Much-anticipated Mickelson National Golf Club offering four-hole sneak peek in September
Golf course designed by pro Mickelson won’t have grand opening until 2020
You’re not going to get the opportunity to strike the ceremonial opening tee shot at Mickelson National Golf Club.
That honour, presumably, will go to PGA Tour superstar and big-name course designer Phil Mickelson.
Thing is, you can take a crack before then.
As part of their pitch to sell memberships at the much-anticipated and still-under-construction private club, Windmill Golf Group unveiled plans Tuesday for a fourhole sneak preview in late September.
“We believe the golf experience is unlike any other in the Calgary area, for sure, and will be one of the top golf experiences in Canada, bar none,” beamed Barry Ehlert, the managing partner for Windmill Golf and the man responsible for enlisting Mickelson — a winner of five major titles, a 43-time trophycollector on the PGA Tour and already enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame — to design the 18-hole hangout west of Calgary in the new community of Harmony.
“And we want to share that with people.”
The deal is simple. Take a tour in advance, and you’ll score an invite to book a tee time for the fourhole sneak-a-peek, which runs Sept. 20-23. Details available at tourandplaymickelsonnational.com.
“We have found when we get people out on-site at Mickelson National, they’re blown away,” said Ehlert, who is sweetening the sneak-a-peek pot with a tee gift and daily closest-to-the-pin competition.
“Their expectations are high, because the golf course bears Phil’s name, but they don’t have — I don’t think — a true understanding of how spectacular it is going to be until they get there.
“So I think people are going to be really surprised. When you take a tour, that’s one thing. But when you get out there with clubs, it’s something totally different.
“I think it’s going to be a super fun and engaging golf course. I think it’s one where people will think, ‘Wow, it’s going to play so differently from day to day, depending on conditions, pin positions or where you miss-hit a shot.’ I think it’s going to be a very engaging and positive environment.
“And I think people are going to come off the golf course with a smile on their face, just really wishing and hoping that the opportunity was open for them to come back the following day to play. We believe it’s going to be a fantastic experience for everybody.”
The construction crews at Mickelson National should be completing their work within the next month or so, with members likely to be digging divots on some holes next summer and a grandopening planned for 2020 to allow a proper grow-in period on others.
They will break ground on the clubhouse come spring.
The sneak-a-peek loop will include the opener and the second assignment — both par-4s — and then the pair of homeward holes.
No. 17 is the longest par-3 on the property, both a beauty and a brute with an infinity green that hangs on the edge of a gully.
The par-5 closer snakes around a water feature on the left side. If you’re aiming for an eagle, you’ll need to knock your second shot over a creek. One of the long-term goals at Mickelson National, which could be beefed up to beyond 8,000 yards from the back tees, is to eventually play host to a PGA Tour event.
Perhaps, Dustin Johnson or Jordan Spieth or maybe even Phil will someday hoist a trophy on that green at No. 18.
You’ll be able to say you drained a putt there first.
All four of the preview holes were seeded last summer, so they ’ve had time to mature.
“We’re really excited. We think it’s going to be a special treat for people,” Ehlert said.
“And the reality is this will be a private, exclusive golf course. So this likely will be the only time that some people will ever be able to play the course and to see what’s in the mind of Phil Mickelson.
“We’re going to do it right. We’re
This likely will be the only time that some people will ever be able to play the course and to see what’s in the mind of Phil Mickelson.
going to take care of you. We’ll have golf carts. We’re going to have the course ready to play and ready to go. It’s not like you’re going to come out and feel like these holes are partially complete.
“We just think the overall experience is going to be outstanding, and we want as many people to be able to take advantage of that as possible.”
Just be warned, you’ll be itching to go back.
“There’s a wow factor, a dramatic factor to the holes,” said Mark Corrigan, a golf pro who doubles as both ambassador and tour guide at Mickelson National.
“And it’s not just one or two of the holes. I think if you’d ask 10 different people, they ’ll have 10 different favourite holes. And there’s just a great shot value.
“I can’t wait for my four holes, and for 18 holes after that. I’m as pumped as anyone.”