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The Plan
Our plan was
to golf at three top-rated golf courses, starting in Winnipeg, Manitoba’s
capital city. We would then head east toward the Manitoba-Ontario
border into a region of Canada that is a favourite fly-in wilderness
destination for hunters and fishers; but also a great and waiting-to-be-discovered
golfing experience.
The Courses
We picked three
courses that could deliver a different golf experience:
The Shopping
Our first stop, however, was at Winnipeg’s
Willow Creek Women’s Golf Store, Canada’s only golf
outfitting store for women. While the others (avid golfers) were
well-prepared (they even brought their own golf clubs), I had to
rent my clubs and get some “proper” golf clothing. Karen,
the store’s owner looked after me well: made-in-Winnipeg Jazz
women’s clubs; golf sandals; a short-sleeved light blue golf
shirt; and some golf tips on how to hit with a hybrid club (which
hadn’t been invented when I last golfed).
Manitoba Prairies: Southside
Golf Course
Our golfing adventure began at Southside
Golf Course, a 18-hole course Par 63/65, ranging from 3300 to 4700
yards and designed to be played in three to three and a half hours.
It’s a prairie-like, flat landscape (you can see clear into
the horizon), dotted with 11 marsh ponds, large rolling greens and
strategically placed sand bunkers.
The opening hole was a par 4/5, 408
yards, with a starting point that offered a straightaway drive —
perfect for my golf comeback. When my turn came to golf, my first
three “power” swings widely missed the ball. A bit embarrassed,
I re-focussed, chanting to myself, the advice someone had given
me earlier, “Don’t ‘whack’ the ball. Swing
back. Keep left arm straight. Hit in sweet spot. Follow through
with the shot.”. I connected, hitting a beautiful shot 129
yards straight down the fairway.
By the time we had finished Southside,
I had used my hybrid to hit some dang good long shots, including
twice getting on the green in one shot. Not bad for returning to
golf after 25 years, eh?
Historical Fort Garry Hotel:
Comfort, Cookies, and Ghosts
We returned to Winnipeg to overnight
at the Fort
Garry Hotel, one of Canada’s grand railway castle-like
hotels built in the early 20th century.
A Winnipeg architectural icon, the
old world elegance of a by-gone era is evident everywhere, from
the marble-floored lobby with its Corinthian columns and Caen stone
walls to its domed dining room. And my room had the most comfortable
luxurious hotel bed I’ve ever slept on, with a big, fluffy
down duvet and soft huge pillows on a feather mattress. An added
bonus was the 24-hour complimentary freshly-brewed pot of coffee
or tea, with scrumptious cookies delivered to your door by room
service (no coffee/tea machines in the rooms).
And like many historic buildings,
Fort Garry Hotel supposedly has its share of resident “ghosts”:
a couple (dapper-looking man and lady in white), a Polish immigrant
murdered by the chef; and a construction worker who fell down the
elevator shaft in 1911. The hotel’s owner Ida Albo said some
guests request rooms on the second floor — the only place
of the reported sightings — just to see who might come “visiting.”
(My rooms were on the fourth floor.)
As a history buff, I particularly
liked the hotel’s location. Across the street is the last
remains of
Upper Fort Garry. A block away is the magnificent Union
Station (designed by the same architects of New York City’s
Grand Central Station). And just a short walk from the hotel —
at the junction of the mighty Red and Assiniboine Rivers —
is The Forks
where Aboriginal people met and traded as far back as 6000 B.C.
(Some things never change; today, the Forks is again a vibrant waterfront
market area.)
The Links at Quarry Oaks
The next morning we drove 40 minutes
southeast to our second golf course, The Links at Quarry Oaks. Rated
as one of the best 100 golf courses in Canada by Score Gold
Magazine, the 27-hole course has a championship layout designed
by world-renowned Canadian architect
Les Furber.
Everything about Quarry Oaks is first
class. The clubhouse is surrounded by wonderfully landscaped flower
gardens and containers. The licensed restaurant offers great dining
(my Reuben on the Links was delicious). The pro shop is well-stocked
and has knowledgeable staff. Fees are reasonable ($40 includes the
cart).
With a feel reminiscent of the best
Scottish designs (or so seasoned golfers tell me), this spectacular
world class course, with nine holes set in a rock quarry, has Manitoba’s
only inland Links style layout. It runs through thick northern forests,
huge sand bunkers and at times, a desert-like terrain. And my golfing
improved as we went along; I was beginning to hit 150-yards down
the fairway with some regularity.
Falcon Lake Golf Course
For our next golfing adventure, we
headed down to Falcon Lake Golf Course (toward the Manitoba-Ontario
border) considered by many to be the premier course in Manitoba;
ranked number 30 out of the top 100 Canadian courses. The Par 72
course measures 7049 yards from the back tees. Fees are reasonable;
for example, the 2007 seniors rate is only $34 Monday to Thursday.
We overnighted in wilderness cabins
at the Falcon Trail Resort; and ... ah ... it was a bit of heaven
to soak in the hot tub on the cabin deck, listen to the haunting
call of the loon (you never forget the sound once you hear it),
and look up at the limitless stars in the night sky. In the morning,
it was wonderful to wake up to bird song and the gentle rustling
of tree leaves.
In the morning, we met up with Falcon
Lake’s Director of Golf and CPGA Head Professional, Sandy
Kurceba. A golf pro in Australia for over 20 years, he returned
home to Canada a couple of years ago. He joined us for the first
nine holes. When he heard that I was returning to golf after a 25
year absence, he gave some valuable advice when I went to up to
the tee. “Use
the 10 finger grip rather than interlocking. Line up the club with
the flag. Place the club behind the ball. Stand back. Put your feet
together and line up with the ball so it is lined up in-between
your feet. Now place your feet apart, step to the left, then right,
until you have a comfortable stance. Lean forward, use your shoulders.
Watch the ball as you swing up. Don’t swivel your body, keep
your body straight. Let the shoulders do the work. Then swing to
hit the ball.”
He had a couple of great tips for
new and returning golfers. “I tell them to use tees all the
way to the green. And to double the pars on their scorecard. If
it is a 5-par, then your par will be 10. Then when you get under
it, it’s a birdie.” Then he added “The main thing
is to have fun and enjoy the game.”
There’s another side to Sandy
that kept us laughing — his golf shots as an international
trick shot artist. Later, he put on hockey skates (he used to play
pro hockey) and did a hilarious one-hour show of amazing trick shots,
including hitting off a three-foot tee, a 2-headed 5 iron, and the
“Off Your Face” shot where he hits a golf ball from
a human tee, (You've got to see it to believe it.)
Why golf and travel
are a match made in heaven
In four days, we golfed at three
excellent courses in a Manitoba in landscapes that varied from prairie
lands, to old rock quarries, to forest terrain and a provincial
nature park. Our accommodations ranged from grand hotel elegance
one night to cozy remote cabins the next — the ultimate Canadian
wilderness golf experience eh?.
And thanks to Sandy, my best game
was at Falcon Lake Golf Course.
Did my golf skills come back, just
like biking? Yes! But I need a bit more practice — so I’ll
see you on the golf course in wild and wonderful Manitoba.
If You Go Golfing
in Manitoba
Travel Manitoba
7th Floor - 155 Carlton Street,
Winnipeg MN R3C 3H8
Toll-free 1.800.665.0040
www.travelmanitoba.com
Fort Garry Hotel
222 Broadway
Winnipeg MB R3C OR3
Toll-free 1.800.665.8088
ftgarry@fortgarryhotel.com
www.fortgarryhotel.com/
Willow Creek Women’s
Golf Store
11-584 Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg
(204) 487-7107
Southside Golf Course
2226 Southside Road
Grande Pointe MB R5A 1K1
Tel. 204.254.6709
southside@aol.com
www.southsidegolf.ca
The Links at Quarry Oaks
Box 3629
Steinbach MB R5G 1P7
Tel. 1.204.326.GOLF
robin@quarryoaks.com
www.quarryoaks.ca
Falcon Lake Golf Course
Box 97
Falcon Lake MB ROE 0N0
Tel. 204.349.2554
falcong@mts.net
www.falconlakesgolfcourse.com
Sandy Kurceba, International Trick
Shot Artist, SK Golf International
64 Kingston Row
Winnipeg MB R2M 0S8
Tel. 204.231.3233
Cell 204.795.2830
curlyandmo@shaw.ca or
falcong@mts.net
www.skgolf.net
See Also:
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Wild
and Wonderful Golf in Manitoba
by Elle Andra-Warner
Aren’t
golfing and biking somewhat similar? One never forgets how to ride
a bike, right? Can we say the same for golf?
Last year, I applied
that “bike” concept to golf when I joined a group of friends
on a four-day golfing spree in Manitoba — a Canadian province,
by the way, that is 18 per cent larger than France.
I hadn’t golfed
in over 25 years, but was confident that after a few golf swings just
—
like biking —
it would all come back to me.
Photographs by Elle Andra-Warner
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