Issue link: http://read.canadatravelguides.ca/i/651528
TRAVEL GUIDE TO CANADA " G olf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated," Arnold Palmer once remarked. "It satisfi es the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening—and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind ever invented." Canadians love their golf; there are almost 6 million golfers in Canada. From the Pacifi c to the Atlantic, you will have no problem fi nding award-winning challenges. Two of our best new courses are in Nova Scotia. TOWER RANCH GOLF CLUB, KELOWNA, BC Just minutes from downtown Kelowna, Tower Ranch made the SCOREGolf Top 100 list in 2014. Canadian architect Thomas McBroom transformed a cattle ranch into a rugged gem covered in golden fescue and fragrant wild sage. Plenty of bunkers, including numerous deep ones fringed with wild grasses, are a McBroom trademark. I've been in enough of them to give them my own nickname— "McBrunkers" ( www.golftowerranch. com). THE FAIRMONT BANFF SPRINGS GOLF COURSE, BANFF, AB In 1928, Stanley Thompson was hired to design the Banff Springs Golf Course in Alberta's Rockies. Banff held the distinc- tion of being the fi rst track on the planet to cost more than one million dollars to construct. Thompson's genius was in refusing to impose a course on its setting. Indeed, it's hard to concentrate on your swing with snow-frosted mountain peaks, azure glacier lakes and elk, bear and geese that have the right of way. Devil's Cauldron, the par-three fourth hole best exemplifi es Thompson's mastery of design. Emerging from a pine forest onto elevated tees, one must carry the ball over a boulder-fi lled glacial lake against a backdrop of mountain peaks ( www.fairmont.com/banff-springs). ELK RIDGE RESORT, WASKESIU LAKE, SK Elk Ridge Resort, situated at the doorstep of the renowned Prince Albert National Park, reigns as one of Saskatchewan's premier resort destinations. The three nines—Aspen, Birch and Tamarack, named after indigenous trees, are cut into hilly boreal forest. You might fi nd yourself sharing the tee box with an elk or chasing a fox that has trotted off with your ball ( www.elkridgeresort.com). WHERE TO TEE IT UP FROM COAST TO COAST BY ANITA DRAYCOTT FORE! fairMont Banff SPrinGS GoLf CoUrSe, aB • Banff LaKe LoUiSe toUriSM/PaUL ZiZKa GOLF