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Prairie golf companion

By Joanne Latimer

With over 250 courses to choose from, Pure Canada profiles three of Saskatchewan’s premier greens.

Looking for a fun talking point for  the 19th hole? How about "Saskatchewan has the  most golf courses per capita in North America"?  That's over 250 golf courses in a province populated by 1 million people.

 

The pundits at Golf Digest magazine declared Saskatchewan's Dakota Dunes Golf Links the best new  Canadian golf course in 2005. This 18-hole links course is laid throughout rolling  sand dunes in a river valley, surrounded by crocuses, heather and indigenous  prairie grasses 15 minutes south of Saskatoon. Dakota Dunes was designed in classic European style - the province's only Graham Cooke (three-time winner of Golf Digest's Best New Canadian Course) and Wayne Carleton-designed golf property. Players shake their fists at the sky on the 15th hole, where the par 3 presents a challenging low-lying green that tests  even the most confident chippers with its sudden drop in elevation.

 

The Elk Ridge Resort has a 27-hole course  that offers pleasantly challenging holes, set within a lush boreal forest. This  heavily wooded course, featuring bent grass tees and natural water hazards, is  just five minutes from the Prince Albert  National Park (an hour from Prince Albert). Players  looking for water hazards should try Deer Valley Golf Club, an 18-hole course blessed with mature trees, sand traps and the winding Wascana Creek. Take careful aim on the second hole, where the green is actually set on  a slim peninsula. This par 3 hole has four sets of tee boxes, so there's a suitable yardage for everyone. Tuck into the juicy over-size Big Mike Burger before making the short drive back to Regina.

 

Getting here

Dakota Dunes Golf Links,  1-877-414-4653, dakotadunes.ca
Elk Ridge Resort, 1-800-510-1824, elkridgeresort.com
Deer Valley Golf Club, 306-731-1445, deervalleygolfestates.com
Tourism Saskatchewan, 1-877-2ESCAPE  (1-877-237-2273), sasktourism.com
Tourism Regina, 1-800-661-5099, tourismregina.com
Tourism Saskatoon, 306-242-1206, tourismsaskatoon.com
Tourism  Prince Albert, 1-877-868-7470, patourism.ca

 

When Joanne Latimer isn’t dashing out of town to check out  the latest spa, she can be found covering the fashion beat. Her work has  appeared in The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, enRoute magazine and FASHION Magazine.