'Bear birdie': Golfers tee off with wildlife in Kananaskis

Bears don't need a tee time to get on the green.

When she went to the Kananaskis Country Golf Course to hit the links earlier this month, Calgary golfer Jess Lawson didn't imagine she would be sharing the back nine with a black bear.

"We were very grateful for our partner to be the bear on the last hole," she said. "It was like a nice little homage to golfing in the mountains."

As a 600-acre open space within the heavily-forested Kananaskis Valley, it's no surprise that animals like bears are drawn to the course.

"One of the things that people sometimes forget about is what an incredible environment these golf courses are for all sorts of wildlife," said Darren Robinson, the course's longtime general manager.

In his nearly three decades of living and working at the course, Robinson has seen everything from elk and moose to cougars and coyotes on the green.

Plus more than his fair share of bears.

"There's been days last summer where I literally saw, from in the clubhouse, five different bears," he said. "Some black, some grizzlies, some young, some parents. It's beautiful."

Golfing in a wildlife hotspot requires special considerations.

"Keeping a safe distance is first and foremost the thing that we encourage the most," said Robinson.

The goal is to minimize and prevent human-wildlife interactions as much as possible.

With that in mind, golfers are welcome to bend the rules a bit in the name of safety.

"If somebody needs to pick up on a hole where there's a bear nearby, and just give themselves a par, that's great," said Robinson. "Pick up your ball and move on to the next hole."

It's called an "automatic bear par" or "bear birdie," said Robinson.