Mickelson National Golf Club

Few courses in Canada have arrived with quite the fanfare of Mickelson National, which opened in 2018 just west of Calgary and carries both the name and creative input of Phil Mickelson in partnership with design firm Calliope Golf. Built on the rolling foothills terrain of Rocky View County, it was conceived from the outset as an upscale private club, and the landscape does much of the heavy lifting — dramatic elevation changes, exposed ridgelines, and long views toward the Front Ranges of the Rockies give the course a setting that feels genuinely earned rather than manufactured.

The design leans into that topography at every turn. Fairways tumble and rise through native fescue rough, greens are large and boldly contoured, and the finishing stretch plays with the wind in ways that reward local knowledge. The course earned considerable attention quickly, appearing on national best-new and best-in-province lists within its first couple of years.

For Calgary golfers, Mickelson National represents a clear step toward world-class private-club culture — the kind of membership experience the city's growing and golf-hungry population has long supported.