danherrman,
Holes 9-18 and #1 are located in the North Saskatchewan River Valley, which features nice rolling topography, for the most part.
The rest of the holes play above the valley, on a relatively flat 'plateau' that features a big sand hill right in the middle of holes 2-7. Rod took full advantage of that sand hill, in my opinion. The second and fifth holes play into the hill, the third and sixth holes play off of it, and the drive at 7 plays over part of the hill.
I wouldn't describe the landscape as 'hilly'. But there's definitely some relief throughout the golf course.
The golf season in Alberta is longer than most southerners might think. Enjoyable golfing usually starts in late April, and the best time to play is almost always September.
A-4 was planted on the greens, principally as a means to keep Poa annua out for as long as possible. Several of the older courses in the Edmonton area suffer horribly each spring because greens are almost entirely Poa. The harse winters have a severe affect on those putting surfaces. So, the longer you can keep the Poa off the greens in the Edmonton area, the better your course will come out of winter.
The Blackhawk website will only improve with time, too. I'm currently working on individual hole descriptions for the site, and by the fall, there should be some better photos of each holes posted... once the course is closer to being completely grown-in.
Thanks for posting these photos, Ben!