Stanley Thomopson golf course at the Fairmont Banff Springs in the Canadian Rockies
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In the Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park, the spectacular, castle-like Fairmont Banff Springs is famous for its historic Stanley Thompson golf course. Winding along the rushing Bow River below snow-capped Canadian Rockies, the 7,083-yard, 27-hole track has been updated to 21st century standards.
Golf FORE Free package at the Fairmont Banff Springs:
- Luxury accommodations
- One round of golf per person, per day
- From $298 CAD per person, per night; based on single/double occupancy
Swing at the Springs golf package:
- Luxury accommodations
- 4 hours of instruction with CPGA professionals
- Video swing analysis, including a take-home DVD
- Welcome gift
- From $339 CAD per person, per night; based on single/double occupancy
In a gorgeous, pine, fir and aspen forest and valley setting alongside the river, the course is thickly bordered with high grasses, stately Queen Anne’s lace, purple lupine and mountain aster, wild iris and more wildflowers. As many as fifty elk at a time cruise the course.
Waves of uptilted, steep, flashed sandtraps and abundant mounding are typical Thompson. Fairways are flattish, and it is advisable to stay on them, as high grasses and scrub, dense woods, and the rushing Bow River are major hazards. Approaches are often back-dropped by massive granite walls.
Golfers often hold up the game on hole called Devil’s Cauldron, one of the most dramatic par 3’s in golf. The tee is perched high on a granite shelf above a crystal clear lake and beautiful wetlands, with a phalanx of tall pines. The elevated green sits in a natural bowl, or "cauldron," just over the lake, 170 yards away, guarded by five "devilish" bunkers.
Travelers fly from the San Francisco Bay Area into Calgary International Airport (YYC), about 80 miles east of the resort; airport shuttles are available. Most major airline carriers fly into Calgary.
More about the Fairmont Banff Springs and sister golf resort, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge
Founder/editor of BestGolfResortsofTheWorld, Karen Misuraca is a travel and golf writer from the California Wine Country. She blogs golf travel and writes about Sustainable Travel.
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