Finding Alberta’s Greatest Nine Hole Courses – Mannville Riverview Golf Course

(round was played July 22nd, 2019) I had never heard of this golf course until some research for work uncovered its existence. If you aren’t going to read any further from this point all I’ll say is you HAVE to play this golf course.

The Rundown:

Location: Village of Mannville – 1 hour 30 mins. east of Edmonton just off Highway 16.

Price: $22

Yardage: 2,674 yards from the whites (three sets of tees: red, white, blue) Par 35 - 2 Par 3’s, 6 Par 4’s, 1 Par 5. Something signature: My friend Alana and I were quite fond of the bridges crossing over the river at many points during the round. The view from the patio makes it quite easy to stay for few post round brews as well...

Playing Tip: Very tight golf course with plenty of dog legs. A regular at the golf course would know the lines to take to cut off the dog legs but play for the widest part of the fairways and the 150 rocks and you’ll be just fine.

Do it for the Gram: Gotta line up for a photo on the par 3 3rd. See below. It captures the elevation change that you experience over the course of the round and has all of the features that makes Mannville Riverview Golf Course so special.

Unique Characteristics:

The clubhouse looks over the whole property and the large Canada and Alberta (GolfLifeAB let's go!) flags can be seen from any point you are on the golf course. The ninth also heads straight back to it's patio where golf fans from around the world will cheer you on, libation in hand, as you make that final walk up the fairway that completes your round.

But the patio could be one of the best in the Province, no joke.

Lots of drive-able par 4’s. Ryan was quiet excited about the opportunity. If I was better at golf I could have taken advantage of them. They are short par 4’s but they still demand solid tee shots.

The Vermillion River winds through what seems like the whole golf course as a hazard you always have to think about when you’re playing. The sound of it passing through the holes is quite pleasant and just adds to the overall character of the golf course. Even if it consumes a lot of golf balls (as it did for myself) it's quite nice.

A True Hidden Gem:

If I was living out in the Mannville area I’m fairly confident I could play that golf course as a member for the rest of my life and never get bored. It’s that good and that much fun to play. It isn’t the longest golf course and there are probably only two holes that you really need to hit the big stick on but you have to be accurate from the tee box to score well.Mannville has a population of just over 800 people and is located in Alberta’s heartland. I stole that fancy line from the internet but it sounded like it was a very accurate representation of the surroundings the golf course is nestled within. There were cattle farms off the highway on our drive in, canola fields in full bloom, and we experienced a slight drop into what seemed like a miniature river valley. Everything was absolutely stunning. Alberta boasts the Rocky Mountains and some impressive river valleys that get a lot of attention for how visually breathtaking they can be and there’s no denying that. But there has to be a little love for our rolling prairies.And this could be from someone that probably doesn’t appreciate them enough also but after heading east for the last couple of years, road tripping to Saskatoon, I’d look out the window driving along the highway and have to double take at the beautiful visuals the prairies would provide.Mannville Riverview captures all of this perfectly with a fun little loop that left me and my friend Alana saying: “Wait, we’re done already?” It seems that this is just another course to add to the list of top quality tracks that are out east of Edmonton joining Whitetail and Coal Creek. I guess I’ll have to venture out east to a few more courses on the Yellowhead if the quality continues to be this consistently superb. Anyone have any other recommendations?

My one “Course Conditions” comment:

Greens were some of the best I had putted on all year.

Final thoughts:

I can see this course getting on the nerves of someone that is really all-in on hitting driver everywhere. You definitely have to finesse your way around this place to score well and for me I had a lot of fun in navigating those challenges. Even with as many balls I blasted into the Vermillion River. The course does have one par 5, however at 423 yards it’s played at a fairly standard par 4 length. The dog leg definitely makes it tougher but shouldn’t be an issue for those who hit the fairway to have a really good look at birdie. I felt guilty rolling in my 15 footer for birdie when it felt like I was scrambling for a solid par the whole time. But I'll take it! If this golf course was just a little closer to my home base of Sherwood Park I would be playing it once a month. For anyone making a trip out east, it’s just off the Yellowhead and will make for a delightful little golf stop, I highly recommend the visit. Even though we are in the early parts of my great nine hole golf journey, we may already have a lock for a top 5 candidate for Greatest Nine Hole track in Alberta. It's courses like this that motivate me even more to journey across the province to find and play these nine hole wonders. Guys, I'm not sure if you can tell, but I am having a lot of fun with this!