What is Your Favourite BC Golf Hole?

 Here are the responses to the newsletter article asking "What's Your Favourite Golf Hole?"

# 4 at the Salt Spring Golf & Country Club is a great hole.  The scenery from the tee box is spectacular.  In fact you need to take a look at the green from the tee box as from that point on you don’t see much of the green until you are on it.   You pretty much want to hit a straight drive down the hill to the landing area (between 100-150 to the green but the closer to the hundred the better).  If you are a little right of centre you bring a large stand of trees into play.   Additionally, there doesn’t appear to be any green to work with when approaching from the right.   Or if you are a little too far to the left you will likely catch the stream hazard that runs down the left side of the whole fairway to a pond at the bottom of the hill.   If you avoid the hazard however the approach to the green is favourable.  The general complication on this course is the various mounding along the fairway perimeters that causes your ball to bounce in unexpected directions so there is value in keeping your ball on the short grass.  End result is it is important to stay in a narrow area down the centre if at all possible.  Then it is the second shot that can cause all kinds of problems.  The green is up from the landing area with a very high mounding hillside on right and back side of the green and with the ground falling away with sand and grass bunkers all down the left side of the green.  In fact, from the landing area visually there doesn’t look like there is much green at all though it is a reasonably large surface.  And you might breathe a sigh of relief once you are on the green but the green has two tiers and some very subtle breaks depending on pin placements.  With a solid second shot you have a chance at a par or a bogey but if your second shot is on either side or over the green then chances are a double or triple will be in your future.

Randy Cunningham 
 
No. 16 at Big Sky Golf & Country Club in Pemberton is a great hole as it sets up for golfers who can hit a controlled fade (for right-handers).  Water runs pretty much from tee to green along the right with the fairway gently bending along its shores.  If you hit a good drive and can be between the 100 and 150 to green on the second shot then the trick is to keep it on the green and not bounce right to the water or catch the swale to the left.  Of course if you keep your drive far away from the water then the second shot can be well over 150 making the second shot a bear!  I always look forward to this hole when I manage to get up to Pemberton (infrequently unfortunately).  Whatever the outcome it is a beautiful hole to look at when standing on the tee box.
Randy Cunningham 

My favourite hole is #11 at Castlegar GC.  I used to return to Castlegar every year during my summer vacation.  I lived there for three years while I attended nursing school at Selkirk College and fell in love with the area.  Castlegar GC is one of the most beautiful and best value courses that I have ever been to.  It has top quality fairways and greens and nature lovers will enjoy the frequent close and personal encounters with the local wild life.  #11 is my favourite because of one such close encounter a few years ago.

Lorrie Brooks
Our foursome approached the #11 green to put out and noticed some rustling in the bushes behind us.  It didn't take long to notice the three tiny bear cubs playing in the bushes.  They were about forty pounds a piece and absolutely adorable.  We slowly backed away from the area and sure enough, momma came along in about five minutes.  We were far enough away that she didn't feel threatened and had some great pictures to remember our experience.

#17 at Shannon Lake.  My favourite hole is the 17th. at Shannon Lake. A strong par 4 along the side of Shannon Lake. Second shot requires 150 to 175yard to carry a large water hazard.
The lake side of the fairway has been left natural with with native flora, and a lot of water fowl.

MIke Evans
 
# 9 at Christina Lake B.C. A par three that plays from 185 to 215 Thia hole plays from an elevated green with a lake and fountaln on the left starting at about 140 yds from the teeing area bunkers right and back at 175 and 225 yds that gobble up the play safe right  play, Just to make it real interesting you must hit your tee shot through a chute of trees left and right so playing a shot to the edge of the right side to stay out of the lake is just as difficult as hitting it at the pin.A member of Christina lake is the only man in history that has a fairway named after him , it is about 150 yds down the fairway of # 9 that we all call Turnerville a 7 iron  then a running pitch of 60 to 85 yds and an easy two putt for a bogey, A par on this hole feels like a birdie on any other hole on our course.

Bill Stewart
 
My favorite golf hole is the 8th hole at Hazelmere in Surrey.My girlfriend and I both birdied it on the same day and she was within 4 inches of her shot being ann eagle.We still have a good giggle about that day.Thanks for listening have a great day..\

Wilma Cameron

One of my favourites is #18 at Eagle Ranch, in Invermere. For a mid-handicap player, it requires three near-perfect shots to hit the par 5 green. From the tee, a drive of about 230 yards will land you on a smallish plateau area, about 20 feet below the tee. Next, a firm rescue 4 will carry a wide, deep ravine (anything but a very good shot and your ball is lost in the ravine). Then, you face about a seven iron to a smallish green, with traps guarding the left, right, and back of the green, which is on a ledge above the Columbia River valley. A successful two-putt, and you are rewarded with a stunning view over Invermere to the beautiful Lake Windermere in the valley bottom, with the Rockies and Purcells on either side of the valley. A rare par on this hole, and you can treat yourself to a drink in the nearby clubhouse, also with stunning views.

Robert MacLeod

My favourite golf hole in BC is the par 5 #5 at Fairview Mountain in Oliver. My son and I have played there most summers since he was 13 – he’s now 27 – and we both really enjoy this hole. From the elevated tee, you can really unload on your drive to a generously wide fairway below. (A few years ago, a playing partner’s drive found the slope on the right side of the fairway, and when he walked up to find his ball, he surprised a small rattle snake basking in the sun. I don’t know which creature was more scared, but my friend did pretty much the physically impossible as he leapt away from the snake!)
The second shot is slightly uphill, and once again allows for a good hard smack at the ball. Then the approach is to a 3-tiered green, where accuracy in hitting the right tier can make a huge difference in your ability to successfully 2-putt for par.
That’s the fun and challenging golf part of why we like this particular hole, but equally important is the feel of that area of the course – it is a peaceful spot, vineyards to the immediate south, views east over the valley and lake, and back over the rest of this beautiful course. Often there’s a light breeze, and birds adorning the sky. On a sunny summer day, golfing with your son, how does life get much better? #5 at Fairview Mountain always makes me feel glad to be alive and to live in a part of the world where this kind of special golf hole can be enjoyed year after year.

Gordon Stewart
My favourite hole is the challenging 5th at a golf course well off the beaten path.  Kokanee Springs Golf Course, nestled in the Kokanee River Valley just south of Kootenay Bay on Kootenay Lake, is a great championship course. It has been around for a long time and features a great track that crosses the River on two of its many fine holes.  There is accommodation on the course and at the campsite on the lake just at the west end of the course. If you have your own plane you can fly in to the small gravel surfaced private landing strip just across the road from the 6th tee box.  The course is in the process of refilling their bunkers with beautiful white quartz sand. Plans are in place to build a new clubhouse and Pro Shop to replace a somewhat rustic set up there today.
The fifth hole is a 400 yard gem  with a demanding tee shot from an elevated tee. The River cuts diagonally across the fairway at about 250-300 yards out. A good drive into the middle of the fairway or left centre will leave you an approach across the river of about 160 yards depending on your length off the tee.  There are trees on the right to avoid and a series of three bunkers along the left side. You want to favour the left centre for your best approach to the deep green. If you happen to block to the right a bit you could carry into the river at 250 yards out.  Any approach from the right side of the fairway requires a much longer carry to clear the river, and you don’t want to be hitting a draw from the right side on your approach.
The green is protected with bunkers on the right and to the left side.  I don’t recall what is behind the green because I have never been able to reach that point. The green also presents an approach problem as it is a long green set diagonally to the approach shot and has an elevated rear portion that is very difficult to reach and hold with a long iron. A bogey 5 is will not leave you disappointed and you can leave the green with the hopes of a birdie on the par 5 6th to make up the dropped stroke.
John Davis
 
Contact me if you'd like to include your favourite golf hole.

Jim Lee - jim@bcga.org