Bordered by Alberta, Northern Territories and Manitoba on the Canadian side of the International Boundary, Saskatchewan is bounded to the south by the states of Montana and North Dakota. Most of its one million residents live in the southern third of the province, many of them in the largest city, Saskatoon (founded in 1892) or the capital, Regina (named after Queen Victoria in 1882).

The Saskatchewan Golf Association was founded in 1913 to govern the game in the province and the Saskatchewan Branch of the Canadian Ladies Golf Union followed it thirteen years later. Both authorities amalgamated in 1999, forming an organisation that was rebranded as Golf Saskatchewan in 2011. There are now over 100 clubs affiliated to the provincial governing body and, interestingly, a couple of them – Robertdale and Bengough Regional Park – play on 9-hole courses that still operate with sand greens.

A couple of courses stand head and shoulders above the others in Saskatchewan and they’re both located on the south side of Saskatoon: Dakota Dunes is a new millennium offering from the design duo of Graham Cooke and Wayne Carlton whilst Riverside is a century old Bill Kinnear-designed layout.