As the Waterton Lakes Golf Course is poised to turn 100 next year, its new management team is promising to modernize the historic public course and celebrate its connection to a famous Canadian architect.
Parks Canada owns the golf course in Waterton Lakes National Park and has awarded Lakeland Golf Management a 25-year lease to manage, operate, maintain and make capital improvements to it.
The course — located where the southwestern Alberta prairies meet the Rocky Mountains — was originally designed by William Thomson and opened with nine holes on Canada Day in 1922. Revered Canadian golf course architect Stanley Thompson was invited to visit in 1929 to advise on expanding the course, and his new 18-hole course opened in 1932, according to the Stanley Thompson Society. He visited regularly until his death in 1953.
“We were intrigued by that connection,” said Lakeland president Harry Brotchie, adding that his company researched the history of the golf course and their winning request for proposal (RFP) included Natural Resources Canada aerial photos from 1939, 1961, 1970 and 2014 that showed how the course has changed over the years.
Lakeland plans to join the Stanley Thompson Society and promote the architect at Waterton. Brotchie is a fan of this quote from Thompson about his design philosophy: “The most successful course is one that will test the skill of the most advanced golfer without discouraging the duffer while adding to the enjoyment of both.” It’s a philosophy Lakeland will keep top of mind at Waterton.
“We’re excited to be involved with Parks Canada — this is our first federal golf course,” Brotchie said.
The Winnipeg-based Lakeland now runs 10 public golf courses in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It promises new equipment and new power carts for Waterton. It’s bringing in U.K.-based golf course architectural firm Lobb + Partners — which has an office in Whistler — for the revitalization.
“Our team’s approach to intelligent design and sustainability strives to maximize the positive impacts Waterton Lakes Golf Course can have on its social and environmental surroundings,” Alex Hay, Lobb’s Canadian partner and design associate, said in a statement. “We believe when managed properly, golf courses provide many positive benefits to local environments and wider communities. A sustainable approach was part of golf in the beginning and it must be part of golf in the future.”
Lakeland will boost the connection with the surrounding natural landscape and help educate golfers on the importance of protecting and respecting the park’s rare flora and fauna. The clubhouse will eventually be improved and brought up to code. A percentage of the golf course’s gross revenue will go to a fund for ongoing capital improvements over the next 25 years. They’ll also be mindful of the park’s and windy climate and unique weather since the course is, as Brotchie points out, “right up against the mountains.”
Waterton Lakes is part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, created to promote goodwill between Canada and the United States and underscore the international nature of wilderness. Bighorn sheep, elk, mule and white-tailed deer and even black bears roam the park and there’s a bison paddock with a small herd. More than half of Alberta’s plant species are found here, including the endangered half-moon hairstreak butterfly.
The Waterton golf course is usually open mid-May through October, but some COVID-19 restrictions are in place.
There are other public courses in Canadian national parks, including Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Prince Edward Island National Park, Fundy National Park, Riding Mountain National Park, Prince Edward National Park and Elk Island National Park.
According to Parks Canada, Thompson famously said “Nature must always be the architect’s model” and the architect was inspired by nature to create courses that preserve the natural flow of the landscape.
Comments
The Waterton Lakes National Park DID NOT open on Canada Day 1922, it opened on July 15, 1922.
The story says that's the date the golf course — not the park — opened, according to the Stanley Thompson Society: https://www.stanleythompson.com/about-stanley/stanley-s-courses/western-...
The Wawona Golf Course is nice as well in Yosemite.