Kananaskis Country Golf Course (Mount Lorette Course)

Overview: Mount Lorette is one half of the 36-hole Kananaskis Country Golf Course, set in the Rocky Mountain valley west of Calgary. Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed the layout around the natural valley floor, with the Kananaskis River, forest and limestone peaks supplying the course’s scale. It is an 18-hole par-72 course, but its difficulty is not simply a function of length. Uneven lies, changing elevation and the need to choose the correct side of a fairway all influence the approach into the greens.

History: Mount Lorette was the first of the Kananaskis courses to be designed and opened in 1983. Mount Kidd followed as the companion 18-hole course, creating a major public golf destination in the Rockies. The 2013 flood caused extensive damage to the facility, and a later restoration returned the two courses to play. Current official material supports the shared history, design and mountain setting, while tee yardages vary by restoration-era and current scorecard setup.

Did You Know? The course is named for Mount Lorette, the peak visible to the north from the property. The companion Mount Kidd takes its name from the peak to the west, so the pair acts almost like a geographic compass for the round. The valley location also places the golfer close to the Kananaskis River while the surrounding mountains remain in view on many holes.