Blue Devil Golf Club | Golf Course Review

Course: Blue Devil Golf Club
Location: 2300, 194 Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta
Phone: 403-452-7892
Website: www.bluedevilgolf.com
Architect: Browning Horrocks Golf Design

Blue Devil Golf Club opened its doors to the public in late 2012.  The course, which was designed by Calgary architect Gary Browning, reached an almost urban legend status over the past few years with varying theories about what the finished product would look like and why exactly it was taking so long to build.  It is my understanding that Blue Devil began as a labor of love for cable magnate J.R. Shaw some 5+ years ago.  I recall hearing story after story – each growing in grandeur and mystique – of this remarkable golf course being developed in South Calgary by one of Calgary’s better known multi-millionaires.

Fast-forward to August 2012.  I declined a few invitations to play Blue Devil last year largely given the infancy of the course.  However, I decided that it was finally time to “give the devil his due”.  Over a few beers prior to my round, I shared with some golf buddies that I would be playing Blue Devil and the response from those who had already played the course was overwhelmingly positive.

So, without further ado, I’ll share with you a few notes and thoughts from my recent round at Blue Devil.

• The courses’ biggest defense is definitely its bunkers.  Deep, beautiful and masterfully crafted bunkers are prominent throughout – on every hole.
• I found the course to be very playable overall, but rest assured that errant shots will be penalized by an unrelenting combination of punishing fescue grass and strategically located bunkers – both fairway and green-side.
• For those of you that have had the good fortune of playing Desert Blume in Medicine Hat, Blue Devil has, to me anyway, a very similar look and feel.  Blue Devil is a breath of fresh air and a welcomed addition to our Calgary-area golf courses.
• Hole 6 was really fun to play.  The scorecard aptly states that “this Par 4 is for the gamblers” and that description couldn’t be more accurate.  The hole was playing 262 yards, as the crow flies, from the silver tees straight over the water – a huge risk/reward hole into a small and fairly unreceptive green.  I absolutely loved it!
• Hole 15 is a bit of a monster at 593 yards from the silver tees and 629 yards from the black tees.  This is a beautiful Par 5 with an intimidating almost island-like green.
• Hole 16 is a pretty little Par 3 with some nasty pot bunkers guarding the green and water running along pretty much the entire left side of the hole.
• Generally speaking, the greens were firm, quick and true throughout the course – a pleasure to play on and admittedly a bit surprising for an almost exclusively public-play course.  The firm greens definitely made for a number of challenging long-iron approach shots.
• On that note, pretty much every green on the course is aggressively guarded by deep bunkers – if I recall correctly there are almost 90 bunkers sprinkled throughout the 18-hole layout.
• It is worth noting here that a number of amenities one might be used to enjoying have yet to be introduced at the course.  Specifically:
  • The clubhouse isn’t open yet, but it looks like it will be incredible at a whopping 22,000 sq. ft.  In the interim, the “pro shop” is located in a couple of trailers on-site.  As I understand it, the palace of a clubhouse is scheduled to open in a couple of weeks.
  • I found it odd that there are currently no ball washing stations anywhere on the course.
  • The practice facilities just opened – roughly a week ago as I understand it.  Though I didn’t get an opportunity to use the range, it looked nice at over 325 yards with real grass tee boxes.
• In chatting with the starter, I found out that (like many of us) Blue Devil was affected by Calgary’s epic flooding a few short weeks ago.  Though there are remnants of water damage on a few of the holes, Blue Devil weathered the flooding surprisingly well given it’s situated in a valley and in such close proximity to the Bow River.  It looked to me that course had already completed considerable flood clean-up and repair work; so kudos to the team at Blue Devil.
• I heard from an acquaintance that he found the course to be repetitive.  Though I can appreciate that the layout might not be for everyone, I have to say that I disagree with the assessment.  Blue Devil is most accurately described as a true links-style course with very few (if any) trees, plenty of fescue grass and very well bunkered.  For those that appreciate links golf, in my opinion, Blue Devil is a really great example.
• In addition to ‘Blue Devil 18 Hole’ course, there’s also ‘The Lil Devil 9 Hole’ course which is made up of Par 3’s, 4’s and a Par 5 that range from 50 yards to 300 yards. The short course is perfect for Juniors, Seniors and Beginners.

Overall, I very much enjoyed my round at Blue Devil and found the course to be a challenging, but fair and especially playable course.  I could see this course becoming part of my regular rotation; I’m scheduled to play it again next week as a matter of fact.

Lastly, as I mentioned in the preamble, Blue Devil is located in South Calgary.  Living in West Calgary I was a little put off by the location, but can confirm that the course is surprisingly accessible from Macleod Trail, Deerfoot Trail, or Highway 22x – it took me about 40 minutes door to door.

Course Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars