs right and tempts golfers to try to carry the bunker at the inside elbow of the dogleg and catch the downslope that can propel a well-struck and well-aimed drive 20 to 30 extra yards down the fairway.

Among some other challenging holes are picturesque and seemingly benign 163-yard par-3 12th that plays over water to an angled green that can be difficult to hold, and the unique 503-yard, par-5 ninth that features an island of trees in the landing area and makes golfers decide which side of trees to play to – the left, which shortens the distance to the green, or the right, which presents a much better approach angle.

According to Andrews, Wildstone’s owners plan to construct a three-story clubhouse that will have a third-floor deck overlooking the course.