Located just minutes south of Calgary, the D’Arcy Ranch Golf Club is a pristine 18-hole public golf course with a balanced design that maintains harmony with the tree-lined ravine, escarpments, slopes and water — a style and presence of national stature with unending challenges.
D’Arcy Ranch dips and dives out of a coulee, with the most memorable assignments crossing, running through or flirting with the edges of the natural ravine. The 148-yard third hole, for example, is a simple-but-sweet par 3 that plummets from an elevated tee into the valley below, with a hat-trick of sand-traps and a water hazard playing defence for the massive dancefloor. This seems like an ideal spot for an ace, offering a birds-eye view as your ball sails toward the 4.25-inch target.
The seventh hole is arguably the signature moment at D’Arcy Ranch. This 550-yard challenge runs right up the gut of the coulee and requires a string of well-struck shots — with a pond on the right, the approach could leave you weak in the knees — to set up a birdie try.
The highlights on the back nine include No. 14 — the last of a superb batch of shorties and the most significant forced carry for high-handicappers — and No. 16, which tips out at 450 yards and is especially tricky if the pin is tucked on the back-right corner of the green.
D’Arcy Ranch remains Pete Dye’s only 18-hole project on Canadian soil, but he can be proud of the linksy layout he left on the outskirts of this growing community just 15 minutes south of Calgary.