The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge鈥檚 golf course received the highest honour in SCOREGolf magazine鈥檚 top 59 Canadian public golf courses, being named No. 1.
鈥淭here are some great golf courses on that list,鈥� said Alan Carter, director of golf at JPL. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tremendous honour.鈥�
SCOREGolf selected 59 golf courses because of the number鈥檚 special meaning in the sport鈥攆ew players have achieved a score below 60.
This is the first time that SCOREGolf created an exclusive list of public courses. The publication releases a top-100 list every two years and many of the top courses are private, meaning that not everyone can play on them.
The magazine鈥檚 panel of experts bestowed JPL鈥檚 golf course with a 8.69 rating out of 10. Cabot Links in Inverness, N.S. followed close behind with a 8.63 and the Fairmont Banff Springs course rounded out the top three with a score of 8.59.
JPL鈥檚 course was also ranked the most beautiful and fun to play in Alberta.
鈥淥bviously the setting has a lot to do with that. The golf course here is so enjoyable for people of all levels to play,鈥� said Carter. 鈥淚 think the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge epitomizes what golf should be.鈥�
Golfers that Carter met when he began working at JPL 20 years ago still play on the course today. 鈥淲e have a lot people that come here and play golf for three and four days straight, in some cases multiple times in a day.鈥�
JPL鈥檚 golf course opened in 1925 and was designed by well-known Canadian golf course architect Stanley Thompson.
鈥淚 think more than anything it鈥檚 so enjoyable to go and play golf out there,鈥� said Carter. 鈥淲e never have to worry about when people get here because the golf course is always going to speak for itself.鈥�
Sarah Makowsky
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