Jasper Park Lodge

The verdict

Jasper Park Lodge is the course that made Stanley Thompson's name and, a century on, still defines what mountain golf can be. In 1925 Thompson took a tract of dense forest, rock and muskeg in the Canadian Rockies and, with some 200 men and 50 teams of horses, shaped it into a routing that frames the surrounding peaks at every turn. Less famous worldwide than its sister Banff Springs, it is quietly preferred by many architecture students for the subtlety of its ground and the genius of its routing, and it was ranked the number two course in Canada by SCOREGolf in 2021.

What sets it apart is that the scenery never overwhelms the golf. The fairways roll and tilt, the bunkering is bold and artistic, and Thompson's celebrated set of par 3s gives the round its signature, none more so than the downhill Cleopatra ninth, aimed straight at Pyramid Mountain. It is a walkable, gettable course on the card that asks real questions of the thinking player, set in a national park of staggering beauty. Come for the mountains, stay for one of the great pieces of strategic design in North America.

The holes worth the trip

The round flows around the shores of Lac Beauvert and through stands of spruce and pine, with the peaks of the Rockies as a constant backdrop. Thompson set the course to use the mountains as aiming points and the natural contours as defence, so the challenge sits in the angles and the ground game rather than in brute length. The greens are subtle and beautifully sited, rewarding the player who studies the slope, and the bunkering carries the flowing, artistic shapes that became Thompson's trademark.

The star is the ninth, Cleopatra, a downhill par 3 of around 231 yards that plays considerably shorter thanks to a drop of some 70 feet from tee to green, aimed directly at the pyramid form of Pyramid Mountain beyond. The hole once carried mounding that suggested a reclining figure, a flourish Thompson is said to have softened only after he had been paid, and the story is part of the course's lore. The par 3s do not stop there: the so called Bad Baby at the fifteenth is another gem in a set that gives the round its rhythm and its photographs.

What keeps Jasper Park Lodge timeless is its restraint. Thompson let the land and the mountains do the work, and a century of play has only confirmed how cleverly he routed it. Play it once for the scenery, and a second time, when you have stopped staring at the peaks, is when the architecture quietly reveals itself.

Where to stay nearby

The natural base is Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge itself, the historic resort of cedar cabins and lakeside suites that gives the course its name and puts the first tee a short stroll away, with priority tee times and stay and play packages for guests. It is the classic way to play here, walking from cabin to clubhouse with the Rockies all around and a lakeside dinner to close the day.

Beyond the resort, the town of Jasper offers hotels, lodges and inns for those who want to explore the wider national park, from the Columbia Icefield and Maligne Lake to the wildlife and hiking that make Jasper one of Canada's great mountain destinations. Either way, the remoteness is part of the appeal, and the golf rewards the journey.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Jasper and the Canadian Rockies.