Saskatoon : News & Views
Saskatchewan’s Secret Spot
By James McCarten
Jun 1, 2006

Green fees for 40 bucks and 7,300-yard tee decks await discovery just minutes south of Saskatoon

 

There’s a hoary old expression about the perils of judging a book by its cover. If an exciting new addition to the Canadian golf rota by the name of Dakota Dunes Golf Links is any indication, the maxim is doubly true when passing judgment on the latest layouts.

Located 25 kilometres south of Saskatoon, in a province too long obscured by the dazzle of Canadian golf’s more decorated backdrops, this striking Graham Cooke design—the product of a unique partnership between four of Saskatchewan’s First Nation bands—was named last year’s Best New Canadian Course by Golf Digest.

It’s a tremendous selling point for a young new track, and for general manager McLaren Taylor. It's an accolade made all the more remarkable by the fact that this province’s courses, new and old, are used to being overlooked by the Canadian golf establishment.

“We knew that it was a great design, but did we really think, being out in Saskatchewan, that we’d be recognized? No,” Taylor says matter-of-factly. “A lot of people don’t think golf is all that great in Saskatchewan, but there are a lot of great golf courses here. We usually get passed over on a lot of the [Top 50 or 100] lists.”

Call it the Canadian bias: Saskatchewan (and by association everything in Saskatchewan) is flat and boring—two things that generally don’t add up to world-class golf. It’s untrue, unfair and, as Dakota Dunes is out to prove, unjustified.

The loamy sand dunes and tall grasses of the province’s interior plains provide the dramatic setting for a rolling, links-style parkland course with receptive greens, five tee decks stretching from 5,000 to more than 7,300 yards and plenty of meat for the big hitter to chew on. Two of the par 5s are more than 600 yards long.

“If you can hit it, if you’ve got some length, you can reach ’em all, even though they are 600 yards,” says Taylor. “You can get there, because you can get the ball to roll a lot here.”

Eighteen holes at peak hours is never more than $45—another reason, paradoxically, that a golf course of the calibre of Dakota Dunes doesn’t always get its fair share of respect.

“I know I’ve been to some meetings… and you tell them you’re from Saskatchewan, and they ask you what your green fees are, and you say 40 bucks and they ask you if you’ve got grass on your greens,” he chuckles.

Dakota Dunes doesn’t yet have a permanent clubhouse; the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Commission is building a casino next door, which Taylor figures is likely to bring in some high rollers and land Dakota Dunes squarely on Canada’s must-play list.

“There’s buzz; I hear it all the time when people come back from Alberta and say their buddies are talking about this great course in Saskatoon that they’ve got to come play,” says Taylor.

“We expect it to drive a little more tourism traffic, which is kind of the way the business is going and the way Dakota Dunes looks for the future.”