Mighty Peace Golf and Country Club

You can never get tired of playing different courses. On the back roads driving between Peace River and Grimshaw, I pulled in through the wrought iron gates of the Mighty Peace Golf Club. It started out as a 9 hole track some forty four years ago in 1980 and the back 9 was completed in 1989. I believe current ownership has been looking after things since 2016.

The pro shop attendant tossed me the keys to a Club Car and gave me the go ahead to start on Hole 10 when I was ready. Considering this was a Saturday morning that was kind of unexpected but that was his call.

My stepping onto the tee box was accompanied with the croaking from a pair of ravens who had gathered to assess my drive up the 10th fairway. Not having golfed here before I quickly pulled out the phone and opened up Google Maps to find there was a water hazard cutting across the fairway 195 yards from the tee. A relaxed 5 iron split the fairway and ran out to 185 yards which left a pitching wedge into a green cloaked in morning shadows.

The tee boxes were level, generous in size and were in fair condition. The fairways, although somewhat bumpy in places were plush and turn gently both left and right. There is plenty of room off the tees for hitting driver but there are a couple of holes that it would be prudent to use a different club. There are just over a dozen bunkers on the course and are primarily found greenside.

The greens varied in size from around 4500 to 5800 square feet so they made for difficult targets on a couple of occasions. Greens played very nice, approach shots weren't running away and putts rolled where you aimed them. Pace was consistent all the way around. Water hazards include five ponds and a couple of small creeks.

There is a practice putting green in front of an older clubhouse. There is a 250 yard driving range across the railway tracks south of the parking lot and immediately east of their RV park.

Solid ball striking, good course management and strong putting can make for good scores. I was happy to shoot 3 under my handicap.

I was a bit disappointed to find the Mighty Peace GC is not affiliated or a member of the RCGA so golfers are unable to record their round for handicap purposes.

Ah yes, the Mighty Peace...the clubhouse has that dusty smell daring you to guess it's age. If you look carefully on the course, you will see some of the railroad tie and gravel paths that surely guided golfers of decades ago to and from tees and greens, now, barely visible as they trail off into the trees that have overtaken them, hiding their final destination, but still taunting you...

While I was hopeful, I must say I was unfortunately disappointed. Many of the fairways are lumpy and bumpy, some to point of barely drivable with a power cart. The damage from winter kill was undeniable on many greens. It also looked to me like the course was originally a 9-hole then, expanded to 18, which would make sense, given it's age. I'm not exactly sure and the website gives no indication that I can find, but my guess would be it exceeds 50 years. Still, my hope is that it will continue to be supported by locals and tourists to the area. There was a 9-hole not far from this location that has recently been permanently closed. My informant was of the opinion it was likely due mostly to poor management. Overall, play it if you're desperate, but don't go with expectations too high.