Assiniboine links as easy as spelling… Assiniboine

As golf season comes to a close for the 2026 season, we are teased with a forecast that puts Saturday of the Thanksgiving weekend in the mid-20s. With all the family in town, and all that turkey that needs roasting, it seems like getting one last golf round in glorious October sunshine might be difficult.

Never fear! When you tell your significant other that you volunteer to pick up family at the airport, throw your sticks in the back, and leave early. Head towards the airport on Ness — but instead of heading directly to the terminal — look for a CF-5 fighter jet and you will be near Assiniboine Golf Club.

This is a nine-hole course that does its best to be an 18-hole offering. It does this by either providing two greens per fairway, or alternate tee locations per fairway.

It has a decent fleet of golf cars, but there is no real need for them unless you have mobility issues — this is a nice flat walk around Deer Lodge Curling Club and the St. James Civic Centre. The clubhouse is huge, but don’t go hungry! You’ll easily find a table and comfortable furnishings, but there is no food services at this club anymore. Munchies and bevvies are available at the pro desk, though.

Hole one checks golfers on their aim right away. There are sand traps on either side of the fairway at the distances where average hitters would have their first or second bounces off the tee. The green is surrounded by bush, so try not to overpower your approach.

Meanwhile, the second hole walks you back to where you started, but holds off on the sand until you get close to the green.

Hole three is where you need to start playing the long shots. It is a lengthy par 5 and it runs along Truro Creek, slowly bending towards the right. At the end of the fairway, golfers are offered two greens. You play the right one the first time through, then the left on the back nine.

The fourth hole switches everything around. It is a very short par 3, and it has two different tee boxes.

But the fifth hole checks your accuracy off the tee with a narrow passage that eventually opens up to a large fairway. Five has two greens, but the south green is currently under repair.

Hole six has two tees, and hole seven has two greens. On seven, try to keep your shots centre or left of centre. Going too far to the right is dangerous (there’s a hydroelectric substation there).

The eighth hole heads north, and it plays quite differently depending on whether you are on the front or back. The front is a very long par 3, while the back is shorter and more forgiving.

Coming home, you play a long par 5 that, again, slightly bends along to the right. If you tee errantly to the left, your ball is gone. The bush mid-fairway on the left is thick and luscious — bad for finding a Titleist Pro V1 (OK, a recycled Top Flite 3, don’t judge me).

The best aspect of the ninth’s fairway is the view of the clubhouse behind the green. This side of the facility has an outdoor patio and umbrella-clad tables. You can pretend there is a crowd cheering your last putt before submitting your card.

If you do go this fall, I wouldn’t play yellow or orange. With all the autumn abscission litter lying about, white balls are the only way to go.

The club will be open this weekend, but past that depends on weather. In the meantime, happy Thanksgiving, and see you next season.

Take Nine is the sports section’s newest edition where freelancer Ryan Desjarlais highlights nine-hole golf courses around the Keystone province.