Mining and match play

Now that we are in the summer months, many folks are considering their sunny day plans. Many are staying in Canada for their summer vacations, and with such a huge country to explore, why not? Speaking with many Manitobans over the decades, I have come to form the opinion that many of us haven’t taken the time to even explore our own vast province, let alone others. Maybe this is the year Manitobans change that.

I had plans to visit the northern part of our province last year, but with the fire crisis, I felt that being a tourist would be inappropriate. This year I did go up north, and many of the people I spoke to were very happy to see tourists return. One of the places I visited was Snow Lake, home to the excellent Manitoba Mining Museum, and the picturesque Wekusko Falls. This active mining town has many amenities, including a golf course!

The clubhouse is on a rock face that overlooks the first tee and ninth green. It has a full service restaurant, large patio, and a fleet of riding cart rentals. I would recommend getting a cart on this course, as it plays long with many significant elevation challenges. This course is situated on terrain that hasn’t evolved to support golf grass. Expecting Glen Abbey first cuts this far north would be unrealistic, but you will find well maintained fairway lawns and true grass greens. The prolific white and yellow flowers scattered throughout the fairways made me choose to play the orange balls I bought in Vancouver, B.C., earlier this season.

As mentioned, elevation changes are a main feature of these links. To get to the first tee, you have to go down to the valley floor from the clubhouse. Once on the tee, you look at an uphill fairway with no visible green. Fortunately, the only challenge on this hole is accommodating up-slope play. Now, once you are finished on the green, stick to the left pathway. If you take the right pathway, you end up at the tee for the fifth hole. You paid to play all the holes, so don’t skip three of them.

Looking down the fairway of number two, you can see a row of trees on the left, then the waters of Canada Creek past that. On the west shore, about 500 metres across the crick, you can see the devastation of the 2025 forest fires. The entire western shoreline is scorched. I am very happy the fire didn’t make it across the waters, and I am sure the residents are too!

Hole three is a par 3, hole four is a par 4, and hole five is a par 5. Not much challenge on three, but four does introduce water hazards; a creek around 200 m off the tee, and a pond just before the green. Five is a long one, and when I was playing, the cut was a bit long because the mowers couldn’t handle the wet week they had. This made making the green in regulation a tad more difficult than normal.

Number six starts on an elevated tee into another sunken fairway. Here I would play left if you can. This fairway is narrow compared to previous holes. The green plays up from the fairway, so mind your carry. Seven has a highly elevated tee, and the fairway is the narrowest on the course. The green has some nice views here. East, you see the head frame of the mine. Southwest, you see the clubhouse. Finally, south provides an elevated view of your final destination.

Eight is the hardest hole in the program, despite the fact it is only a par 3. The green is dogleg left with respect to the tee, and you cannot see it from the markers because it is on top of a large elevated ridge. If you go too far left, bush. If you over hit, bush. If you go right, bush. Even if you do make the green in one shot, it is slanted significantly left to right. By the time you get up there, your ball may have rolled off! There is a bright side to this hole; the green here is in excellent shape. It was the best one of the course during my round.

The signature hole is number nine. This is a significantly elevated tee, about 10 m above the fairway. The green is a hard dogleg left at the end of the short cut, and it is protected on the turn by an annoying aspen tree and an equally irritating duck pond. There is a hydro stand beside the green, and if you are too close to the poles, you’ll need to take the recommended club length lift.

This is a popular event site, so I would call ahead, to make sure there are tee times. There are a couple of hotels near the museum, but if you have kiddies with you, I would recommend the hotel near the beach/community pavilion. There is a hospital next door, and a grocery store right across the street. Also, a provincial park, the one with the waterfalls, is close by and has ample camping spots. For tee times, call 204-358-2744.