Sometimes… life just doesn’t feel real.

Like… the very moment you’re in. The experience you’re living…

Your brain just can’t wrap itself around the fact that it’s real.

It’s almost like you’re expecting a guy dressed in all-black leather and black sunglasses to show up and offer you a red or blue pill.

And I’ll tell you this—I would’ve taken the blue pill in a heartbeat… if it meant I could stay in the Matrix and relive my experience at Banff Springs Golf Club every day for the rest of my life!

It’s honestly hard for me to put into words just how majestic and breathtaking the setting of this course is.

Nestled in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, just minutes from the Town of Banff and in the shadows of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, this Stanley Thompson design incorporates everything you could ever wish for in a mountain course …

Natural beauty…

Scenic vistas…

Flowing rivers…

Majestic wildlife…

Mile-high peaks…

And, of course, EPIC GOLF!

A Legendary Round in the Canadian Rockies

I was paired with a club member—Scotty Wallace—who couldn’t have been a better partner or friendlier tour guide. Because that’s exactly what he was, sharing the history of the course:

• How the routing has changed over time
• What the original finishing hole used to be (which we’ll get to in a second)
• The wildlife you might spot
• The incredible sights to take in while playing
• And, most importantly, how to pass Thompson’s Test!

WIth Scotty’s help, I got off to a solid start, parring the straightforward first hole. Then came two STUPID bogeys because I totally forgot to factor in the elevation, causing me to smash shots like Bryson (who, ironically, had played the course just a week earlier). But I bounced back nicely on the 4th hole, the signature par three.

Playing 165 from the whites, this gorgeous little shot features plenty of challenges. Trees line the left side and water guards the front, with the green feeding towards three front-side bunkers—all while Mount Rundle watches from his seat in the clouds.

I pulled out my seven iron, smacked it straight at Rundle’s smirking face and landed within ten feet of the hole. An easy two-putt par followed, though I was a little disappointed to leave the birdie putt short.

It it wouldn’t take me long to get my first “tweet-tweet” of the round, though.

The final hole on the front nine is an awesome par five that runs alongside the Bow River. The fairway widens to the left but features a little drop-off valley to the right. I crushed my drive about 295 to the center of the fairway, setting up a 225 yard approach shot into a green with two huge bunkers guarding the front and back.

I carried the front bunker with my hybrid and watched it roll onto the green to setup an easy two-putt birdie. It’s just an awesome feeling any time you convert a birdie, but when you can do it while gazing at a flowing river in the shade of towering mountains, it’s something truly special.

The next four holes were fun, and I played solid with bogeys on 10 and 12 and pars on 11 and 13.

BUT FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN WERE BY FAR MY FAVORITE HOLES ON THE COURSE!

Scotty mentioned that the 14th was the originally finishing hole, and it makes sense. It leads right toward the old clubhouse, which is now the Waldhaus Restaurant—AWESOME SPOT that Scotty suggested we try, and sure enough the food was great and views were fantastic. Above the Waldhaus sits the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel (the “Castle in the Canadian Rockies”).

It was just such a cool backdrop—it felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie, playing a game of Quidditch before heading to Hogwarts.

A stupid lip-out forced a bogey on the 14th, but I made up for it on 15.

The 15th is undoubtedly spectacular. From a massively elevated tee box—feeling like you’re at the mountain’s peak—you must carry the old clubhouse, the former driving range AND Spray River (yes, the course has two rivers shaping it) to reach the dogleg left fairway.

I saved my best drive of the day for this tee shot, sending it 320 down the left side (thank you elevation and altitude). 

My approach then found the green and I two-putted for a par. Golf is easy, right?

Two holes later, we found ourselves on the closing par five 18th, and I was feeling some pressure for a few reasons.

A birdie would break 80, in front of a camera crew there for a “Visit Alberta” Tourism shoot. So not only did I want to shoot in the 70’s, but I had to hit this tee shot in front of 25 golf-enthusiast strangers. Not exactly ideal.

But, like they say, “Big players make big plays in big situations.” So I stepped up, and with bunkers lining the right side at about 260 yards, crushed a massive drive over the sand and onto the cart path, before it bounced back onto the fairway. The cart path assist (and elevation) equaled a 350 yard drive (haha). So from there, it was simple 150-yard approach and two-putt for the birdie and 79.

It grabbed the ball out of the cup…

Shook Scotty’s hand…

Thanked him for all his knowledge and help…

And then took one last look back down the fairway at Sleeping Buffalo.

My day at Banff Springs was some of the coolest time I have ever spent on a golf course. From the golf to the views to the company to the nature, it was an amazing experience and one that I hope I can relive again.

Because it still doesn’t feel like it happened. It doesn’t feel real. It still feels like an amazing dream. And if it was, I’ll take another blue pill right now!

The Fairmont Banff Springs Website