Paradise Canyon

Situated close to Lethbridge, a two-hour drive to the south of Calgary, the Paradise Canyon Golf Resort overlooks the fast flowing waters of the Old Man River. The 18-hole layout was designed by Bill Newis and built by GPEC Consulting Ltd, a talented combination that has constructed a number of other notable courses in Western Canada, such as The Hamptons in Alberta and Goldenin British Columbia.

The fairways are laid out alongside the Old Man River, with several of the holes on the inward half routed around resort properties that back onto the golf course. Despite the course sitting well above the normal water levels of the river, unprecedented flooding in recent years has affected lower lying parts of the course, with bunkers in particular kept out of play for long periods after the flood waters have receded.

Strongest hole on the front nine is undoubtedly the par four 3rd, where a pond lies on the left side of a split fairway that also slopes from right to left. The signature par three 12th is played from the highest point on the property and it’s from here that the tee shot drops almost a hundred and fifty feet to a green nestling next to the river, with sand flanking the right and left sides of the putting surface.

The club hosted the 105th edition of the Canadian Amateur Championship on 2008, when Cam Burke won the event by four strokes from Scott Stiles and Eugene Wong with an aggregate score of 274.