I am about to head off for the weekend for a 3 day golf weekend in Jerez (Southern Spain.. where Sherry comes from!) I thought that this guest post from Marie is the perfect post for today!
As a novice golfer I was a little reluctant to set out on my first ever golf vacation. Would I get tired of playing every day? Would I be able to keep up with everyone? Would the courses be too challenging for me?
I only just started seriously pursuing golf about 3 years ago. With a hectic work schedule, I just always had more important things to do with my time off. Little did I realize what a benefit the game would be for my health and my spirit!
When my friends proposed a golfing road trip, I decided to throw caution to the wind and hit the road.
We live in the Pacific Northwest and decided to head a short drive north across the border to British Columbia. There was a lot of driving involved but we planned the route, settled on the courses, and away we went. We started our tour in Victoria on Vancouver Island. From there we took the ferry over to the mainland and golfed in Kamloops and Kelowna – with lots of driving in between! The courses we chose were all public, though that didn’t mean they were any less challenging or impressive. BC has lots of world-class and award-winning courses that offer lower green fees for an economical trip.
Our first tee off was at Bear Mountain, just outside Victoria. This Jack Nicklaus course is relatively new, and is the only course like it on the island. Its 36 holes are a challenge for players of any skill level. The course itself is stunning, at the foot of the Mt. Finlayson. We were there in March and it was a little damp (such is golf in a rain forest!) but I can imagine what a great course it would be in the summer months!
My golf partners are a tenacious lot. The next day we took on Arbutus Ridge. It received a Four Star Golf Digest Rating and was also voted the Best Destination Golf Course in BC – with good reason! Even though it’s a public course, it’s meticulously kept and the views are incredible. My favorite part? It’s right in the middle of wine country. After our round we stopped in at Merridale Ciderworks for a tasting paired with the most delicious local food.
We headed out early the next morning for the 7:00 sailing on BC Ferries. The ride is about an hour and a half, plus traffic. Then we drove to Kamloops and checked in to our hotel. I was happy for a travel day (so were my feet since we’ve been walking all of the courses so far!) and enjoyed eating out and catching up on my book.
In Kamloops we golfed at two public courses: Tobiano and Rivershore. Rivershore is a Robert Trent Jones masterpiece. Make no mistake – it may be a public course but it still offers quite a challenge. The great thing about BC is that the scenery is all so different. You think about massive old-growth forests, but when you get toward the interior, it’s very desert-like. Rivershore is beautiful. It’s surrounded by sagebrush covered hills and looks over the South Thompson River.
You may have heard of Tobiano – it has the prestige of being voted Canada’s #1 Public Golf Course in BC (twice!) by SCORE Golf Magazine. The course has five part 5s and, according to their website, ranks 16th in all of Canada’s top private and public courses. Not only were the views spectacular, the golf was great, the food was divine and the people are amazing. Kamloops is said to be BC’s friendliest city, and from everyone I talked to while we were there, that’s certainly true.
Our last stop on this golfing adventure was Kelowna – just a two and a half hour drive from Kamloops. After we finished up at Tobiano and spent the evening resting up for two more great rounds.
We absolutely lucked out on the weather in Kelowna. I’ve been there in the summer and experienced the dry, desert heat (which I love!) but had no idea what to expect in the spring. It was unseasonably warm and we got away with just t-shirts on the greens.
The first day in Kelowna we teed off at Gallagher’s Canyon. The golf here was great but I absolutely loved the dinner afterward. The Okanagan is known for its fruit and local wines, and the dinner we had was entirely made with fresh, local ingredients and worth a trip back. The course itself is very close to the hotel where we stayed in Kelowna (by the way, Accent Inns gave us a great rate since we were there for the golf! Worth checking into if you’re planning on a golfing trip). From the course you can see all of the orchards and vineyards, wide patches of pine trees specific to the desert climate, and, of course, the canyon.
We were going to play a second round in Kelowna, and were booked into a tee time at Predator Ridge, but decided that after 6 days straight, we were all too tired for one more day of golf. We opted to go on a vineyard tour instead. So we cancelled the round, booked a wine tour shuttle and had a great day. If you’re going to do this, make sure you leave room in the car when you’re packing for all of the cases of wine you’ll undoubtedly pick up! Let’s just say it was a cozy ride back home.
You may have noticed that I haven’t included my scores anywhere. Like I said at the beginning, I’m a relative novice, and I’m not about to embarrass myself publicly. I didn’t do terribly, but I definitely have something to shoot for next time! I recommend checking out some of the great courses that BC has to offer if you’re in the area. Maybe next time we’ll do a tour of private courses… I’ll let you know!