I love to play golf. I have played all over the world on some of the world’s best courses. I am the first to admit that playing golf in Saskatchewan never really crossed my mind. Before I actually played, I couldn’t have named a course let alone told you where to play golf in Saskatchewan. However, after playing three courses in the province, here is my take on golf in Saskatchewan.
Deer Valley Golf Club
Deer Valley is about a 30-minute drive from the center of Regina: the city that rhymes with fun! Deer Valley looks like a British course. It is kind of a mix of links golf mixed with US Open rough. The course was pretty tough and the weather the day I played made it much tougher.
The wind was blowing like it would on a bad day at the British Open; which was actually being played the same time I was at Deer Valley. I was not hitting my driver well at all. So as a result of the wind and the fact I couldn’t hit the driver straight, I started teeing off with only irons. This actually really helped me on the back 9 but not with my overall score.
That said, I did enjoy playing Deer Valley, as it was a serious challenge. I am not used to playing in bad weather and the course definitely got the best of me but I surely did enjoy the morning.
Royal Regina Golf Club
The Royal Regina Golf Club is located across the street from where I saw KISS in concert in Regina. Royal Regina is a very flat, wide-open course and to be honest there isn’t really much to it. Most of the holes are pretty straightforward. If you keep the ball in the fairway, you have a good shot to play well.
I played with some really nice Canadian hockey fans and played pretty darn well. I was killing the ball off the tee and played my irons well. Royal Regina is a good course to score well and it is tough to lose balls; which always helps! It’s basically a glorified municipal course but that can be fun too.
Waskesiu Golf Course
Waskesiu is a 4.5 to 5-hour drive from Regina or about 2-2.5-hour drive from Saskatoon. It is literally in the middle of nowhere and you think you are lost 10 times before you actually find the Elk Ridge Lodge; which is the resort at the course.
Waskesiu is actually 3 9-hole courses that were built at different times. They are all pretty spectacular to be honest. They are very well kept and manicured and each has some really nice holes. The most noticeable thing about the course is how it encompasses the woods where it is located.
The only issue that accompanies this is there are a ton of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are super annoying and you really do need to bring bug spray or you be eaten alive. That said, there are a lot of animals around the course too; which adds to the allure.
The courses themselves are not that difficult. I actually played my best rounds here during my time playing golf in Saskatchewan. The courses were definitely the best I saw as well. Although, it was a pain to get to Waskesiu, the courses were really nice and the lodge itself was gorgeous as well.
I should also note that I was supposed to play Dakota Dunes outside of Saskatoon when I was there but a scheduling conflict came up unexpectedly and I was unable to play it. Dakota Dunes is supposed to be the best of golf in Saskatchewan…I will check it out next time!
Who knew they had golf in Saskatchewan?!
Looks like a nice place but I would stick to Kiss!
The last golf course is Elk Ridge golf course, not Waskesiu. But Waskesiu also has a very nice 18 hole course right in the park.
Bing Crosby and Bob Hope would come up to Waskesiu for golf in the 50s and 60s.
On Bob Hope’s show once he said he had just come back from golfing in WASKESIU SASKATCHEWAN and the audience laughed because they thought it was a made up name in a joke.