CANMORE, Alberta, Canada — What once was a mining town is now a golf destination, thanks in large part to the Olympic Games.

Coal mining was the industry that sustained Canmore for nearly 100 years. When the last mines closed in 1979, the town faced an uncertain, if not bleak, future.

But with the announcement in the early 1980s that Calgary would host the Winter Games of 1988 and that the nordic events would take place in Canmore, fortune began to turn.

Canmore, situated in the Canadian Rockies 66 miles west of Calgary, rode the momentum gained from its profile during the Olympics to launch a new destiny in tourism and, more specifically, golf.

Canmore and the surrounding area boast a handful of exceptional golf courses amid some of the most breathtaking scenery a golfer can imagine.

Canmore Golf and Curling Club, opened in 1926, is the original. In 1983 came two more courses in what is known as Kananaskis Country, a recreational area 40 minutes south of Canmore.

The two newer courses are Silvertip (1998) and Stewart Creek (2000), and their arrival made Canmore a legitimate golf destination.

They complement two of the province of Alberta’s (and Canada’s) most historic and treasured courses — Banff Springs and Jasper Park Lodge. The tourist mecca and ski destination of Banff is a neighbor of Canmore, just 17 miles to the northwest, while Jasper Park Lodge is a trek away, 194 miles up the scenic Icefields Parkway.

In 2007, these seven golf courses formed a marketing partnership, Canadian Rockies Golf, to offer golfers one-stop shopping in organizing their trips, from golf packages to lodging and transportation. While Jasper Park Lodge and Banff Springs are high-end courses, canadian rockiesgolf.ca will help tailor trips to golfers’ budgets.

Canmore sits outside the southern gateway to Banff National Park. Entering the park between Canmore and Banff, a visitor can drive 180 miles up the Trans Canada Highway and then the Icefields Parkway to Jasper without ever leaving a national park.

A must-see stop 25 miles northwest of Banff is picturesque Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, which stands imposingly on the lake’s shore.

Visitors leave Banff National Park at the Columbia Icefield, a spectacular series of glaciers that are visible from pull-offs along the highway.

While one might not think of playing golf in a national park, such is the reality in this part of western Canada. Besides lying within their respective national parks, the Banff Springs and Jasper Park Lodge courses can lay claim to a long list of awards (Jasper Park Lodge is considered Canada’s finest resort course) and famous clientele, from celebrities to British royalty.

Possibly because the hockey slap shot adapts effectively to the golf swing, Canadians tend to be crazy about golf. In general, the courses in Alberta are open only from mid-May through mid-October, but Canada’s summer days are as long as its winter days are short, allowing golf to be played from as early as 5 a.m. to as late as 11 p.m. near the summer solstice.

Weather, however, can be dicey, with snow possible any day of the year. Ontario native Scott Holland, the teaching professional at Silvertip Golf Resort in Canmore, recalls his introduction to mountain weather on an August day in the early 1980s after he’d moved to Banff.

“There was six inches of snow on the ground when I woke up,” he said, “and the high that day was 85.”

If you go

GETTING THERE

The nearest major airport is Calgary, 80 miles east of Banff.

PARK RATES

A pass ranging from $4.90 (youth) to $19.60 (family/group of seven or more) must be purchased at the entrance to the national parks. It is good at all the parks and allows visitors to leave and re-enter for the duration of the pass.

MORE INFO

Canadianrockiesgolf.ca, tourismcanmore.com, travelalberta.com, jasper .travel