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WoLF CREEK
Golf Resort
PAR 4 450 yARDS
Ponoka, AB
866.783.6050
www.wolfcreekgolf.com
Waving fescue, rolling hills, and distant horizons give the Wolf
Creek Golf Resort an Old World feel. Architect Rod Whitman
brings that links atmosphere to life on 36 holes of challenging
and charming traditional golf. The 6,600-yard, par-70 Old Course
opened in 1984, and the final nine of the 7,200-yard, par-71 Links
Course opened in 2009, yet both layouts are so in tune with the
landscape that they seem to have always been there.
The 18th hole on the Old Course—named "The Whit" in honour of
the designer—is a superb example of Whitman's skill in creating
classic links-style golf holes. From the four elevated tee boxes
that stretch the par 4 from 365 to 450 yards, the pot bunker in
the middle of the fairway serves as an aiming point on the slight
dogleg right. Everything sweeps in that direction past the long
waste bunker, and pot bunkers guard the fairway where the
terrain slopes and funnels balls into the middle.
When the wind blows from the northwest, the links design allows
for a low, bump-and-run shot into the open front of the green;
bunkers right and back, and a deep wheat grass bunker on the
left, await errant attempts. The putting surface is long, slender,
and gently rises into the mounding that frames the green
complex. The 18th is a long, strong finishing hole reminiscent of
the birthplace of golf.
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Photograph by Chris Duthie