For most people, owning your own golf course is a dream best left to the millionaire set. That is, until Rick Malcolm came along.
Malcolm is the owner/manager of Riverside Golf, a private par 35 nine-hole golf course nestled on the banks of the Red Deer River located minutes north of Innisfail. Malcolm opened the course to the public last July after years of selling and showcasing artificial turf on the property. He built a small artificial green beside his home eight years ago after 15 years of looking after gas plants in remote northern Alberta locations.
“I really missed this place and wanted to be here,” he said of the property, which is located on the north side of Hwy. 54 and has been owned by his family for over a century. He has since sunk his time, and his money, into making the course a reality. “The family always talked about building a golf course out here. The property was prime for it.”
Located on a small parcel of Malcolm’s property, the course features four artificial turf greens with nine tee boxes colour-coded to match up to a corresponding flag. While two of the greens are each used on three holes, the different tee placement makes for a unique experience.
“Every hole plays different,” Malcolm said. “Every shot is different.”
So is the course, which operates under the unique “privacy golf” concept. Players pay a maintenance fee that includes a golf cart rental and the exclusive use of the course for two hours and 20 minutes. With a limit of six tee times throughout the day and only one group on the course at any time, the privacy golf concept allows golfers to enjoy a sense of freedom not experienced on any other course, Malcolm explained. The pressure of having a group in front of you or behind you is conveniently removed.
“It’s a real intimate day out here. It’s really a private affair,” he said, noting course maintenance is done early in the morning or late in the evening. “You won’t see a lawn mower, or another person. It’s all yours.”
A driver is necessary on six of the course’s nine holes, including the opening hole, a 305-yard par-4 dogleg over the course’s two creeks, as well as the course’s longest hole, the par-5, 440-yard No. 2. The entire course plays just shy of 2,300 total yards.
Many holes provide breathtaking views of the surrounding area, including No. 4, a short 114-yard par-3 that crosses a small creek and leads to a green set slightly uphill from the tee box.
“This will become the signature hole when it’s all said and done,” Malcolm said proudly, saying he hopes to have work on the creek completed in six weeks.
Malcolm’s long-term goal is to have 20 to 30 groups sign up for memberships for exclusive use of the course, which he said is a “private little heaven.” The course is also set up to host a variety of corporate or team functions with barbecues, a party area, fishing spots along the river, and power and water hook-ups for camping.
“I’m hoping people will like the intimate atmosphere that can be had out here,” he said. “If nothing else, it’s a golf experience like no other.”
For more information, call (403) 227-1400 or visit www.riversidegolf.org.
