If you’re going to golf in Alberta in March & early April, chances are you’re teeing it up inside on a SIM, unless you live in the south where you get an occasional recess from snow and cold thanks to a chinook.
I am lucky in that I live on a golf course, but when I looked out my front window last month, there was nothing but a snow-covered tee box and fairway, with more of the white stuff coming down. So, to put a smile on my face, I booked a flight to Canada’s year-round golf destination, Vancouver Island, and in particular the northern end of the island’s famed golf trail.
A flight to Comox set in motion a Spring Break getaway, starting with the wonderful Crown Isle Golf Resort and a landscape that is great for the entire family.
Crown Isle Golf & Resort Website
Crown Isle Golf Resort
The scenic track at Crown Isle is something special, sitting as it does under the Beaufort Mountain range. As a resort course it offers wide landing areas off the tee and large greens making eye-pleasing sights for swing-starved Albertans. Those factors though don’t make this layout a walk in the park. In fact, it’s so good the Q-School for the PGA TOUR Canada has been held here.
What is here for the golf course — and has been for years — is a truly good play. Measuring out at just over 7,000 yards from the tips and winding down to 5,200 yards, there’s a spot to start for everyone. And with those big fairways and huge greens beckoning, low scores can seem oh-so-close. But when you take in the massive bunkering complexes around the layout, several water hazards, and greens that are truly fast, one must take care from start to finish.
“With all the little subtleties, that makes it a great course for every level of player,” Jason Andrew, the Director pf Resort Operations at Crown Isle stated. “With no forced carries if you’re just getting started, don’t hit the ball very far, it’s not like you’ve got to hit it over water hazards or 100 yards of rough to get to the fairway. The other interesting thing, and what Graham Cooke did a phenomenal job at, is if you go back on tee boxes the golf course completely changes. When you get to the back gold tee, all the bunkering comes into play,”
Sleeping Over
Since the Crown Isle Golf Resort is only 15 minutes from the Comox airport, what better place is there to set up shop for a few days? The accommodations here are good to the extreme with the choice of either one of their wonderful villas located at the back of the No. 1 tee box or in one of the newly renovated cabins that line the first fairway. And the lodge, which is a remarkable piece of architecture on its own, has great places to enjoy either a large meal or a light lunch.
“We have the largest hotel in the Comox Valley,” Andrew pointed out. “We’ve now added another amenity, called The Cottages. We’ve added 26 cottages bringing us up to 112 rooms on site, It simplifies things here. You can go play golf, have a nap, go play golf again!”
The resort sits close to area restaurants and shopping, including Costco which sits on the Crown Isle property. In addition, the Thrifty Shopping Centre is nearby, so if you do want to get off property, although one wonders why that is necessary, there are great eating and shopping venues close at hand,
Moving North
North of Crown Isle are a pair of tracks you’ll want to set foot on. Storey Creek is a quiet play to the extreme, while Campbell River’s update has brought it up to par with all the courses on the Vancouver Island Golf Trail.
There are all types of adverbs to describe a round of golf at Storey Creek GC but perhaps this is the best way to sum things up – I’d go back tomorrow if I could. No, let me rephrase that – I’d go back this afternoon if I could.
Storey Creek is like a golf course from a story book – scenery right out of a writer’s imagination; wildlife visible at almost every turn; holes that are separated from each other making you feel like you’re on your own private track, and variety to test every club in your bag.
This beauty was carved out of the bush back in 1989 and every hole you’re on is your own hole out there. You’ll see more deer than you do golfers. The No. 1 priority here is position golf. If you play to the right spots on fairways and then hit the ball to the right spots on the greens, you’ll score well. But even if you don’t, this tour is well worth your time.
“Hidden gem” is probably an overused term in the golf world these days. While the Campbell River Golf & Country Club certainly isn’t hidden it is a gem. Redesigned about five years ago it also tests every club in your bag, yet it is a joy to play and behold.
At “only” 6,141 yards from the back deck, dropping down to 4,400, this isn’t a course where you need the big stick working. Yet, at sea level, shots don’t go as far as you think (or hope) so you need to keep your wits about you, along with a strong putting stroke to score well.
Proof of that plays out over all 18 holes, which includes seven shorties, measuring anywhere from 135 yards up to 170 off the blue tees. To bring the overall par up to 70, the front nine hosts two par-5 tests while there is a trio of those on the back.
Overall, Vancouver Island, and in particular the northern end is the perfect spot for a break from winter weather in Alberta and a great way to get your golf swing in shape of the upcoming season when the snow finally leaves for good.