[twitter]Silvertip Golf Resort
2000 Silvertip Trail, Canmore
877-877-5444

THE COURSE
Carved into the mountainside above Canmore, Silvertip Golf Resort encourages you to “golf on the roof of the world.” “You know from the start that this is going to be something unique,” said Canadian designer Les Furber. “There’s a 610-foot variance from the highest point on the ninth tee to the lowest point on the 13th green.”

Leave the driver at home, bring your irons and your camera. The views are stunning from virtually every hole and they saved the best for last. The panoramic view from the 18th tee box is unstoppable.

As a mountain course, there is a premium on accuracy. The course can play a short 5000 yards, or a championship length of more than 7200.

Do yourself a favor, stick to the irons so you can keep the ball in play. If you can put your 4 iron around 200 yards down the fairway in the thin mountain air, you’ll be well on your way to having a good round.

The course can shorten up even further with their new “Short Course” design. Temporary tee boxes have been installed to the side of every hole from about where the perfect tee shot would land. It’s great to work on your short game, and bring along people who are new to the game. In fact, they have a program where you can play the short course fpr $75 and bring a kid for free. Genius.

THE FACILITIES
When I first played Silvertip Golf Resort more than a decade ago the pro shop was a portable. It’s not that anymore. There’s a beautiful pro shop stuffed with Puma, Lacoste, and Polo gear. There’s a formal restaurant, and there’s a casual grill with a huge patio. There’s a pavilion for events, and a grass driving range with pyramids of balls waiting for you.

I can’t say enough about the staff at Silvertip. They greeted us at the bag drop and set us up with a cart that had our name on it. The starter was friendly, when our cart died, the staff who came and swapped it out were wonderful.

FAVORITE HOLE
13 was my favorite at Silvertip. It measures 379 from the blue tees from a an elevated tee box with a huge wide landing area. If there’s a hole where you can bomb it at Silvertip, it’s 13. The view is so wonderful, you’ll think you can reach the 3 Sisters on the other side of the valley.

I leaned in to my stick and dumped it 300 yards down the fairway below. There are a few bumps in the landing area that could give you a funny lie, but all in all it’s a chance for you to finally pound away for a big reward with little risk.

SCORECARD
If you can keep the big stick in the bag, and play each hole as the challenge presented, it’s great. If you just like to bang it, stay away, mountain golf won’t work for you. The short course idea is great, and I love that they make the course accessible to kids by letting them play for free. The problem is with the speed short course players will play the course versus the long course players ahead of them. It’s great idea, but I don’t think it works.

I really enjoy Silvertip. The views are spectacular, the staff friendly, the course is a challenge without being daunting.