More than golf in beautiful PEI (I can't believe I said that!)

By Gord Montgomery

Sure, PEI has great golf almost everywhere you look, but what else has it got to offer?

Well, having been there and experienced the island’s off-course activities and peculiarities first-hand, let me assure you that everyone in your party will indeed find something to do somewhere around this country’s smallest province. And among them, more than a few things that make you go “Huh?!”

Following is a list of non-golf related activities and idiosyncrasies that will appeal to one and all. And, if you turn your nose up at some of these activities when you first see them, look again, because you’ll be delighted with what PEI has to offer.

And by the way, these aren’t listed in any particular order.

Ice cream: Who doesn’t like this deliciously refreshing treat on a nice, warm summer afternoon or evening? Well, apparently the answer to that on PEI is nobody — and all you have to do is walk into a COWS to find out why. Still using the original formula that was crafted in Cavendish, this is a treat everyone needs to try. With over 32 flavours to sample you’ll see why this brand of treat is ranked as the No. 1 ice cream in the entire world. And yes, there are outlets around the country, including one in Banff, but as anyone knows, nothing is better than the original.

“Youse": Almost as Canadian as “eh,” this word doesn’t mean to “use” something or the female variety of sheep. Rather, it pertains to a group of people. It takes you off guard when you first hear it but after a while it may become part of your own vocabulary… at least while you’re on the island, eh.

Ponies: A night at the races is something that shouldn’t be passed up even if you’re not into betting on the ponies. The Red Shores Racetrack & Casino At The Charlottetown Driving Park is a great place to revel in island excitement as the trotters buzz around the track along with the buzz of spectators anticipating a winning pick. There is also a track in Summerside. The season runs from April through December.

The Most: PEI has a pair of “most per capita” elements anywhere in Canada. Other than golf courses, with 26 active ones on the island, do you have any idea what the second one is? Well, how about roads. There are roads everywhere here and be warned — signage isn’t great in many areas so if you have a hand-held GPS unit, be sure to take it with you because it will come in handy when you go exploring.

Potatoes: Spuds are grown pretty well everywhere here. And when they aren’t being grown it seems corn is the go-to crop. Potatoes are on a three-year cycle in the rich red soil here, mainly because they take so much of the nutrients out of the ground. So to bring the ground’s strength back up, crops like corn, for feed, and canola each take a turn before the spuds make their return.

Churches: This place is packed to the brim with places of worship and some of the buildings are magnificent. Surprisingly, alongside many of those buildings are cemeteries as each church, no matter the size, seems to have one in its yard.

Lobster tourism: This has become a huge business on the island. While the lobster season is broken into two time periods, and two specific areas off the shores, the tourism branch of the industry has taken off in recent years helping to fill the void. There are several places to hop about a boat, go for a cruise and lobster dinner, and find out about how the fisherman here are keen on protecting this vital industry. Along with that, catch-and-release tuna fishing has become a popular, and lucrative, business for the hard-working fisher-people of PEI.

Pay As You Leave: One interesting thing here has to do with coming onto and leaving the island. Getting onto PEI is free no matter if you come over by ferry or roadway. Getting off however is a bit pricier. Everyone, Islanders included, has to pay to leave Canada’s smallest province with prices varying dependent on whether you take the Northumberland Ferry or use the spectacular Confederation Bridge. As for plane travel, we’re not sure if a “departure tax” is levied on your ticket or not.

Beaches: If you’re a water person, you’re going to love it on PEI. There are beaches everywhere and the water is incredibly warm, given the Gulf Coast flow so with 1,100km of shoreline, and much of that designated as beaches, there’s room for everyone to frolic in the salt water under the summer sun. In all, there are 23 beaches including Provincial and National Parks, so somewhere here there’s definitely a spot for you and your family to enjoy.

Driving in the Dark: Somewhat surprisingly, driving here at night isn’t a scary proposition at all (well, except for the lack of signage). There are no big animals like moose, deer or bears that may come crashing out of the woods onto the highways as they simply don’t live on the island. Rather, the largest wildlife you’ll see here are foxes, and some say, coyotes, who apparently made their way onto the island via frozen winter seawater.

Downtown Vibe: The downtown area of Charlottetown is abuzz with activity in the late afternoon/evening/night, as people flock to Victoria Row for food, entertainment and just plain ol’ people watching. A great place to spend some time.

Deep-sea Fishing: If you’ve never tossed a line into the salt water and would like to make a bid for landing some mackerel, cod, or some extremely weird varieties of fish, give this adventure a go. There are plenty of businesses catering to land-locked hopefuls and if you land a big one, the on-board crew will fillet and clean your catch to take home and cook up.

Anne of Green Gables (the Musical): Laugh at me if you want, but even as a sports guy with very little cultural background, I loved this performance. Listed in The Guinness World Book of Records as the longest-running annual musical theatre production, this captivating story that has enthralled millions of people worldwide. Staged at the beautiful Confederation Centre in Charlottetown, this is a must-see.

Seaside Stroll: If you want to see where the Fathers of Confederation first set landed in 1864, then Peakes Wharf is the place to go. Today the area is a bit more “touristy” than back then, but even still, it’s a great place to go to sample local fare and see memorials to the founding fathers.



Seafood: I'm transformed from meat and potatoes to seafood, especially mussels. And for a prairie-raised kid to admit that, you know this fare is fantastic!

Golf: And finally, golf courses. Prince Edward Island is home to the most golf courses per capita in the country — 26 for a population of just over 146,000 full time citizens according to Stats Can. The Big 4 — Crowbush Cove, Dundarave, Brudenell and Mill River — are all owned by the provincial government although they are looking to sell them off. So if you’re looking for a tee time here, believe us, they aren’t all that hard to find as is anything else to do in this interesting, amazing part of our great country.

Even when it's miserable out, The Wolf is still a howling good play

By Gord Montgomery (iG)

PONOKA, AB — Even after all these years, the Wolf still has teeth. And plenty of them over 36 holes. You see, although some may now consider Wolf Creek Golf Resort long in the tooth, the Alberta icon of links style golf has continued to show it still  has some bite left no matter how good your game may be.

While the Old Course, the original Rod Whitman design set into the prairie landscape between Edmonton and Calgary may seem short on length to some, it is still big on challenges from start to finish. The fescue rough is still gnarly. The trees are still plentiful. And the bunkering, well, it lives up to the term “hazard” at each and every stop you may make in them during your round.

The thing with these tracks is this — don’t expect to be overwhelmed by pretty settings and good lies wherever your shots may lead you. Rather, this is golf in the truest sense of links style — awkward stances, deep pot bunkers where it’s sometimes better to go out sideways or backwards rather than forward, and huge waste bunkers flanking fairways that dramatically narrow the landing areas, especially when the wind is blowing.

Oh yeah, did we mention the breezes that frequent this place? Well, if not, they too are a part of the defence out here on both courses, the Old and the newer Links, making for more fun, and yes pain, as you make your way around these two great tracks.

The Old Course, which was home to a Canadian Tour (now PGA Canada - PGA TOUR) stop for over a decade, set the standard. This was the place where Alberta golf fans eagerly awaited the professionals to see how they’d fare with the Wolf and how they stacked up against their own game. This 18 has demanding tee shots through some narrow openings on a few holes, the par 4 second known as Sod Wall because of the green-fronting bunker as opposed to Walls of Wood, referring to the tree-lined chute your drive must traverse on this 358-yard test.  A great thing here are the par 3s and their lengths, ranging from 105 yards (from the middle silver tees) to 199. So, out here you must think your way around as much as blast your way around this layout which tops out at just over 6,600 yards.

The chute on the second hole off the tee box on the Old Course doesn't look all that large, and if you're even a bit off line it's not, but there is definitely room to squeeze a golf ball through there.

Then playing off that 18 is the newer Links Course, which is much bigger in both length and width than its older sister. This design uses waste bunkering to its advantage in making you choose the right angles for your opening salvo on each hole because if you get off on the wrong line you will find trouble … if you can find your ball in that confounded fescue.

This part of the facility stretches to almost 7,200 yards. The thing is, those again aren’t easily gained yards because of the care and precision that architect Rod Whitman took in putting this part of the sprawling playground together. Owner Ryan Vold informed us that this side of the property is beginning to come into its own and within a short period of time should be up to the total standards of what they, and the public, expect from this golf test.

And a word of advice here: Don’t let the placid start fool you on the Links Course. While some complain the first few holes aren’t exciting note that the same can be said for the jewel of Prince Edward Island — Crowbush Cove. It too has humble beginnings before it turns around and takes a few big bites out of your scorecard.

The 16th on The Links course is not only eye pleasing, it's a fun play. The par 4 features all that's great about this new nine at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, including fesuce grass, waste bunkers, trees and a large, elevated green.

On this side, the fun begins just before you head into the back nine. The seventh, eighth and ninth holes in particular open your eyes to the challenges ahead and those continue to come down upon you as you venture onwards to some truly tough challenges.

One thing to remember about playing either one of these courses is this — it doesn’t matter what sort of weather you run into out here because these 36 holes of fun, and frustration, can stand up to whatever Mother Nature tosses their way. The most recent stop I made there was on a rainy, cool day, where the greens were still running smoothly, and quicker than one would expect in the inclement conditions. As well, there was no pooling of water on any of the fairways because of the sandy soil here and while the bunkers were wet from upwards of 15mm of precipitation they were still playable so there was no free relief from any hazards on this day.

If you want to test your skills out of waste bunkers, then The Links course at Wolf Creek Golf Resort is the place you want to go.

As we wrapped up our 36 with smiles on our faces we knew that The Wolf had indeed reminds us that that old throwaway line — You’re not getting older, you’re getting better — is indeed the case at Alberta’s beloved Wolf Creek Golf Resort.

About the writer: Gord Montgomery is a retired sports editor of two weekly newspapers in the Edmonton area and is a member of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. He is now in his eighth year of writing for Inside Golf.
He can be reached at noraltagolf@gmail.com. He’s also on Twitter at @gordinsidegolf.

St. Eugene Resort looking to expand profile

CRANBROOK -  As of right now, St. Eugene Golf Resort is seen by many as a two-dimensional recreational area, a golf course and a casino. That's about to change though, thanks to the vision of the property's new CEO, Barry Zwueste.

The new head honcho wants to take this area, set amongst some of nicest backdrops anywhere in B.C. to hew heights by expanding on the services offered and by partnering with other facilities in the area to grow the interest of travellers by building off a great golf course and the popular casino.

"In addition to those, we want to expand to more activities by bringing together local businesses," he began in explaining where he wants to take this entire recreation-rich area. "We want to make those opportunities available to our guests so we have more of a family inclusive resort for a broader demographic."

One of the most intriguing ideas proposed in this interview by Zwueste was to incorporate the rich history of the St. Eugene property.  Initially constructed as a residential school, the main building houses a wealth of back stories that until now hasn't been made use of. The new boss though wants to change that by using local First Nation knowledge to inform and educate visitors about the traditions that are still alive but which may have been buried by time passing.

"We want to incorporate more First Nations programming, more hands-on activities to bring more people to the area to educate people on the culture and the school itself, no pun intended."

GOLF

Of course the No. 1 draw for people to head to this area of southern B.C. is the wonderful golf assignment. The 18-hole test is set up to be a fun challenge for anyone thanks to four tee boxes and provides great affordability with some wonderful Stay and Play packages.

Noting the abundance of courses in the area, St. Eugene's head golf pro, Max Sherwood stated, "When you want to stay on a golf property it all adds up that St. Eugene is a great place to come and stay ... and it's nice to just have to walk 80 yards from the hotel to the first tee box."

Over the years, his track has received rave reviews because of its playabiity.

"I have a conversation over and again about that," said Sherwood. "I had one yesterday with a gentleman who said that the course is so playable for his handicap level. He was your 20-plus handicapper and he said to me it was an appropriate challenge for his level of ability. If you want more of a challenge, well, just change up your tee box. And we've got our green speed at an appropriate level that mid-handicap, higher handicap players won't struggle. We don't need to make the game any more challenging than it already is."

One interesting note presented by Sherwood is that they are "seeing more and more groups of women, eight, 12, 16 on a getaway, coming here because of the entire resort, including a golf course with forward tees and bathrooms every three holes. We've tried to make ourselves accessible to everyone."

One other interesting tidbit Sherwood teed up during this interview was the fact that St. Eugene is willing and ready to work with other golf venues and help guests set up times to play them if they so choose.

"We have seven golf courses, five of which are public in the Kimberley/ Cranbrook area, Seven or eight years ago there were only a couple of golf courses down here. Now, once you get down here, people realize the value, the selection of courses, the different layouts have made this a destination," and to add to that, the course will set up tee times for you at any of the neighbouring courses.

SMOKEHOUSE RESTAURANTS

One of the great features at St. Eugene is the food - and this comes from a non-foodie writer. The fare offered in the two restaurants in the main building of the resort is outstanding and local produce is used as much as possible in satisfying the desires of hungry guests.

"We gave an incredible, dedicated culinary team here," the CEO proudly proclaimed of chefs that have come from across the country, and the world, for that matter. "They've made a lifestyle choice to settle here and they've brought their skills with them. They've seen what we have to offer locally in terms of protein, produce, fruits," in putting together a 100 Mile Menu.

"We do all our own smoking here and we are the only ones in the valley that provide in-house smoking. There is nothing that Chef Lonnie or Chef Doug won't smoke. We smoke our own cheese, we smoke our own tomatoes, we smoke our own protein products and it's all down in-house. We have very unique flavours and signature approach preparation," that must be sampled to truly appreciate.

CHANGING THINGS UP

Over the years this resort has been primarily seen as a three-season area starting in spring and ending in fall. Yes, it's a great spot in the spring for early season golf and the fall offers play until late in the season but Zwueste wants to take the seasons here one step further.

"It should be," he commented in relation to being a four-season destination. "We don't have an issue with 150 days of summer," and because of that, he wants to being offering more for resort guests who may not be into golf, or gambling, 24 hours per day, every day.

"There is fly-fishing, whitewater rafting, a trail that connects Cranbrook to Kimberley for cycling. This area has always been known as a good place for skiing, but there is also snowshoeing, ice climbing," and the hopes to open up the trail system to snow biking and this coming winter cross country ski trails will be cut into the golf course in order to add "the 150 days of winter," to the resort's recreational menu.

Also on tap is a new spa opening in the resort which will be the perfect way to end a tough day on the greens, on the slopes, or on the water in this wonderful area. On July 3 of this year, a full-service spa will swing open for business, marking the first of many new steps in the future life of St. Eugene.

"We'll offer the typical array of spa activities - massages, manicures, pedicures, but it's owned by two physicians out of Vancouver and they area also doing rejuvenation practices as well, so it is actually beyond a full-service spa. We are hoping to develop some really unique getaways and retreats for people."

In other words, Zwueste wants to make St. Eugene, and its neighbours, into a place where you can get away from it all, all year.

"This will all help our 150 days of winter (grow) and our summer business as well," Zwueste ended.

For more information on the St. Eugene Resort, go to their website at steugene.ca.