Banff, Alberta, Canada - The Fairmont Banff Springs Stanley Thompson Golf Course in Banff National Park is celebrating its 75th anniversary.
"On this diamond anniversary of the course, we are opening to unbelievably good conditions; the best since 1929," said Doug Wood, Director of Golf. "The golf course is as much of jewel today as it was more than seven decades ago."
The 18-hole championship Stanley Thompson Golf Course (par 71, yardage 5,607-7,083) was designed by golf architect Stanley Thompson and was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1929. At the time, it was the first course in the world to cost more than $1 million to build, comparable to about 25 million dollars currently.
The course is situated along the Bow River, a mile high in the Canadian Rockies. Banff's Stanley Thompson Golf Course, and its sister course at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, which opened in 1925, are two courses designed by Thompson, whose goal at Banff was to create a course where players of varying abilities could challenge their skills.
Thompson's bunkers mirror the shape of the mountains and the natural run of the fairways. The fourth hole is named the Devil's Cauldron and plays from an elevated tee over a boulder-filled glacial lake to a sloping green on the side of Mount Rundle.
In 1999, a two -year, $4.5-million restoration project was completed to preserve and enhance the course's natural landscape. Fairmont hired the design firm of Golf Design Services led by Les Furber and Jim Eremko. Original photography and architectural plans were studied for design and layout of the course. Specific projects included the restoration of the greens back to their original size shape and contours, the restoration of tees to their original location, and, the addition of new short and long tees to meet the needs of today's golfers and the equipment of today. Bunkers were returned to the original Thompson design, fairways were re-surfaced and 32 acres of land back were returned back to its natural montaine state.
The Stanley Thompson Golf Course is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. It was only the third golf course in Alberta and the 15th in Canada to achieve this status. The course is recognised for its commitment to providing a sanctuary for wildlife on the course property to the delight of golfers, elk and the occasional bear may be seen wandering along the fairways while greatly reducing water consumption and chemical use. Course crews continue to adhere to a maintenance program that supports the goals and mandate of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System of Canada.