Shawnee Slopes

This week I wanted to try a course that I'd never played before, and after doing some research online, I found a course called Shawnee Slopes in Calgary's south west. It's reasonably priced at about $50 for 18 holes, although the golf cart rental price seemed a little skewed at $35 (especially when you're not providing GPS). Seems to me it would make much more sense to have a $60-65 green fee and $20-25 cart rental. We decided to make the rare choice to leave the golf cart behind and get the exercise from walk the course.

The course was in great shape, and you can't help but be impressed with the majestic trees that line most of the fairways. Riddled with some green side bunkers and some thick rough, the course offers many challenges. We were greeted by a really friendly beverage cart girl on the third hole, which was a pleasant site on this stifling summer afternoon; unfortunately this was the only time we saw her, leaving us running on fumes by the 18th hole. I was a little frustrated with the inconsistencies difference between the scorecard yardage and the yardage posted on the tee boxes, often out by 20 yards.

In the end, I found myself disappointed with a course that I thought I was really going to enjoy. It's unfortunate to see a course with so much potential fall short on the finer details. With some new promotional/marketing strategies (including an updated/modern website), a couple operational adjustments, additional on course signage, this could be a much more golfer friendly experience.