A Course Called Alberta — The Desire To Play Every Layout In The Province
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2021-05-06
By GORD MONTGOMERY, Inside Golf
BEAUMONT, Alberta — What could have been construed as an off-handed comment, made by husband to wife, turned the lives of Bob and Lynda Villeneuve into a multi-year golf adventure.
Travelling down the Cowboy Trail in rural Alberta, Bob took note of the numerous golf courses scattered throughout this area of the province. That set his mind to whirling, eventually offering up this declaration: “I want to play every course in Alberta and I want to start in Drayton Valley,” he proclaimed to Lynda.
“I just decided that,” he said of taking on more than just the layouts he saw on this particular journey that began near Rocky Mountain House. “I saw all the signs - golf course, golf course, golf course. That was in 2004. The following year, I started.”
Thus set off this trek beginning in 2005 which by the time it ends, hopefully in 2021, will have included more than 330 courses in Wild Rose Country, encompassing nine, 18- and 27- hole configurations including executive and par-3 designs. Asked if this was something he'd considered doing for a long time, Bob suggested it was a spur of the moment decision made at 100/kmh. “That’s exactly what it was. I made up my mind right then and it continued from there.”
Anyone that’s married knows that sometimes the best laid plans of men, mice aside, go astray, especially when it comes to chasing a little ball around the countryside, or in this case, all over Alberta. And while Lynda wasn’t exactly sure about this grand plan to begin with, she’s been on this golf cart ride for the long haul.
“I guess when he said that, I probably had my druthers if he’d really do it or not, but I said, “Sure, let’s do it,’ not really expecting 16 years of golfing every single year! It was kind of tough that we were giving up our summer holidays to go from course to course every single day. We had to golf in terrible weather, snow or whatever, because we had to golf that course that particular day. Of all the courses we’ve played, we only had to cancel once, and they phoned us and said the course was closed. Yeah, I thought this might be the death of me!”
To begin this ambitious undertaking, the plan was to have everything wrapped up in rather short order. “I was hoping to complete this by the time I was 70, and I turned 70 last November (2020),” the architect of this dream golfing expedition explained, after having reached home from yet another jaunt, this time to the River Valley course in Flatbush. “I’d never heard of that one before or saw it on Google Maps, but there’s definitely one there!”
Bob agreed that for the most part over the years it hadn’t been difficult accessing a tee time at public golf courses. The ease of securing a spot at many places has become tougher over the past two years due to the pandemic and as golf has again boomed with more players seeking playing times. As well, Bob had to figure out a way to gain entry into private clubs around the province.
“When I said every course in Alberta my main goal was to get all the public ones done and any private ones were bonuses,” he noted. But it turned out he had a way around that conundrum. “I worked for Edmonton Public Schools in maintenance as a plumber so I had connections with suppliers who were members at private courses and I knew other people that had memberships at private courses.” Those contacts helped him tee off at every exclusive club in Edmonton save two so far, but he has connections for both of those, so they are high on his to-do list.
While Bob Says His Favourite Course In Alberta Changes Often Depending On Where He’s Recently Played, The One That Tops Ths List At Present Is Silvertip, Located In Canmore In the Rocky Mountains.
Put on the spot to rattle off his favourite course, Bob said that’s a tough call (as it is for a golf writer!) and it changes often. But, he noted, his most recent fave is Silvertip, set in the Rocky Mountains in Canmore. Before that, he said, it was a prairie layout, Pheasantback GC in Settler. “Of course it changes over the years as you play different courses,” he stated. “One I played last fall, Silvertip, is a beautiful course.”
As for an underrated track, regardless of its size and location, Bob noted, “There’s a few of them. One I really liked is Hidden Valley (in Fawcett; a course reviewed on iG a few years back), a nice little nine hole course, built in a coulee. It makes it interesting and really challenging.”
Here’s where this pin-seeking pair kind of took different paths toward what made them pick a particular track as their favourite. For Lynda, it was the amenities like landscaping including “one that had flowers in teapots,” although she noted that in mentioning those lovely touches to her husband after the round, he queried, ‘What flowers?’ as he’s more about the course conditions and layout.
As For His Most Underrated Layout, Bob Chose Hidden Valley, A 9-Hole Track Near Fawcett, Because Of Its Contours And Challenges. As For Lynda, She Liked It Because There Were Teapots With Flowers in Them On Each Tee Box!
This financial challenge alone of this adventure is breathtaking but it’s been offset by the fact the Villeneuve’s haul their sleeping accommodations behind them wherever they go. They also make use of the many discount golf books/coupons that are available throughout the province. While it has still cost them thousands of dollars for fees and campsites, Bob proudly proclaims, “After today, I’ve golfed 316 rounds and we’ve never stayed in a motel! We’ve stayed at 60 different campsites, though. I find a central campsite and hit about five different golf courses and keep going from campsite to campsite …. and just do day trips.” The couple also made good use of golf passes/coupons taking advantage of 2-for-1 green fee play and free power cart rentals. “That definitely helped financially. There were some (courses) last fall that were super expensive but my wife is very understanding. And on tough courses I play by myself.”
Planning these routes took some time but Bob made use of Google Maps to plot his journeys. “I started mostly in central Alberta. I retired in 2014 but before that I had a two week holiday, so we’d spend two weeks playing golf,” as he added to the growing number of courses played. And there are a lot of those, except for one exception.
“We play every course except mini-golf,” Bob quipped.
In talking about his long-running movie, Lynda was forthright about the plot. “For one thing, I probably never would have become a golfer if it weren’t for Bob. Now, I’m in a ladies league and met some wonderful ladies that way. I’m definitely not as driven (as Bob) but I’ve definitely enjoyed the experience.”
“You know, lots of times she’d say, ‘I hope we’re not paired up with anybody,’ and I’d say, ‘Oh, you’ll be fine,’” related Bob about first tee nerves for his better half. “Lots of times we did get paired up with someone and afterwards, she’d say, ‘Oh, that was a nice couple!’” which led Lynda to keeping a diary of who they played with, where and when. “We have met some wonderful people, that’s for sure!” she commented.
While he has kept track of every round, the size of the course and its location, the cost and every score he’s recorded, Bob hasn’t really taken the time to add up the number of swings he’s taken over the years. But one in particular stands out, his lone ace, on these excursions.
“I had just one, at the Highlands (GC in Edmonton) in 2015, hole number three, August the 20th,” Bob garnering that information off his spreadsheet, stated. The neatest thing to him, about that shot, was that he called it.
“It was at a tournament and there was a Closest To The Pin marker about a foot from the hole. I called the shot, saying, ‘I’m going to land my shot between that marker and the hole. It landed exactly where I said, and it was like slow motion as it trickled in!” While he didn’t pocket a lot of money or a huge reward for the called shot, he did make the rest of his group happy. “It was a Shamble (where everyone takes the best drive of the four and then play their own ball from that spot and keep their own scorecard), so we had four holes-in-one on that hole!”
Asked in closing if the pair are more proud of this remarkable achievement, or just happy it’s now approaching the 18th tee box and the end is in sight, this is how Bob responded: “She’s happy it’s coming to an end and so am I because it’s becoming too stressful!”
As the end draws near, Bob said there are a couple of layouts he hasn't taken on yet: one in Wandering River, one in Fort McMurray that he missed due to flooding, and the two courses in Banff, which he hopes will mark the end of this magnificent journey through Alberta that’s run east to west, north to south, from the prairies to the mountains. Because to Bob and Lynda Villeneuve, this really was A Course Called Alberta.
* Writer’s Note: The use of A Course Called Alberta is a takeoff of an acquaintance’s (Tom Coyne) wonderful books, A Course Called Ireland; A Course Called Scotland; and A Course Called America. He gave his blessing to my use of this title.