Back in the early days, the railroad tycoons needed tourism to generate the passenger traffic to justify their hard-won routes hacked through the mountains. Of course there were views, and mountains, and therefore skiing. But they needed some kind of additional summertime draw.

So they hired architect Stanley Thompson (still Canada's greatest ever) to build them one of the world's great golf courses in Banff. They did the same thing at Jasper Park a little farther north. They gave Thompson the 1920s equivalent of a bazillion dollars to do it with, and then he went ahead and over-ran that budget. The tycoons were ANGRY. But when they came to the site ready to hack Thompson's head off, they saw for the first time what he had accomplished and everything was just fine, thanks.

It is still one of the great golf courses in the world, and still is capable of drawing pilgrims from all over the globe, just like Pebble Beach in the US. The technical architecture and shot values of Banff can hold their own amongst the world's finest. But the VIEWS are simply absurd -- which is what sustains Banff's legend.