By Darren Campbell -- Looking for a break from the daily grind of the office or mix business with pleasure? Here are seven prime golfing destinations for the Northern businessperson who can’t get enough of the game.

You’ve probably seen the bumper stickers; you know, the ones that proclaim “A bad day of golf is better than a good day at work.” For those of us who love golf, those are words to live by. The chance to spend three to four hours on a lush, green course, immaculately designed and cared for, playing a round of golf, can be a welcome refuge from the daily pressures of life and work.

It’s also not a bad way to conduct business. Meeting with clients on the links in an informal setting can be a great way to mix a little business with pleasure. But the problem for the Northern businessperson who enjoys the game is those eight long months of winter we get up here. It’s hard to play when there is snow on the ground and it’s minus-30. With that in mind, Up Here Business decided to provide the business community a valuable service in this issue. We’ve done some research and come up with some dream golfing destinations. Here are seven prime spots for the golf junkie in you.

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course
Location: Jasper, Alberta
Season: May to October

Ranked the best golf resort and eighth-best golf course in Canada by SCOREGolf magazine in 2006, the Jasper Park Lodge course was designed by renowned Canadian designer Stanley Thompson in 1925. The setting for this 18-hole, par 72, 6,700-yard public golf course is beyond spectacular located in Jasper National Park. Set in the Rockies’, it’s a heavily undulating course with elevated tee boxes, dramatic bunkering and plenty of show-stopping mountain vistas, including one of the course’s signature holes – the number nine, 231-yard par three known as Cleopatra that has Jasper’s Pyramid Mountain framing the hole.

The course’s head golf professional Kevin Sebulski says wide fairways make it a very forgiving course. Green fees for Canadian residents range from $80 to $150, depending on the time of day and the season.

Sebulski adds it shouldn’t take a Northern golfer much convincing to put this course on his or her golf itinerary. “This will be one of the most beautiful golf courses you will ever play in your life,” he says. “One thing you’ll notice is how quiet it is out there. You hear birds. You don’t hear automobiles on the expressway.”

Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Course
Location: Banff, Alberta
Season: May to October
This is another golf resort set in the Canadian Rockies, another Stanley Thompson design and another place that gets rave reviews from the golf community. It’s also the only Canadian golf resort that made the cut in Golf Digest’s 2007 “The 75 Best Golf Resorts in North America” listing, coming in at number 12. Despite the mountain setting, the club’s golf professional Greg Sutherland says the resort’s 18-hole course is relatively flat. The resort also has the nine-hole Tunnel Mountain course.

But it’s the former course that gets the high rankings. The green fees are not cheap. One round of golf on this course ranges from $149 to $219 depending on the time of day and the season. The signature hole is number nine – the par four, 424-yard Devil’s Cauldron. Northerners flying into Calgary Airport can expect an hour-and-a-half to two-hour drive to get to Banff. With four sets of tees the distance of the course ranges from 5,600 yards to 7,000 yards. Sutherland says watch out for courses its – some would say infamous – bunkers. But whatever your skill level, Sutherland says it’s a golfing experience not to be missed. “You’re not going to play another golf course like it. It’s a special, special place,” Sutherland says.

Mont Tremblant Le Géant
Location: Mont Tremblant, Quebec
Season: May to October

If you’re heading to the Montreal area on business and want to get some gofing in, Mont Tremblant’s Le Géant course is a must-see and must-play. The par 72, 18-hole public course offers fantastic views of the Laurentian Mountains. At 6,800 yards from the back tees, it’s not the longest course in Canada. However, Mont Tremblant’s golf director Alain Gagné says what the course lacks in distance it makes up for in challenging shots where you have to put away the big drivers. “It’s very much target golf,” Gagné says. “You use the four or five irons on the tees. There are only four or five holes where you can drive the ball.”

Named as one of the top 10 best golf courses in Canada in 2005 by Golf Style magazine, the course’s signature hole is number one, one of the few holes where hitting long is crucial to a good score. The hole is a huge par five and is 510-yards long. Green fees range from $75 to $150 at Le Géant. The resort also includes another 18-hole course, Le Diable and the Tremblant Golf Academy. It’s also just a hour-and-a-half drive – at the most – from Montreal’s Dorval Airport.

PGA Village
Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida
Season: All seasons.

“Our tag line is “The Ultimate Golf Experience.” If that’s what you are after, this is the place to come.” That’s the sales pitch of David Trout, PGA Village’s head golf professional – the only U.S. course that’s been included in our golfing destination list. Read on and you’ll discover why it’s been included. Ranked by Golf Digest in 2007 as the 57th best golf resort in North America, it’s hard to imagine an avid Northern golfer finding a better total golf experience than here.

PGA Village has three different courses, consisting of 52 holes of championship golf. The property houses the 35-acre PGA Learning Center – home of the PGA of America Golf Schools. It has the PGA Historical Center with a golf museum, the PGA Professional Hall of Fame, a golf research library and a six-hole short course for novice golfers where every hole is a mere 50 yards long. PGA Village also has practice facilities where golfers can work on every possible aspect of their game. There is also an affordable hotel on site where you can stay for as low as $126 (U.S.) a night. And getting there isn’t hard. Trout says PGA Village is a 45-minute drive north of the Palm Beach International Airport and an hour-and-a-half drive south from the Orlando International Airport. Renovations done to all three 18-hole golf courses also mean the facility is in tip-top shape. “The facilities couldn’t be in better shape,” Trout says. “It’s the best they’ve ever been.”

Hecla Golf Course
Location: Radisson Hecla Oasis Resort,
Riverton, Manitoba
Season: May to October

Set inside the Hecla National Park on Lake Winnipeg, this par 72, 18-hole public course should be a prime spot for any Northern golfer, particularly from Nunavut’s Kivalliq region, passing through Winnipeg on business. “People say it’s the best golf course in Manitoba,” says Scott Parker, Hecla’s director of golf. “It’s worth the two-hour drive from Winnipeg to come here.”

The Globe and Mail agrees with Parker. In its recent Golf 100 list, where Canada’s best-known newspaper ranked the country’s top 100 golf courses, it ranked the Hecla course the best in Manitoba and the 26th best in Canada. Parker says this public course is not overly long at 6,700 yards from the back tees. Hecla’s signature hole is the par four, 390-yard number 12. It features a double green with Lake Winnipeg on the left side of the fairway. The resort on the course is opening under new management this May after being closed since 2005. A big plus for golfers flying into Winnipeg is the resort provides a shuttle service to the course from the airport. And the green fees are outrageously low – ranging from $37 to $48 depending on the season. “Manitoba’s green fees are probably the cheapest in Canada,” Parker says.

Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club
Location: Kelowna, B.C.
Season: April to early November

Canada’s banana belt is B.C.’s Okanagan Valley and the city of Kelowna has become a popular retirement and golfing destination for Northerners. There’s plenty of great golfing to be had in this region, but Gallagher’s Canyon is one of the Okanagan’s golfing jewels, ranked the 64th best golf course in Canada in 2006 by SCOREGolf magazine. The semi-private club is open to the public, but club members do have priority on tee times certain days of the week.

This 18-hole, par 72 course built in 1980 is known for its great vistas and undulating holes. From the back tees, the course measures 6,800 yards, not long by any means, but not a walk in the park if you’re weak off the tee. Still, the club’s director of golf, Jon Kadin, insists the course is challenging but fair to golfers of all skill levels. Green fees vary depending on the time of day and the season. But expect to pay $115 for a round of golf during regular golf hours from late April until late September. A big selling point for Gallagher’s Canyon is its golf academy, which Kadin says is one the Okanagan’s best. “Lots of Northerners sign up for this in the spring to jumpstart their games.”

Nicklaus North Golf Course
Location: Whistler, B.C.
Season: May to October

Not only is this course set in the hip resort town of Whistler, it was designed by the Golden Bear himself. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, considered by many to be the greatest professional golfer ever, saw his course open in 1996. It was immediately named “Canada’s Best New Golf Course” by Golf Digest. Nicklaus North is a par 71, 18-hole public course and just a hair under 7,000 yards from the back tees. Nicklaus has played it three times – in 1996, 1997 and in 2005. He shot 67 his last time here, not bad for Nicklaus, who was 65 at the time. Andrew Smart, Nicklaus North’s director of golf, describes it as “a little kinder and a little gentler” than some of the other courses Nicklaus has designed. “The fairways are ample. There is room to swing the drives but you still need to be reasonably accurate to score well.”

Water comes into play on 15 of the 18 holes and Smart says Nicklaus North’s signature hole is the par three, 226-yard number 17, situated on the shores of Whistler’s Green Lake. Green fees range from $69 during low season to $189 in high season.