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.

As our foursome approaches the 17th tee our jaws collectively drop as the amazing scene unfolds. To our left and right massive columns of chiselled rock fold into the sea and waves explode on the shore below. Beyond the rocks, the dazzling Sea of Cortez shimmers and melts away to the creamy horizon. And one hundred and fifty yards from our perch a thin wedge of green hangs on top of a 200-foot cliff. For ten minutes, it seems, we saunter around the tee taking selfies and group shots like there’s no tomorrow.  

Mexico is home to a phenomenal collection of golf courses. And the Baja California Peninsula – that thin, ragged run of land that extends from Tijuana in the north to Los Cabos on the southern tip – easily boasts the best collection of courses in the country. And many of the best ones have been built in the past ten years or so. To top it off, some of the prettiest – and deadliest! – golf holes I’ve ever seen are on the Baja.    

            While the southern tip (the Los Cabos area) alone has over a dozen fantastic desert-meets-sea courses, there are other places to play that, seemingly, fall somewhat under the radar.  Yes, these unheralded outposts may not have the quantity of courses that are found in Los Cabos, but the quality is certainly on a similar level. Case in point: Danzante Bay. 

            With its charming and historic cobblestone downtown, Loreto is a fascinating little tourist-friendly outpost. (Westjet has seasonal direct flights to Loreto from Calgary.) And, situated approximately twenty minutes south of this seaport, the TPC Danzante Bay golf course is, for good reason, a fast-rising star on the Mexican golf scene. The course was designed by talented architect, Rees Jones, and the routing is outstanding. The course wanders along arroyos and blasts through sun-roasted valleys lined with striking rock formations. And, although the seaside moments (there are two) are highlights, it’s exciting from start to finish.

            “The golf course was done in stages and it took us close to five years to establish the final routing at Danzante Bay,” said Rees Jones during a recent phone conversation. (The course opened on all 18 holes in 2017.) “All of the par-3s are strong. But yes, it’s the 17th that rightfully gets the most attention.” Similar to many of the great short par-3s in the world – the 12th at Augusta National, the 7th at Pebble Beach, and the 4th at Banff Springs, for example – the target on the 17th is small and the consequences for a miss are severe. But the setting and the views are absolutely amazing.  

And it’s this striking natural beauty, these high-stakes moments, that make the golf on the Baja California Peninsula stand-out. The warm-and-salty sea, the rocky cacti-peppered slopes, the beautiful beaches; these certainly are trademarks of this region.  

            Roughly four hundred kilometres south of Loreto is where you’ll find the capital and largest city of Baja California Sur, La Paz, which is another under-the-radar destination that golfers should know about. Highlights here include a beautiful downtown core tucked along the baby-blue La Paz Bay, a 5-km long waterfront walkway, wonderful beaches, and plenty of restaurants, cafes, and taquerias that specialize in fresh, locally-caught seafood. 

            The Gary Player-designed El Cortés Golf Club at the CostaBaja Resort & Spa is the first course you’ll want to book. The course starts high on a windswept bluff overlooking the sea and then plunges to the ocean for the bulk of the round. El Cortés scores high marks for its amazing vistas, numerous perched tees, and beautiful shaping and bunkering. 

            The seaside drama is certainly also the name of the game down the road in Los Cabos. And the new kid on the block, the Solmar Golf Links, could be the poster child for by-the-sea swings. This Greg Norman-designed layout has a number of incredible holes that are completely encased in bone-white sand dunes that run along the shore. Complete with an island green hole, a driveable par-4, and firm-and-fast turf conditions, this is a course that you definitely don’t want to miss.  

Unquestionably, the tourist strip between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas is home to the most notable string of golf courses in all of Mexico. In total, there are about a dozen courses that won’t disappoint. (But brace yourself: you’ll pay for your golf experience! Golf isn’t cheap in Los Cabos. Think $250USD-ish per round in winter.) 

Similar to Solmar, the Dunes Course at nearby Diamante is an awesome adventure through towering sand dunes. The course, which was designed by Davis Love III and his brother, Mark Love, opened in 2010. It’s an amazing links golf experience that is consistently recognized by Golf Magazine as one of the Top 100 Courses in the World. The “wow” factor here – thanks to the eye-popping dunescapes – is one of the highest I’ve ever encountered. And if I had to choose just one course to play on the Baja, this would be it.  

The Diamante development (like Solmar Golf Links, it’s located on the Pacific side of Los Cabos) also includes the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal Course – an inland desert track that has plenty of strategic options – as well as the 12-hole Oasis Short Course, which was also designed by Woods. And interestingly, a third Tiger course, the ultra-exclusive Legends, is currently in construction. 

The catch? Diamante is a private resort and residential development. Basically, the only way to get access to the golf courses is to receive an invite from a member, buy yourself a big shack on the beach (that will cost you) or book a short-term stay at a property in the development.

Diamante Dunes Rental Properties

Although there are a handful of ultra-exclusive golf-and-beach hideouts in Los Cabos – Chileno Bay, Querencia, El Dorado, and Twin Dolphin are prime examples – there are plenty of accessible courses as well. 

Quivira, for example, is yet another seaside campaign with a couple of breathtaking cliff-side stretches. The course, which also features the most scenic seaside practice area in Mexico, was designed by Jack Nicklaus. (And another Nicklaus design in the sprawling community of Quivira has just broken ground.) With cliff-top comfort stations, do-or-die par-3s along the wave-smashed shore, and plenty of elevation change, this is seaside golf on steroids. It’s a highly memorable and unique golf experience. 

On my last visit to Los Cabos (in early December, 2023), I stayed at the Pueblo Bonito Pacifico, an all-inclusive resort in the fast-growing Quivira development. It’s a stunning adults-only resort with a gorgeous private beach and wonderful pools, the award-winning Armonia spa, an excellent quintet of restaurants, free shuttle service to the golf course and their sister properties, and much more. It’s a fabulous tucked-away oasis and it makes for an exceptional homebase for your golf adventures in Los Cabos.    

Of course, if you’re a fan of Nicklaus-designed courses you’ve got even more golf in these parts that will test your talento. Puerto Los Cabos, San Jose del Cabo, and Palmilla are all noteworthy Nicklaus creations that serve up sweet by-the-sea golf complete with fresh-taco comfort stations (a Los Cabos trademark) and upscale ambiance.  

True, this “upscale” aspect will take a heavy toll on your peso pile. But your hard-earned money will get you something on the Baja. Tacos, beer, and birdies, for example. And, of course, life-long memories of playing some of the most spectacular golf holes in the world. Buena fortuna, amigos!