Here’s something a bit different, a disused golf course and it’s right in the city. Located in an older Calgary neighbourhood, the facility, Highland Golf Course (alt: Highland Park Golf Course) closed down a dozen years ago now. Most of the photos seen here date back to February 2016 and at the time, the land became a candidate for redevelopment, but as of this posting nothing as yet has happened on that front.
The former links, greens and fairways, et-al were to be transformed into a residential neighbourhood. New housing for an ever growing city…or as it’s playing out, maybe not. Plans were presented by developers, objections loudly voiced by locals, legal actions set in motion against the city and eight years after capturing these images, little has changed on the property.
Highland Golf Course – Fore No More: closed for years now and the land presently in a state of limbo. History-lite with Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
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Many of the golf-related elements seen in the older photos are now gone, but otherwise, it’s not that much different today. It’s still a green space and used by locals as before, as an unofficial park. A place to go for a stroll or take the dog for a run.
This article goes back over eight years ago (wow, we’ve done this for a long time) and due to a system crash reposted here with edits and updates, but mostly using original photos. They’re not terribly great shots and captured during the depressing, colourless mid-winter blahs, but they do show features now gone. We also shot new ones and include some here, but from most angles, the scene is little changed.
What will happen to the property is a hot button issue but in this post we’ll only touch on its history.
Highland Golf Course is located in the Highland Park Neighbourhood and directly north of downtown. It’s sort of jammed between Centre Street and 4th Street Northwest and parts border on McKnight Boulevard to the north. It opened in the early 1960s and on land deemed (at the time) unsuitable for residential development.
With only nine short holes (2000-ish yards, par 31 or 33 depending on the source) it catered more to the beginner and causal player. Also the budget minded and it sounds like they were the cheapest round in town. For the most part, pros and more serious types went elsewhere. It had no real clubhouse to speak of, no caddies, no carts, reservations weren’t always necessary…you get the picture. Think cheap, easy and convenient.
A driving range operated at the south end of the course and sort of jammed into a corner. Right there at the clubhouse, and a practice green also could be found here.
While the whole operation seemed a casual and laid back kind of affair, old newspaper articles suggest they did good business for a while.
Located in a low-lying gently-sloped hollow, the L-shaped course, a few blocks in area, has always had housing surrounding it. With this close proximity, one must wonder how many errant balls resulted in broken windows and dented car hoods at nearby homes? Tall fences were installed in places but they likely didn’t stop all the ones that got away.
In more recent times the course was underutilized, not making much money and badly in need of a facelift. It looked like a bit of a dump near the end. With that Highland Golf Course closed and the land then sold. Redevelopment plans were announced, recall, but these have stalled. So over a decade after shutting down, the fate of the land remains uncertain and no more clear than when we first posted this.
The process is never quick, but here it seems particularly drawn out. It’s only a matter of time before something happens and the only thing in contention is the final outcome. To turn it into an official park (arguably, the popular choice) would be simple, but the demand for housing in the city is a pressing issue. So who knows?
In the published plans the development firm called it Highland Village Green and a new road running roughly down the centre of the property envisioned. This would then be flanked by residential towers of varying heights and rounded out with some retail development. Higher density stuff and in direct contrast with single family homes, duplexes/4plexs and small apartment blocks surrounding the property. The plans show a good bit of green space would be kept, so it wasn’t all to be pavement and concrete.
A little brook once ran through the valley and helped drain the property, but it’s covered over now. With development and potential changes to the watershed, it’s worried this could lead to weather related flooding. Most of the area where development would take place is low lying, so this does make sense.
Almost everything at Highland Golf Course when seen on our 2016 visit remained pretty much in place and it felt odd. A little clean-up and you could probably play a round. The only building on site, the “clubhouse”, was boarded up tight, but now gone. The rest of the land appeared pretty much untouched and the layout of each hole still quite evident. Even today, eight years hence, one can still make them out. Someone (the developer?) maintains the property then and that’s still the case now.
Some trees showed damage by storms or snow on the earlier visit and in a few places blown in garbage had accumulated. From the looks of it a few people found it convenient dumping ground for cast off things. Old tires, drywall cutoffs and so on.
When it operated, during off hours and off season, it always functioned as a park to locals. It’s no different today. There’s minimal fencing in places and this all allows easy access.
It’s a bit eerie and unsettling exploring the property. At any time we expected a ball to go whizzing by and instinctively did regular over-the-shoulder glances to check. Nothing, but still it filled our thoughts. Our minds wandered and we can picture the course in use. Is that a plaid-pants wearing ghost of a long dead golfer or just an overactive imagination playing games? It just feels too empty and forgotten.
Even if not a prime facility, the loss of Highland Golf Course surely was a blow to the golfing community. And perhaps to the Highland Park neighbourhood too. For those who don’t like the expense or snooty “country club” atmosphere of many courses in town, it proved a blessing. Given the short season here and popularity of the game, there always seems to be a shortage of tee-times available, so it also helped fill demand.
In 2024, the former course looks much as it did from that earlier visit and we’ve included a few recent photos to demonstrate this. It still feels a bit like a golf course, but it’s less obvious than before. Time marches on, and in eight more years, we suspect the property won’t look as it does today. This most recent visit happened at a nicer time of the year and the property looks far better in this light. Less dumpy and more pastoral.
Fore!: shouted as a warning to others that a ball is struck and may be headed their way. In other words – watch out! The origins of the word are open to debate and several theories given, not that it really matters that much here. It’s seen use since the 1800s. In movies and TV it’s frequently used in golf scenes, so much so that it’s become an overused cliché. In real life you’re less likely to hear it unless presented in a joking manner.
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Date of adventure: February, 2016 and September 2024. Location: Highland Park neighbourhood, Calgary Alberta. Article references and thanks: City of Calgary, old Henderson Directories and Maple Projects Inc.
(A long read) After twelve years it's time to put a face to the name and come clean on something. That's rarely-seen Chris in the photo, one half of Team BIGDoer, my best friend for almost thirty years and orchestrator of everything you see here. For his entire adult life, he's battled a deep depression.
Mostly it's manageable, but there are extended bouts where it's crippling and his life comes to a grinding halt. Sometimes there are days or weeks where he's lost. Sleep does not come easy at this time and further aggravates the issue. As he ages, it's worsening and seems intent on destroying him from the inside.
If you see a lack of posts here, or ones poorly worded, confusing or simply off, it's from one of these periods.
Through all this, he remains as kind, thoughtful and loving as ever, but is somewhere else. To the family, it's just Chris and accepted as it should be. The kids and grandkids adore him no less. Until today, however, this has been hidden from the outside world, although closer friends and some readers were probably already suspect of his condition. I hope admitting this does not break the site.
He finds clarity when we're out and doing things, hiking or documenting something historic and it's only THE reason this page and our website exists. It's therapy. Then he's a new and passionate person, but the monster as he calls it always returns. The Beer Parlour Project has brought out a side I've never seen and when out in the field he's never been so on point and confident.
This post is not for sympathy but to inform. Just so you know where he is and here's what you can do to help (a last ditch request)...
If you see a missed comma or oddly worded sentence in a post, please be kind. You'll probably see his uncertainty when he's off and be nice there too. But if you like what you see, even if the write up could be presented better, post your encouragement. Say something and say it loud...it's important and will keep him sharing. Help Chris get better by cheering him on.
Other than some photos that are mine, everything else comes from him. All the tiring research and the writing (he admits he's NOT a writer), are his.
Chris puts every dollar he makes into this "project of a lifetime", and it's supplemented by donations from readers who enjoy the content. If you want to help...
Admittedly he was not thrilled with the idea of posting this but agrees it probably should be said, even if it makes him uneasy. He doesn't like appearing in photos either. He's so shy, thinks he looks goofy and hates his husky eyes. I love them and they're windows into a wonderful, complex and quiet, but tortured soul. It breaks my heart when he's in a bad space.
This image comes thanks to photographer Arturo Pianzola and was captured while exploring the historic Riverview Mental Hospital in Coquitlam BC. Chris thought since he was in the area last year, he'd stop by to visit with a grandfather he never really knew, who spent his last years at the facility and is buried on the grounds.
Thanks for listening and your understanding. Hopefully we'll see you next week. Johanna (Connie).
Journey of Natty Gann (Disney 1985) and the same location in the Crowsnest Pass 2014. We're visiting the Pass over the new year, as we often do, and this time we'll be staying at a house that appears (briefly) in the film. How cool, eh? Chris has decided it's time on this visit to reshoot this and other Natty Gann comparison shots we did from ten years ago. Stay tuned!
This scene was shot in historic downtown Coleman and shows the former Holyk's Grocery. It was built in the early 1900s and the store closed in the '60s. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
From 2015. Rob Pohl and his strange old-style view camera joined us in documenting the Laing House (with permission). Head down to the comments to see an amazing coincidence with something I found inside.
From the Crossley slides, it's an undated view of Towers School, out near Cluny Alberta. It was originally called Swastika School but that's before the word and symbol were ruined by negative connotations. Built 1922. Gone? _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
The same alley in downtown Calgary's west end, in the 1970s & today. You have to look hard to see the connection! The area was quite run down back then and is in stark contrast to all the shiny condo towers seen present day. Calgary Place West, an apartment block, appears in both images although it's barely a sliver in ours. Check the comments for more info.
Photo credit: James Tworow collection. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
Lost highways (2022): a section of old #93 in Southeastern BC. That BIGDoer-mobile is gone now but quite famous and had a following of its own. Old mine roads, cow paths, 4x4ing across fields - no problem and people would recognize us out in remote areas just by this car. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
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