Now that’s a long drive!

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/06/2023 (1184 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The month of June brings with it the summer solstice — June 21, the day of the year with the longest hours of daylight. Extended daylight makes for easier driving — both golf and highway.

Last year, working off the bucket list a bit, I decided to take a long, long, long golf road trip to one of Canada’s most northernmost golf courses. Two days before the solstice, I played a course just south of the Arctic Circle, north of the shores of Great Slave Lake, which is where you’ll find Yellowknife Golf Club, in Yellowknife, N.W.T.

It’s pretty easy to find, actually. Head out to Edmonton, make a right, drive a slight bit past Yellowknife International Airport, and voila, you’re there. It only takes 28 hours.

This 18-hole course hosts a famous tournament every solstice, where golfers who sign up must pace themselves. The reason? It is 24 hours long. Knowing the actual time of day is a trick if you’re not used to it, but having enough light to find your ball is never a problem.

If you decide you want to make this journey, one thing you’ll have to prepare for is playing from sand. The fairways are all sand and, at times, gravel at the Yellowknife Golf Club. Before you start your round, you are given a small rubber mat with a patch of Astroturf on one side, to use when playing most of your fairway shots. There is also a curious local rule that allows you to “adjust” the ground around your lie to improve the chances of good contact, as long as your ball does not get closer to the hole. So, if you put your feet on either side of your ball, and wiggle both feet towards the ball, you can make a little sand tee! Sometimes it works, but in the more gravelly fairways, I recommend sticking with the provided mat. Another local rule is “no penalty if your ball is taken by a raven or any form of wildlife.”

Most of the greens are actual grass. A couple of the fairways had sand traps, which I thought was a hilarious little designation. There is a pro-shop, a driving range, and a full clubhouse/restaurant. If you play the first nine holes, you’re mostly playing the new holes added to the course a few years ago. The back nine, in keeping with the theme of this column, is what I’ll talk about here.

Hole 10 is a par 4 just off the front nine. Completing this hole takes you on a little drive through the N.W.T. pines and across a local highway to three of the most beautiful holes on the course. The elevated tee on the par 3 11th hole teases the vistas you are about to see. Hit this tee-shot well, as most of the fairway is a water hazard. After putting out, you move on to the spectacular hole 12; the course’s signature hole, in my opinion.

Take a moment from the tee at 12 to take it all in. Running along the shores of Yellowknife’s Long Lake, this hole is a postcard (younger readers, Google that). It plays as a par 5, and you have lots of fairway to work with, but try to stick to the high ground. If you get down into the valleys, your motorized golf cart might have a hard time, and just walking around down there can be a task. Dog-legging left, you chip onto the green with the lake glistening behind the flag. Hole 13 runs along 12 and requires four pokes for a par. Your lake views begin to fade at this point and, after the green, you are again crossing the highway to get back to the main part of the course.

Hole 14 is one of the more interesting tee boxes. You need to walk up the stairs of the clubhouse, and the tee lies off the rear deck of the clubhouse bar. Range-style mats are provided here — just be careful you don’t follow through too much and fall off.

Between holes 15 and 16 lie several pines which seem to be nicely spread out, at first. However, if you hit into this little strip, the sand is very loose, and the trees seem strategically placed to impair your sight lines. Hole 17 has a very nice tee amongst the multi-coloured rock strata of the region. Coming home on the 18th, you are treated to one of the best greens on the whole course.

If you have an empty gas station credit card and a reliable car, plan your visit today. More info is available at www.yellowknifegolf.com