03 GOLF GUIDE 2025 M A N I T O B A
Summer 2025
ith Canadians – or in this case, Manitobans – refraining from vacationing down south due to Donald Trump’s onerous tariffs, many people are looking for alternatives within Canada. If you happen to be a golfer – and are on a tight budget and can’t afford to venture out to Alberta or British Columbia to camp and golf – the reality is there are plenty of TAKE YOUR GOLF VACATION RIGHT HERE IN MANITOBA BY TODD LEWYS W great options right here in Manitoba. Really, it’s just a matter of which direction you want to go in. Head east, and you can plan a fabulous, budget-friendly golf getaway that starts with playing Quarry Oaks in Steinbach. With three nine-hole courses – desert, Oaks and Quarry – you can start the trip off with a leisurely nine holes or choose two of the nines to curate a challenging and memorable time on the links. If time allows, Steinbach Fly-In Golf Club is also a good choice. Always in great condition and featuring a forgiving design, it has a good mix of challenging and scoreable holes. From there, you can breeze down the Trans-Canada Highway to Falcon Lake Golf Course, where camping and great golf await. The golf course – whose signature hole is a long, challenging 600-yard par-five – is always in great shape, with camping, beaches, restaurants, shopping and services nearby in and around the charming town site. Next stop on the eastern tour would be Pinawa G.C. With its tree-lined fairways, rocky outcroppings and beautiful water views, the course is scenic and challeng- ing, providing enough shot making challenges for better players, while offering enough room for casual players to spray the odd shot. Finally, there’s Granite Hills in Lac du Bonnet with its rugged beauty, stunning lake vistas and demanding but fair layout.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GOLF CANADA
SANDY HOOK FEATURES A NICE MIX OF HOLES AND IS FUN TO PLAY.
Play from the tips, and you get all the challenge you want; play from the mid or forward tees, and the course becomes more manageable, and enjoyable. There’s also plenty of great golf and campsites north of the city in the Interlake. The good news is if you have the time, there are lots of excellent golf courses to play. For starters, there’s Netley Creek Golf Course and Sandy Hook Golf Course. Netley Creek, with its tight fairways, puts a premium on ac- curacy and patience, while Sandy Hook is a fun course to play. Not overly long but tight, there’s potential to shoot a low score if you keep it in play and chip and putt well. However, you can’t be too casual as there are enough trees in play to keep you honest. Two other courses – both run by the Lakeland Group, which also runs Falcon Lake – Grand Pines and Links at the Lake – are also fabulous places to play. Always in great shape with wide, well-manicured fairways and pristine greens, both courses are fair tests that are scenic, lush and playable. Play the proper tees, and you’re guaranteed to enjoy your round. The final stop on this northern golf tour must be Hecla Golf Course. You can choose to camp, or you can stay at the Hecla Lakeview
Most holes are separated from each other by stands of thick trees, while breezy condi- tions combine with moist lakeside air to make it hard to pick the right club on approach shots. The good news is that while the course usually plays longer than the listed yardage and has its fair share of trouble, the fairways are wide and there are places to bail out on approaches, making for a course that’s enjoy- able to play. To find out more about all the great golf and opportunities for stay-at-home golf vacations in Manitoba – there’s plenty of good golf to be found out west and south too – a good resource is Travel Manitoba at www.travelmanitoba.com.
Resort, which offers clean, reasonably priced rooms – plus a great restaurant – right next to the golf course. Scenic, beautifully conditioned and more challenging than it looks at first glance, the golf course is a genuine gem.
Golf season awaits. Come play with us.
225 4th Ave SW, Carman (204) 745-2366 dean@carmangolfandcurlingclub.com carmangolfandcurlingclub.com
A TRUE GEM, FALCON LAKE IS UNDER TWO HOURS FROM THE CITY, AND IS ALWAYS IN GREAT SHAPE.
PHOTO BY TODD LEWYS
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