Columbia Valley Golf Trail

Located just 2 1/2 hours from Calgary

Yes, indeed, just like kittens playing with yarn, daises in a fresh spring meadow and a baby’s first step, the guy’s golf getaway is one of the finer things in life. These trips afford a wonderful opportunity to share our innermost feelings, touching on the delightful and the delicate, the sensitive and the sublime. Not. Of course, as the boys and I dutifully discovered, when the destination is the Columbia Valley Golf Trail, whatever is lost in bad behaviour is gained back tenfold in good times.

With eight excellent mountain golf courses (all within 45 minutes of each other), better-than-you-think accommodations and a down-to-earth vibe, the Columbia Valley Golf Trail proved to be the perfect golf destination for our posse. 

In our case, “bad behaviour” will not conjure up images from a Hangover movie, so don’t get your hopes up. There were no missing persons. No police chases. No tigers running loose in the hotel room. Other than some beer and a few too many single malts, there were no mind-altering activities. Unless, of course, you count temper tantrums. 

Not surprisingly, the most notable meltdown happened on the putting green when everything was on the line. One of the boys – let’s just call him Pete – wasn’t used to the non-stop heckling and the juvenile strategies to get him off his game. It all led to one of the best “choke” jobs I’ve ever witnessed. More on that later. 

Logistics of the Columbia Valley Golf Trail

Located just two and a half hours west of Calgary, the Columbia Valley Golf Trail – which includes courses in Invermere, Windermere, Radium Hot Springs and Fairmont - is, from a logistical standpoint, one of the most convenient golf destinations you’ll visit. If you want to hunker down in one spot and golf your brains out, it doesn’t get much better. In this case, the “trail” is more like a quick jaunt to the course from what could easily be the same hotel for the duration of your stay.

Although there are a number of excellent hotels and resorts to choose from in the area - including Fairmont Hot Springs, Radium Resort, Bighorn Meadows and the Panorama Mountain Village - it doesn’t get much better than the new Copper Point Resort. It’s centrally located on the trail and has many great amenities such as a full-service spa, an outstanding pool area and luxurious suites and rooms. It’s also conveniently located near Invermere, the largest center in the Columbia Valley.

Radium Springs Golf Course

Our first round at the beautiful Radium Springs Course, which soars high above the Columbia Valley Wetlands, was a sweet initiation. Now into its 25th year, the Springs offers a fun and eclectic mix of holes. From bluff-top beauties at the start and finish to a host of challenging doglegs and do-or-die par-3s in the middle, the Springs is sneaky good. Unfortunately, our play was blatantly bad.

Eagle Ranch Golf Course

Eagle Ranch, which boasts some of the best playing conditions in the country, is a course that just gets better and better the more times you play it. Although the daunting ravines, especially on the closing holes, are its main defense, the course also features dramatic elevation changes, perched greens and plenty of beautiful bunkering. And, like most of the best courses you’ve played, it builds to a stirring run of holes at the finish. Complete with one of the best clubhouse restaurants in Western Canada, Eagle Ranch comes with all the fixings, including outstanding service from start to finish. It is a must-play on the Columbia Valley Golf Trail.

Copper Point

Next door to Eagle Ranch, Copper Point is another outstanding facility – they boast two courses, including a shorter Masters course – that showcases the region’s beauty. The original course, a minimalist design that expertly utilizes the rolling terrain, is chock-full of raised greens, ragged bunkers and frustrating slopes. It requires a thoughtful approach … something our group, unfortunately, did not possess.

After playing both of the classic resort courses at Fairmont Hot Springs – Riverside and Mountainside are long-running Columbia Valley favourites - on one epic 36-hole day, we were fully acclimatized to the laid back charms of the Columbia Valley. The pace of life here is decidedly slower. The sparkling lakes, the hot springs, the beaches, the artisan galleries - and, especially, the jagged snow-capped mountains that hang over everything – combine to create an atmosphere that speaks rest and relaxation.

Of course, if your putter is badly misbehaving and the boys are on your case, things can get a little tense. With pride and a few toonies on the line, the stakes at the unique Radium Resort Course (it boasts three new holes for 2014) were high. And Pete, who had taken too much of our money, was feeling the heat.

Shockingly, our four-man skins game at Radium Resort featured eight carry-overs in a row on the back nine. So it all came down to the 18th. Pete, one of the greatest “sandbaggers” of the 21st century, skulled a 7-iron approach to two feet. It was disturbing, to say the least. However, with multiple hexes on him, as well as some timely sneezing during his backstroke, he yanked his putt wide left. It was priceless and so perfect, in fact, that we decided to carry over all the skins for next year’s trip down the Colombia Valley Golf Trail.