There are plenty of good reasons to plan a vacation visit to nearby Vancouver Island. There is, for example, the old-English charm of downtown Victoria, the fragrant beauty of Butchart Gardens, and the many miles of scenic beaches along the eastern and western coasts.
And, we’re pleased to report, there is terrific golf.
Like the resort community of Whistler or the Okanogan region to the east, Vancouver Island has become a genuine hotspot for golf in British Columbia. There are more than 50 golf courses on the island and several are outstanding semi-private or public venues, making them ideal stops for vacation visitors.
“Whistler is beautiful, but a tad bit expensive,” said Scott Kolb, director of golf at Arbutus Ridge Golf and Country Club, just outside Victoria. “In the Okanogan, you basically have four or five top golf courses within an hour of each other, but they’re very similar. And in Vancouver, except for the private clubs, there are not a lot of public courses that make me jump too high.
“But what you get on the island, as long as you don’t mind making a little bit of a drive, is a variety of really good golf courses. There are some older golf courses that have some good character to them.”
Three of the best are right in and around the wonderful city of Victoria. One is Arbutus Ridge, which has some wooded holes and others that offer views of Satellite Channel and the Southern Gulf Islands.
Another is elegant Olympic View Golf Club, where a young Tiger Woods played a memorable round in 1994 (his photograph graces the clubhouse).
Last but certainly not least is Bear Mountain Golf and Country Club, which definitely rates as one of the must-see golf courses on Vancouver Island, if not in the entire Pacific Northwest. Designed by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus and his son Steve Nicklaus, Bear Mountain opened in August of 2003 and is an absolute gem.
Located on the northwest outskirts of Victoria, just minutes from downtown, construction costs were close to $1 million (Canadian) per hole and were funded by a group of investors that included a coalition of past and present NHL players, among them Mike Vernon, Joe Nieuwendyk, Rob Blake and Rob Niedermayer.
Bear Mountain is being developed as a posh resort community and locals are buying memberships, but visitors can also get tee times. First-timers will be awed by not only the golf experience, but by the splendor of the views. Depending on which way you turn, you can see the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Mountains, Mount Baker and downtown Victoria.
“There’s a ‘wow’ factor at Bear Mountain, to speak in layman’s terms,” said Jason Lowe, president of Golf Vancouver Island, a marketing and promotional group.
There is also a 19th hole. No, not the pub, as it is sometimes called. This is literally a 19th hole, a 141-yard par-3 “betting hole,” according to Lowe. Golfers can make wagers on closest to the pin and that sort of thing, but most may just want to savor the scenery for a few moments before hitting their tee shots.
“The views from the tee box are incredible,” Lowe said.
Bear Mountain is the most costly of Vancouver Island’s public courses, with green fees of $125 Canadian (about $105 U.S., depending on the current exchange rate) when made one week in advance or more. That price, which includes a cart, drops to $95 (about $81) inside of one week, and there are reduced rates for twilight and sunset.
Elsewhere on the island, green fees at the better courses are in the $50-70 range (U.S.), and many of those include carts.
Ten of the courses, including Bear Mountain, Olympic View and Arbutus Ridge, have combined to form Golf Vancouver Island to help promote golf there. The others are, listing from south to north, Duncan’s Cowichan Golf &Country Club and Duncan Meadows Golf &Country Club, Nanoose Bay’s Fairwinds Golf Club, Parksville’s Morningstar International Golf Course, Qualicum Beach’s Pheasant Glen Golf Resort, Courtenay’s Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community, and Campbell River’s Storey Creek Golf Club.
“We’re not all necessarily within 20 minutes of each other,” Kolb said, “but there’s great value for those (golfers) who are willing to hop in their car.”
And there are more good courses on the way, including the Cliffs Over Maple Bay in the Cowichan Valley, designed by golf great Greg Norman, scheduled to open in 2007.
One of the drawbacks to a Vancouver Island golfing adventure is getting there. Visitors, obviously, must come either by boat or by airplane, and that can mean most of a travel day each way. Folks from Snohomish County will probably opt for the Anacortes-to-Sydney, B.C. ferry, though ferries from Port Angeles and Tsawwassen, B.C. are other alternatives.
“The ferries are one small barrier when you come over here,” Kolb admitted. “But for those who maybe don’t do it very often, it’s kind of a nice jaunt. And once you’re over here, you have everything you need.
“We think we’ve got the product,” he added. “And Victoria is such a huge tourism market, so it already has the infrastructure with hotels and restaurants. Now we need to get people to come over here with golf on their mind.”
To get more information about golf on Vancouver Island, visit the Golf Vancouver Island Web site (golfvancouverisland.ca) or call 1-888-465-3239. Packages with discounts are available, and reservationists can help with ticketing for either ferries or flights, along with lodging, rental cars and tee times.
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