Cougar Creek GR Offers A Touch Of Mountain Golf Without The Long Drive Or Big Ticket Price
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2025-08-25
By Gord Montgomery, Senior Writer, Inside Golf
If you like mountain golf but don’t like the price point of mountain golf, we have a suggestion for you: Cougar Creek Golf Resort.
Set an easy drive west of Edmonton, this rural property features the look of alpine golf, especially on the opening nine, which is both easy on the eyes and the wallet. To add more mountain feel to your round, the 18th tee shot is a carry across a lake — similar to a hole on an Alberta mountain track — where you can play it safe or try to reach the green with a mighty swing.
Jake Behiels, the Executive Professional at Cougar Creek Golf Resort, agreed that this is indeed a special place akin to a mountain layout. “Yes. Most definitely!” he began. “The front nine specifically. The big trees. It’s just so peaceful. It definitely reminds me of a mountain course — without the mountains.”
A huge part of that relaxed feel at Cougar Creek GR is not only the setting but the cool, unique holes offered up out here. This is especially the case with the four par-5 tests.
The first of these is a downhill tee shot to a slight dogleg left into a flat fairway for our second volley, followed by a downhill shot into the green that happens to be protected by water front right and left, with a bunker awaiting any shot that’s too long. Oh, did we mention there are trees on both sides of the fairway? Then there’s the ninth, a dogleg right with water along that side off the tee and trees left. The 11th is the biggest challenge of the four, with another slight bend to the left off the tee, a long second shot that has to stay to the high side of the fairway to avoid tree trouble, and then you go slightly downhill into a large green. The final par-5 doesn’t get any easier. It’s a sharp dogleg right, with trees everywhere, before aiming at a green surrounded by bunkers.
Of those challenges, Behiels said, “Normally when you go to a golf course and see a par-5, you just think you can take advantage of it. That’s not the case out here. Pretty much every par-5 we have requires three really good shots to have a chance at birdie.”
Then, of course, there’s the greens out here. They are large and quick with subtle slopes that challenge one to pay attention when looking to make that birdie putt, par putt, or what have you. “On our greens, you can have an 80-foot putt out there. It’s nice for beginners and weekend warriors, so to speak, because they are such big targets,” said the pro. “You’ve got to putt the ball, that’s for sure.”
You Can Play It A Bit Safer By Landing Your Drive On The Fairway To The Left Of The Aqua Driving Range Area. But Be Warned That Your Next Shot On This Hole Still Calls For An Approach Across That Hazard. (Photo By Gord Montgomery/Inside Golf)
To get ready for your round on this beautiful course, Cougar Creek Golf Resort offers a three-green practice area that’s just been upgraded to include a chipping area with a short fairway area and two other putting greens, as well as a smaller putting green. There’s also the aquatic driving range, where it’s cool to see your ball splash down, although truth be told, you don’t get much roll out there!
While the course no longer offers cart-mounted GPS units, they do have a free mobile app (cougarcreekgolfresort.com) that is superior to what existed here before.
“The app has free GPS, it’s free to download, and doesn’t use much data. There is also more versatility on that app that we couldn’t utilize on our GPS. Golfers get a lot more (use) out of the app.”
The Closing Hole At The Cougar Greek Golf Resort Is One Of The Best Finishing Holes In The Greater Edmonton Area. If You Want To Gamble, You Can Aim For The Green On This Par-4 Hole And Swing Away (Photo By Gord Montgomery/Inside Golf)
In finishing your round here, you of course take on that 18th hole - a cross-water shot if you’re on the two back tees or a tee ball from further up, which skirts the lake and where you can still find water if you’re not careful. This hole in particular is very close to what you get off the tee at one of Canada’s top mountain golf courses in Jasper.
“It’s an incredible finishing hole!” the pro proclaimed. “A perfect risk/reward hole. If you can carry it that far, you get rewarded. I feel it’s really fun for all the customers to finish a good round. To try and clear the water.”
So if you love mountain golf, you’re going to love Cougar Creek Golf Resort because the drive here is much shorter (no, not off the tee box!) than heading to a national park mountain course, and much easier on the wallet.