Features Golf
Alberta golf course to be revitalized

U.K.-based golf course architectural firm Lobb & Partners has been retained to revitalize Waterton Lakes Golf Course in southwest Alberta.

The 99-year-old golf course is owned by Parks Canada. It originally opened as a nine-hole course and expanded to 18 holes in 1935. Through the 1950s, further improvements were made to the course through the guidance of Stanley Thompson, arguably Canada’s most famous golf course architect.

Waterton Lakes Golf Course is operated by Lakeland Golf Management, based in Winnipeg. The firm operates five courses in Manitoba and four in Saskatchewan. Parks Canada has awarded Waterton Lakes a 25-year lease to manage, operate, maintain and make capital improvements to the golf course.

“Lakeland Golf Management is excited to work with Lobb & Partners to help revitalize this historic course for visitors and locals to enjoy for generations,” Harry Brotchie, president, Lakeland Golf Management Inc., said. 

Alex Hay, Lobb & Partners’ Canadian partner and design associate, said the firm’s approach to intelligent design and sustainability strives to maximize the positive impacts Waterton Lakes can have on its social and environmental surroundings.

“We believe when managed properly, golf courses provide many positive benefits to local environments and wider communities,” he said. “A sustainable approach was part of golf in the beginning and it must be part of golf in the future. We look forward to working with Lakeland Golf Management on this exciting project.”

As part of its contribution to this long-term project, Lobb & Partners recommends increasing the connection with the surrounding natural landscape and helping educate golfers on the importance of protecting and respecting the rare flora and fauna on the property.

Waterton Lakes Golf Course is home to such wildlife as deer, elk and moose. Occasionally, cougars and bears have been spotted roaming the grounds. 

More than 1,400 forms of flora – many species of which aren’t found anywhere else in Alberta – also populate Waterton Lakes – “where the mountains meet the prairies.” 

The golf course remains today an important attraction with Waterton Lakes National Park and is regarded as a strong community asset.

Both Lakeland Golf Management and Lobb & Partners wish to ensure the course is not just preserved, but enhanced, for future generations to enjoy.

In addition to this project, Lakeland Golf Management has entered into an agreement with Lobb & Partners to assist, as needed, with future review, planning and design solutions for other properties in its portfolio.

Lakeland Golf Management provides design, consulting, operational and management services for a wide range of golf courses. The firm is led by Harry Brotchie, a past president of the PGA of Canada and current president of the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada.

Lobb & Partners is an international multi-discipline practice that provides comprehensive services for golf development, including golf course design and re-design. The firm was founded in 2016 by Tim Lobb, who has 25 years of experience working in the industry. In 2018, the firm expanded to Canada under the guidance of Alex Hay and Oliver Tubb. Lobb & Partners continues to grow globally and opened an office in South Korea in 2019.