We’re a bit biased, of course, but we think this is the best time of year.

The fairways and greens are now open. The birdie putts are starting to fall. Competitive golfers are preparing and game-planning for their big events, daydreaming of winning a provincial or national title in 2026. Or, better yet, winning both.

If you’ve entered a big event, or at least signed up for a qualifier, you have a lot to look forward to.

We’ve scanned the schedule for what we’re calling our Trophy 18— a selection of signature, standout and make-or-break holes from the various venues for the provincial and national showdowns to be played in Alberta this summer. 

From beauties to beasts, and some that fit both, here goes … 

PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Hole 8 at Sundre Golf Club

Host of 2026 Alberta Best Ball Championship (May 18)

This might be the skinniest fairway in all of Alberta. Standing on the tee, it certainly feels that way. As long as you can find the short stuff, even with a hybrid or iron, this is a golden opportunity for birdie. If you’re in the trees, it’s added pressure on your best ball partner. 

Hole 16 at Water Valley Golf & Country Club

Host of 2026 Alberta Men’s Mid-Master Championship (June 23-25)

This Par-3 is easy on the eyes but also capable of ruining a good round. Players will be tempted to club up to avoid dropping one into the drink, but too much oomph will leave a delicate chip — or sand shot — from deep of the green. You’ll need to trust your distance control.   

Hole 8 on Big River Nine at Fort McMurray Golf Club

Host of Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship (July 7-9)

The resilient Fort McMurray Golf Club will be a treat for tournament competitors. This Par-5 is one of several beauties beside the Athabasca River, but don’t let the scenery distract you from the task at hand — weighing whether you can muscle your second shot over a creek or if you’d be wise to lay up.

Hole 15 at The Hamptons Golf Club

Host of Alberta Women’s Amateur Championship (July 7-9)

You typically expect the shortest Par-3 on the scorecard to provide a sigh of relief, but that’s not necessarily the case here. Although it’s barely over 100 yards, it’s all carry across the water to a shallow green that offers some devilish pin positions. The sigh of relief comes if you walk away with a two putt par.

Hole 10 at The Coyote Golf Club

Host of 2026 Alberta U19 Championship (July 14-16)

Distance can be both your best friend and biggest enemy on this picturesque Par-5. With a big bop off the tee, and these talented teens are certainly capable of going deep, there’s a good chance of getting home in two. Thing is, that means firing your second shot across a long pond. Better to play it safe?  

THE Coyote Golf Club Hole 10 Flyover

Hole 4 on Old Course at Wolf Creek Golf Resort

Host of 2026 Alberta Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship (July 21-23)

A narrow chute that is nicknamed Hawk’s Alley, this is one of Alberta’s most intimidating tee-shots. For Wolf Creek’s tightest fairway, select the straightest and most trustworthy club in your bag — and don’t you dare think about driver! If you empty a sleeve of balls into the creek or shrubbery, you’ll spoil your trophy chances. 

Hole 5 at The Ranch Golf & Country Club 

Host of 2026 Alberta Women’s Senior Championship (July 29-31)

Regulars at The Ranch call it ‘The Pit’ or ‘Pit of Doom.’ Just short of the fifth green, there’s a deep grass gully that you’d really rather avoid. If your ball settles at the bottom, you’ll be about 75 feet below the dance-floor. Even if you’re a wizard with a wedge, it will be a difficult recovery.

The Ranch G&CC – Hole 5 Course Tour

Hole 16 at Trestle Creek Golf Resort

Host of 2026 Alberta Men’s Senior Championship (August 4-6)

This island-green assignment is one of those that you start to think about — and start to worry about — several holes in advance. Whether you’re sitting atop the leaderboard or trying to pull off an epic comeback, this signature shortie has turning-point potential. From an elevated launchpad, the wind always seems to be a factor.

Hole 10 on Raven Course at Priddis Greens

Host of the Alberta Open Championship (August 11-13)

Alberta Open competitors are pumped to play the Raven at Priddis Greens. Among the many highlight holes is No. 10, a fun Par-4 that tumbles downward into the valley and offers both a superb view and strong chance for birdie. Be sure to examine your putt from all angles because this green is sneaky subtle.

Hole 18 at Alberta Springs Golf Resort

Host of 2026 Alberta U15 & U13 Championship (August 17-18)

The youngsters always post some astonishing scores at the Alberta U15 & U13 Championship, and so often the trophy chase comes right down to the wire. This Par-5 is reachable in two, but the work isn’t done yet. On a multi-tiered green, and with spectators gathered around, can you close it out with the flat-stick? 

Hole 7 at Broadmoor Public Golf Course

Host of 2026 Alberta All Abilities Championship (August 20-22)

This is a knee-knocker, especially if your misses tend to wander left. There’s a water hazard that runs all the way up the left of this fairway, then wraps around the back of the green. The good news is it’s relatively early in your round, allowing some time to recover from a big number.

Hole 1 at Connaught Golf Club

Host of 2026 Alberta U17 Championship (August 24-26) 

At a tree-lined layout like Connaught, that first swing is arguably the most important of the day. With timber on either side of the fairway, this opening drive demands a high degree of accuracy. If you’re able to execute and find the short stuff, you’ll feel like you’ve set the tone for a stripe show.

Hole 17 at Coloniale Golf Club

2026 Alberta Men’s Super Senior Championship (September 3-4) 

If you have been struggling out of the bunkers, and you’re bound to be in a few on this links-style course, you might be shaking in your soft spikes as you size up this approach. The putting surface at No. 17 is surrounded by sand, five traps in total. If you’d rather not rake, there’s really no good miss. 

Holes 4/15 at Kananaskis Country Golf Course

Host of 2026 Alberta Interclub Championship (September 8)

The Alberta Interclub Championship utilizes both courses in K-Country, so how about a two-for-one? Whether you’re playing the signature fourth hole on the Mount Kidd layout or aiming across the river on No. 15 on Mount Lorette, you need to keep your tee-ball dry before you can think about draining the birdie putt.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Hole 16 at Mickelson National Golf Club

Co-host of Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship (July 27-30)

We all know how Phil Mickelson feels about “hitting bombs,” and that is certainly the strategy on No. 16, where you blast away at the green and hope to be putting for eagle. Could we see an albatross during the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship? On this dandy of a drivable Par-4, it’s a definite possibility. 

Hole 9 on Heritage Nine at Heritage Pointe Golf Club

Co-host of Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship (July 27-28)

There should be some drama on this hole during the second round of the Canadian Men’s Amateur, especially among players figuring they need a birdie or eagle to make the cut. It’s possible to shave a stroke or even two on this Par-5, but it will require a heroic second shot into an island green.  

Heritage Pointe – About The Course

Hole 18 at Royal Mayfair Golf Club

Host of CPKC Women’s Open (August 19-23)

When Royal Mayfair last hosted the LPGA Tour stars in 2013, Lydia Ko capped a dominant performance with one more birdie on the closing hole. While Ko was cruising to victory, No. 18 has all the necessary ingredients for a dramatic finish — especially if the Sunday pin is tucked left, forcing a nervy approach across a pond.

Hole 14 at Pine Hills Golf Club

Host of 2026 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship (September 16-18)

Many Alberta-based golfers consider this course to be one of our hidden gems, a secret that will be shared as this national championship is contested in Rocky Mountain House. Hole 14 is Pine Hills at its finest — peaceful, framed by tall trees and with interesting angles that reward precise placement or crafty shot-shaping.  

Pine Hills GC Hole 14 – Flyover

Naturally, the best golf holes in the world are, at their essence, exceptional in their design merits. But they almost always have a setting, an ambiance, a natural beauty, that truly makes them worthy of the accolades. In other words, they playbeautifully and they look beautiful! The par-5 11th at Blackhawk is such a hole.

A gorgeous, down-the-hill, par-5 that begins the exceptional stretch of “valley holes” at the private Blackhawk Golf Course near Edmonton, the 11th always serves up one of the most exciting moments of the round.

Of course, “excitement” accompanies the golfer throughout a round at Blackhawk. The routing, which features plenty of perched tees, breathtaking bunkering, cunning contours, and heroic shot options, is, rightfully regarded as one of the top private golf experiences in the country. Last year Blackhawk, which is located just southwest of Edmonton along the pine-coated banks of the North Saskatchewan River, was ranked No. 15 in SCOREGolf’s rankings of the Top 100 Courses in Canada.

Designed by architect Rod Whitman (an Albertan who grew up just an hour, or so, south of Blackhawk near Ponoka), Blackhawk was to some extent, a groundbreaking achievement. Although it boasts similar trademarks of his earlier work at nearby Wolf Creek, this was one of the first courses in the country to embody the contemporary “minimalist” style.

Unquestionably, Whitman gravitated to that style – think heavy use of natural features, non-formulaic and highly-strategic holes, hand-carved bunkers that appear natural, fairways that simply follow the lay of the land, etc. – thanks to his extensive work with arguably the two most important pioneers of the “Golden Age” renaissance. That would be the late Pete Dye and his good friend, Bill Coore.

The “Golden Age” of golf course architecture was, predominantly, the 1920s when great architects such as Alister MacKenzie, A.W. Tillinghast, and Canada’s Stanley Thompson built many of the world’s finest courses.

Not surprisingly, this influence is noticeable throughout Blackhawk, including, of course, the fantastic par-5 11th, which is dubbed “Peninsula.”
“First of all, the setting there is stunning,” says Whitman. “From high on the bench where the tee is situated, you’re treated to a beautiful sight of the valley and the river. The anticipation is always high.”

Indeed, with many pivotal holes yet to come, this is definitely “gut check” time for the golfer. And the 11th is a hole where many things – some good, some bad! – can happen.

“To me, the fact that everything is running away from the golfer on the second shot is ideal,” says Whitman. “When it plays firm and fast, which it’s supposed to, even the average player has a chance of knocking it on the green in two here and making an eagle.”

Fittingly, it’s the low running shot that uses the natural landforms that is the ideal play to the green. However, as Whitman is quick to point out, there is plenty of trouble.

“Having the main hazard behind the green and also to the right of the green presents issues. The good player must control distance. And missing to the right is one of the most common mistakes in golf. So needless to say, there is plenty of trouble, yet there is a great opportunity for a low score on the hole.”

While the hole, which covers 532 yards from the regular member tees, isn’t “short,” the big elevation change and firm-and-fast fairway certainly makes it play much shorter. A clutch of beautiful bunkers (the hole features a massive bunker complex down the right side) and a newly added wood bulkhead around the green (the Pete Dye influence?) are other key aspects of the hole.

“This hole is always a favourite with our members,” says Blackhawk’s Head Golf Professional, Kevin Chow. “It kind of has it all. In my opinion, it’s truly one of the great holes in Alberta.”