GolfWest publisher takes a swing at Shadow Mountain

This new course is a Rocky Mountain favourite

It’s been open less than a year and it is already considered to be one of the signature courses of the Kootenay Rockies. The spectacular new Shadow Mountain Golf Resort, which lies midway between Cranbrook and Kimberley, is enjoying its first full season.

It is true that the full potential of the course has yet to be fully achieved. The occasional dust storm from the infrastructure work reminded us that the project is still ongoing.  Yet the course itself plays exceptionally well and offers up a challenge to every level of golfer.

Last Friday, after touring around the course several times during development, I finally had the opportunity to pull out the clubs and tackle the course head-on.  Accompanied by my son-in-law Jonathan Momy of Calgary, and friends Sanford Brown and Clayton Olah, we enjoyed the round immensely.

Our round started off nicely before we approached the first tee, as we headed over to the first-rate driving range, which was equipped with all the complimentary balls you could smack and enough open space to really knock the cobwebs off the old driver.

With a few holes under our belts it quickly became apparent that Clayton was the golfer to watch as he maximized his drives and read the super fast greens with uncanny accuracy.

Going the distance

The rest of us slashed and bashed our way down the fairways with unfettered joy. Even though our game was a bit ugly score-wise, the beautiful scenic surroundings more than compensated for our lack of golf prowess. Still, all of us managed to par two or three holes before we wrapped things up.

The GPS-equipped golf carts were a nice touch as well. Each cart's GPS unit let us track how close (or far) we were from the pin, it gave a nice fly-over preview of each hole and had a running clock to tell us if we were keeping up to average course pace.

Measuring in at 7,412 yards, Shadow Mountain actually out-distances some of the world's best known courses. Augusta is 7,435 yards, Pebble Beach 6,737 yards and the Old Course at St. Andrews (home of the recent British Open), stretches out to some 7,377 yards. Mind you we played off the white tees and still found it challenging at about 6,412 yards.

As a golf writer from the Calgary Sun recently wrote, "You'll likely hear snippets about the state-of-the art practice facility, the restaurant and the real estate development, but it's the golf course your buddies won't stop talking about."

We played all 19 holes, yes 19, not including the clubhouse watering hole. Just to make things even more interesting the Shadow Mountain designers threw in an extra or bonus hole between "the Monster" number 17 and number 18. It's short little par 3, but just as enjoyable as the other eighteen.

Unforgettable fun

Number 15 and 17 both stand out with their elevated—and I mean elevated—tee boxes. Number 17, dubbed "the Monster," is a daunting 606 yards and it is worth the price of a round to watch that little white orb soar forever before hitting the distance fairway below.

Contrary to popular opinion this course doesn't always eat all your golf balls for lunch, I came away losing only one ball over the course the entire 19 holes. That is not to say, I didn't spend more than a few minutes searching thickets of forest which run along the fringes of the fairways.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran or causal weekender, golfing Shadow Mountain is an experience you don't want to miss.  I can guarantee you that after a round on this exciting new course, you will be dying to play it again and again. In fact, Jonathan, Clayton and Sanford are already lobbying to be part of the foursome the next time I head out to Shadow Mountain.