May 26th: Jasper Park Lodge Hole #6

Jasper Park Lodge Hole #6 "Whistlers" 393-yard Par4 Handicap 15

Jasper Park Lodge:

Constructed in 1924-5, Jasper Park was a massive undertaking. More than 50 teams of horses and 200 men were needed (for over one year) simply to clear the site of boulders, rocks and trees. Thompson's design was bold too, routing three holes (the 14th, 15th and 16th) around a peninsula jutting out into Lac Beauvert, a crystal-clear glacial lake. The course is set in a wide valley, surrounded by the high, snow-capped peaks of the Rockies, and Thompson took a good deal of inspiration for his design from them. Several of the fairways are aligned to distant peaks. Bunkers and moundwork often replicate or complement the skyline, and the freely available topsoil allowed him to scale these design features to the magnitude of the surroundings.

(Hole 6 must be terrible, no pics, no description ... it'll probably just have some boring giant mountain as a backdrop -- this is not #6)

One of the joys of golf at JPL is its tranquility, each fairway progressing along its own private path.

Jasper National Park:

With more wilderness terrain—10,878 sq km (4,200 sq mi)—and less visitors than Banff, the park contains an extensive system of backcountry trails and healthy populations of some of our rarest wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves and caribou. Visit the Jasper Lake Dunes, the only sand dune ecosystem in any of the Rocky Mountain national parks. And if you’re looking for a road less traveled, try Highway 93A—a meandering backroad that was part of the original Banff/Jasper Highway. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find along the way.

(Highway 93A ... The road less traveled)