The small village of Borden, Saskatchewan, named after Sir Frederick William Borden, a physician turned politician who modernized Canada’s militia, is perhaps most well known for its abandoned bridge lying adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway.  Borden, Saskatchewan is not well known for its sand green golf course.   And yet, compared to a lesser known militaristic politician or a useless concrete monstrosity of a bridge, the Borden Golf Course is lovely, strange and a ton of fun.  It’s also empty.  When we visited on June 18, 2026, the only patrons were two golfers (us) and four horses roaming the course.  We had a blast.  So did the horses. 

The course lies about one kilometre south of the village.  The only information we could find about the course was on the village’s website.  The only signs are two generic golf 1km this way signs on the Yellowhead as you pass through the village.  

The course is 9 holes. The green fees are $5 per day. Not per round. Per day.  So I guess you’re free to play as many holes as you can manage in 24 hours for $5.  As with most Saskatchewan dirt green courses, green fees are on the honours system with a drop box.  

I thought the course was beautiful. It’s a mixture of rolling prairie with the fairways mostly consisting of mowed grassland with patches of sage, juniper and wild roses.  There’s also a section that runs along an aspen woodland.  The fairways are spotty and winter rules apply year round.  Most of the men’s tees are driving range mats, while most of the women’s tees are real tees.  Oddly, there are random holes with no women’s tees.  

Shockingly, nearly every tee has a sign with a sponsor. The 3rd hole is sponsored by Elizabeth Torrens, accountant. I have a call in to her office to see if I can write off the $5 I paid for my round at Borden Golf Course as a business expense.  

The greens are mostly hard dirt with bits of gravel and shale.  All in all, the dirt greens are in pretty good shape with the exception of the odd weed patches, trenches and concrete hardpan.   The green rakes were rubber mats that worked great.  

The course layout is a tad confusing at a few spots. Don’t ignore the benches.  And, if you’re backtracking, you’ve gone very wrong.  I was convinced the sixth hole was a dog leg right, but we went dog leg right too far to the wrong goddam hole. It turned out it was the 7th green. So we completely missed the 6th green.  Then, despite the fact that the scorecard said that 7th was a par 3, I was convinced the 7th went in reverse back down the 6th fairway to a green lying next to the 6th tee which I still can’t explain. Shirina was adamant I was wrong and declared “THERE’S NO WAY I’M BACKTRACKING” and noted “Why is that bench over there?”   I forged ahead. 

As we played the 9th, I discovered my error as we realized the 7th tee was next to the very bench Shirina had correctly wondered about.  So, since we were the only creatures on the course (other than the horses), we left our balls in the 9th fairway and detoured to play the correct par 3 7th before heading back to the 9th fairway to finish the hole.  I’m fairly certain this is the first time I’ve ever played two holes at once.  I might try it again. It brings a whole new dynamic to a round. 

There was one area of the course I’ve been pondering through sleekness nights since our visit. This was an area with randomly placed signs stating 

KEEP OUT

Freshly seeded fairway

Is there an expansion to the course in the works?  Is this a part of the existing course being repaired?  Have they really seeded these fairways?  Is there a big problem with people running amok on the new fairway?  I plan to make a visit to Borden Golf Course later in the season to find out.  

Review coming soon! 

Redberry Lake Golf Course is located in the Redberry Regional Park on the western shore of Redberry Lake. 

Redberry Lake is a UNESCO Biosphere Region.  The lake is a saltwater lake filled with over 100 bird species, including pelicans, plovers and scoters.  It is the only UNESCO Biosphere Region in Saskatchewan.    It seems doubtful that the Redberry Golf Course will ever achieve any type of international designation. 

For a dirt golf course, the green fees are pricey.  $10.  But there’s an actual clubhouse and staff.  We actually saw three staff.  One guy managing the clubhouse and a tractor at the same time.  And two young people who were allegedly working on the first green – they seemed to mostly be chatting.  But the staff were very friendly and welcoming.  They even gave us a free push cart, although the straps were so old and weathered that they ripped whenever you tried to tighten them and we abandoned the cart with the two young staffers on the first green. 

The course was busy.  We saw two groups.  Including us.   

Redberry Golf is quite hilly for the prairies.  The course winds up and down the western shore of Redberry Lake.  Some of the views of Redberry Lake are beautiful.  

The course is actually quite interesting with the hills, natural prairie grass and some treed holes.   It has a mix of par 4s, a fun par 5, and a couple of challenging par 3s.  The fairways are the usual dirt green golf mix of patchy grass, gopher holes and natural grassland with a mix of weeds and sage. 

You know you’re on a Saskatchewan dirt green golf course when you’re having trouble distinguishing the fairway and green from the neighbouring farm field.  The view from the second tee box is a mix of dirt, patchy grass, marsh and a stubbled farmfield.   Luckily, as we were about to tee off aiming blindly into the prairie, an old farm pickup truck went ripping along the neighbouring farmfield giving some contrast and clarity as to the location of the golf hole. 

The dirt greens are honestly not in great shape and not particularly well maintained.  The green rakes aren’t particularly fantastic either.  You mostly drag the greens with ratty old patches of old carpet.  The greens are mostly solid hardpan and the green rakes do not really have much impact upon the semi-concrete dirt green.  The dirt greens are like a strange mini putt course with odd natural obstacles - patches of grass, runoff trenches, embedded moose tracks.  Most of the cups are jut out of the green and block the ball from going in.  You hit a good putt at the hole and the cup bounces the ball back right at you.  

If you grow sick of Redberry Golf, and there’s a strong chance you might, go across the lake to Saskatoon Sailing Club which is Saskatchewan’s most active sailing club (https://saskatoonsailing.ca)