HeatherGlen is a golf course located on Calgary's eastern city limits on the corner of 100 St East and Glenmore Trail.
The course opened in 1991 as an 18-hole private course. The facility was turned public a few years later. In 1999, the club expanded to 27 holes using land north of the irrigation canal that bordered the original course to the north. Ten new holes were built and one par three on the original course was removed.
HeatherGlen operates the nines as three separate nines - each nine plays to a par of 36:
- The Hills: This nine tees off at what was the original tenth hole and finishes at what was the original eighteenth hole. This nine is the longest of the three nines at nearly 3450 yards from the tips. It is generally an open nine.
- The Creek: This nine tees off at what was the original first hole and finishes at what was the original ninth hole. It is known for a creek that meanders into play on four holes. This course also has three par threes and three par fives. The club says the focus here is on shotmaking given the large greens.
- The Grove: This nine was developed from a resequencing of nine of the original holes. The first hole was originally the sixth and the ninth was originally the fifth. The two par threes on this nine are the two longest par threes on the HeatherGlen menu. The layout of this nine yields many risk-reward situations, but the tall trees make accuracy a must.
Those who played the original 18-hole layout will notice these changes on the original holes:
- The original second hole was shortened to a short par four during the expansion. It plays as the sixth hole on the Grove.
- The eighth hole on Grove (formerly old 4) was shortened in 2019 to allow for healthier turf in the green complex. The old green was shadowed by trees to the south. This was a long par three but is a more manageable distance now.
- The original ninth was extended to a par five, now the ninth hole on the Creek.
- The original 14th hole was discontinued. It was the shortest hole on the original course.
- The original 16th hole - a par five - now plays as the third hole on the Creek nine. It wasn't renovated at the time of the expansion, but the green was later moved to make the hole a shorter par five and bring a large water hazard into play.
- The original 17th hole was a short par four on the original course. It is now the 8th hole on the Hills course, but the tees were moved upwards to convert this hole to a par three.
- The original 18th hole didn't change during the expansion. But the current 9th hole on the Hills was recently renovated to an island green.
HeatherGlen operates the three nines as three 18-hole combinations and considers the Hills-Creek combination as its preferred combination.
HeatherGlen is known for its early opening date and it tries and stays open late in the season as weather permits. Its motto focuses on fun.
The future of the course though is in doubt due to the expansion of the city. If Glenmore Trail is twinned past this course, it could eat up the 8th and 9th holes on the Grove, the clubhouse, maintenance shacks, and driving range. There is also speculation the course could revert back to its original 18-hole routing. The ownership group - Play Golf Calgary - has also opened Blue Devil and has completed construction on the final nine of Serenity, which would be Calgary's first 36-hole public facility.