Fairmont Banff Springs golf course in the Canadian Rockies
The Fairmont Banff Springs golf course is one of two classic, Stanley Thompson-designed courses in Alberta's Canadian Rockies. The Canadian National Railway commissioned Thompson to build both Jasper Park Lodge three hours north and Banff Springs to coincide with construction of the railroad that also brought resorts to the area, like Banff's famous castle hotel that overlooks the golf course.
Opened in 1928, the golf course is known around the world for one of the most exciting par 3s in golf, the "Devil's Cauldron" fourth, that plays from an elevated tee over water to a well protected green that sits right next to a jagged, rocky mountainside. The remainder of Fairmont Banff Springs is predominantly flat and winds along the Bow River, though a new, elevated tee was added on the 15th hole that plays well above the fairway and tees off towards Mount Rundle.
Les Furber helped renovate the course in 1998 and a new nine-hole course has been added, called the Tunnel.