Enjoy the lush greens at Black Bear Golf Club

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/09/2021 (1503 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This week we travel northeast of Winnipeg out on top of the rock croppings of the Canadian Shield. Located just off of the beautiful Lee River in the Lac Du Bonnet area, you will find nine beautiful holes of golf that include cliffs, fields, ponds, and granite. Welcome to the Black Bear Golf Club.

Many of the province’s golf courses have dry, brown fairways due to this year’s drought. Not here.

The fairways and tee boxes are emerald green and healthy, and all the large, luscious greens on this course are in fantastic shape. Kudos to the groundskeepers.

Now, if you are a golfer who fears sand traps, fear not. There are no traps here. Water hazards, though…

This course may only play as a par 34 from the whites and 33 from the reds but do not underestimate the playability of this layout. The website advertises Black Bear as a good course for beginners and novices, and if you play from the reds that is true. However, playing on a Sunday, where the groundskeepers seemingly put the white tee markers and flag pins in tournament-style locations, this course has challenge enough for any experienced ball striker.

The first hole is a great little par 3 warm-up. A very larg,e lichen-covered boulder decorates the fairway to the right just off the tee. The green is huge, as are all the greens on this course, which helps this hole play relatively straightforward. The second hole is also a relatively simple par 3, but two large oaks in front and slightly right of the green can frustrate your shot. If you drift too much to the right, your ball will get wet.

Hole 3 is where the course starts to challenge players off the white markers.

When I played, the tee was tight to the right on a hole that doglegs right. A large water hazard – let’s call it a pond – starts about 125 yards off the tee and extending almost all the width of the fairway. A good drive is needed to avoid swimming with the ducks. Doable, but for novices the view of the hazard’s thick flora might rattle the tee effort. Hole 4 is a very short par 3 with no particular dangers, but there is a large rock face element at the base of the tee block. Normally, this is just a pleasant visual. As it turned out in my game, a topped ball off the tee ramped up this little exposed face, flew up, and landed on the green. Thank you, ancient craton.

Now that you’re all warmed up, it’s time to tackle the course’s only, but immense, par 5. You tee box is elevated about seven metres about the fairway, and there is a very large water hazard at the base of the tee box. The water should not come into play if you hit even a modest tee shot. Past the hazard is a huge, wide, flat fairway, so smack away on your second shot. However, just before the enormous green is another enormous water hazard. The yardage on this hole is such that if you are going for the green on your third shot, you had best hit it square, or your ball will go for a swim. If you ever wonder what the yardages are to any green on this course, you need not look for stakes in the ground. Look for large, suspiciously out of place granite boulders. They indicate the hole is 150 yards away.  

After the straightforward par 4 sixth hole, you’ll need to follow the path along the right of the green up onto the rocky cliff to find the white tees of hole seven. Here, your 10-metre elevated tee box overlooks holes 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Once you soak in the impressive expanse in front of you, you realize that hole 7 plays relatively straight forward. Your tee shot from here looks very impressive due to the height. Even a duff looks fine.

Hole 8 is perhaps the course’s signature hole. It is a par 4, and on the scorecard, the 284 yards might make this a reachable green for heavy hitters. Alas, that would be too easy. To get to the elevated green, you must also consider the last of the sizeable water hazards that lies just around the range of a novice from the tee, and, of course, covers most of the fairway’s width. Finishing off your round is a nice short par 4 with a slight dogleg right. The green is blind from the tee, so when you clear the ninth green, be courteous, and ring the big bell for the players behind you.

It is a short course, but you may want to rent a ride for your round due to the elevation changes. The clubhouse is a decent size, and since there was a crew dismantling a wedding setup from the night before, it can obviously handle special events. Tee times are available by calling 204-345-9977, and you can learn more about the course at blackbeargolf.ca