Avid golfers beware, the golf courses in the Drumheller area can lure you into complacency with their natural beauty and awe-inspiring scenery and then turn around and bite you with challenge and unique terrain. Whether your surroundings be towering coulees or rolling prairies the golfing experience in the Drumheller area promises a more than memorable time.
There are four golf courses within an hour’s drive of Drumheller each with their own special character and unique challenges that add up to make a terrific round of golf. Dinosaur Golf and Country Club is located just five minutes from downtown Drumheller, west on North Dinosaur Trail, Highway 838. This 18 hole, 6,392 yard course boasts expertly groomed, broad fairways that wind along the tranquil Red Deer River. A couple of ponds bring water hazards into play on the fourth and sixth fairways. The front nine is walkable but the back nine requires a cart because of its unique valley terrain and plateaus. A close inspection of the hole map for the back nine is well warranted before teeing off. The par five 10th hole presents a particular challenge with its narrow fairway and long yardage. Be sure to direct your tee shot down the middle of the fairway in order to catch a view of the green and set up for a clean approach. Carved out of the hills and coulees, the natural landscape shapes the method of play on the back nine. A few hidden greens pose a particular challenge with an especially tough set up shot.
Club pro Phil McCluskey selects the 149 yard 12th as the signature hole of the course. The green, down in the coulee is surrounded by hoodoos and hills and the spectacular view from the tee box allows you to see the Badlands for miles down the Drumheller Valley. Dinosaur Golf and Country Club offers a full service clubhouse, tee time reservations are advised. For more information or tee times call the club at (403) 823-5622. The Dinosaur Golf and Country Club always leaves a lasting impression of its unparalleled landscape. It’s the one course that leaves everyone talking about it. Heading 45 km south of Drumheller on Highway 9 take the road into Rosebud. Cross the bridge over Rosebud Creek and you will come upon the exceptional Akokiniskway Golf Course. This 1,845 yard executive nine hole course is derived from the plains Indians’ description “creek where the roses grow”. The creek is an integral part of this course. Club manager Al Campbell is proud of the level of play that the Akokiniskway course demands with its tight fairways. The signature 3rd hole fully develops the image of the par 30 course and the fine job that the designers did to incorporate a wide range of natural elements. A full service clubhouse offers meals, refreshments and other services including club and power cart rentals. For more information or tee times phone the pro shop at (403) 677-2250.
Just northeast of Drumheller is the Hanna Golf and Country Club. To get there you travel Highway 9 North from Drumheller about 15 kilometres to the Morrin corner, turn right and head East on Highway 9 and travel approximately 50 kilometres to the Town of Hanna. The Hanna Golf and Country Club has nine holes in play and nine more under construction, due to be completed this fall. The course, designed by Les Furber, is well treed with only two par 3 holes and is 3,076 yards in length. The club also offers a driving range, practice putting greens and a practice bunker for polishing up your short game. Their Les Furber signature hole is number six and demands a combination of power and accuracy as it lays out up hill and often directly into the prairie wind. Water also presents a challenge on five of the current nine holes. The pro shop has club, power and pull cart rentals. The club house has a seating capacity of 145 indoors with a large deck outdoors that overlooks the first tee and the ninth green. All of the courses offer exciting challenges and breathtaking Valley scenery. When hitting the links in Drumheller and Badlands area prepare yourself for alluring views, unmatched fairway and green maintenance and above all an unprecedented great round of golf.
