If you don't have luck on your side, you might want to bring an extra sleeve of balls for your round at River Ridge Golf and C.C., which is located on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River on the southwest outskirts of Edmonton. Although the river is never really in play, there are water hazards lurking on 13 of 18 assignments at the 6,620-yard layout, including eight before the turn.
Sandpiper Golf and Country Club is a "country" club in the other sense of the word, a pleasant surprise that's located along a secondary road just outside of Edmonton in Sturgeon County and surrounded by farmland. It's not a golf course that will catch your attention from afar, but if you don't stop, you won't realize what you're missing.
On many golf courses the last four holes can kill your round. At Raven Crest Golf & Country Club in Edmonton, it's the first four holes. But even if the first four may feel like going four rounds with heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, there is still plenty of time to put a smile on your face -- and some circles on your scorecard -- before your round is done, Wes Gilbertson writes.