Vancouver BC Golf Trail

Golf Magazine, 4/10

DrinkingMadeEasy.com, 2012

Vancouver Island has plenty of gold medal-worthy golf

By Joe Passov, Senior Editor (Courses/Rankings)

Forget the Winter Olympics — golfers are all about the summer. Vancouver Island is just north of Seattle in the Canadian province of British Columbia, a quick trip across the Strait of Georgia from downtown Vancouver. The Vancouver Island Golf Trail starts at Victoria's Inner Harbour and runs roughly 150 miles northwest to the Campbell River, and along the way it offers a podium full of scenic, bargain-priced courses.

Westin Bear Mountain Resort (Mountain)
Victoria, B.C.
7,203 yards, par 72
$69-$149
250-744-2327
www.bearmountain.ca

Plenty of our friends to the north rate this as Western Canada's best course. It is indisputably the toughest. The vision of former NHL great Len Barrie (and designed by Jack Nicklaus) it will leave you feeling like you've been checked against the boards from start to finish. Still, memorable holes dominate. Make time to play the optional 19th hole, a 165-yard par-3 beauty. Check your ego at the first tee, play the right set of blocks and you'll relish the climb on this Mountain.

Westin Bear Mountain Resort (Valley)
Victoria, B.C.
6,807 yards, par 71
$69-$149
250-744-2327
www.bearmountain.ca

Nowhere near as fearsome as its Mountain sibling, the year-old Valley layout instead terrorizes you on the greens, which tumble and roll with internal contouring that may make you seasick. At least green speeds at this Nicklaus Design product are kept at a sane pace. Rock walls and a smattering of tattered-edge bunkers make for a distinctive look and a fun day, if you can stomach a month's worth of three-putts in one round.

Olympic View Golf Club
Victoria, B.C.
6,600 yards, par 72
$30-$79
250-474-3673
www.olympicviewgolf.com

This is the Pacific Northwest course of your dreams: fairways ribbon through massive firs with snow-capped mountains draped across the background. The clubhouse, Forester's Bistro and Bar and a top-drawer practice facility complete a terrific package. Still, if you spray your shots, you may want to stay in the bar. This heavily forested 1990 William Robinson design traverses steep terrain, and its tight-turning doglegs often demand an iron layup from the tee. Play smart — and straight — and you'll have a blast. Stray, and you'll pay.

Crown Isle Resort & Golf Community
Courtenay, B.C.
7,025 yards, par 72
$35-$90 (CDN)
888-338-8493
www.crownisle.com

Here's Travelin' Joe's take: the Halibut Cheeks appetizer at the resort's Silverado Steakhouse is more memorable than its golf. The course is typical resort fare: tight, tree-lined doglegs, often bunkered on the inside elbow, enough risk/reward water holes to keep good players on their toes and a handful of handsome panoramas. It's a healthy three-and-a-half-hour drive here from Victoria, but enticing side trips make this a journey I'd take again, if only for the candied salmon at Fanny Bay Oysters Seafood Shop (www.fannybayoysters.com) in Buckley Bay.

Morningstar Golf Course
Parksville, B.C.
7,018 yards, par 72
$35-$79
800-567-1320
www.morningstargolf.com

The charming seaside towns of Parksville and Qualicum Beach are roughly a two-hour drive north of Victoria. You can see the water from an ancient nine-hole muni called Qualicum Beach Memorial, but if you're looking for a real taste of championship golf, try Morningstar. This sturdy Les Furber creation features a balanced mixture of well-bunkered, open holes and narrow, wooded tests. I'll challenge anyone to find a tougher medium-length par 4 than the 404-yard 12th. The hole twists downhill to the right but demands a carefully placed tee shot to a skinny fairway that slopes right-to-left. The ensuing sidehill approach from about 160 yards requires a shot over a wetland to a tiny green guarded by a front-left bunker.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
The Four-Diamond Hotel Grand Pacific (800-663-7550, www.hotelgrandpacific.com; rooms from $159) boasts an amazing location overlooking Victoria's Inner Harbour. The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa (250-391-7160, www.bearmountain.ca; rooms from $159) is a luxury lodge with a shopping village and superb restaurants.

At Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub (877-838-2739, www.spinnakers.com) the house-made ales and brick-oven pizzas are standouts, while Butchart Gardens (250-544-4477, www.butchartgardens.com; $15-$30) has impressed visitors with its 55 acres of flowers, trees and shrubbery for more than a century.

Zane Lamprey's Drinking Made Easy Guide To Vancouver, 2012

Zane and Steve jump the border for Canada to tour the city of Vancouver, which is the largest metropolitan area in western Canada. They’ll taste local beers, local wines, and some local cocktails while also experiencing the cities different districts like Gastown. The drunken duo will also refine their taste with an elegant wine, cheese, and meat paring dinner…then bring it back down again for some creative cocktails and booze.

WHERE WE WENT

  • Rogue: Rogue gives it’s customer an eclectic offering of food and surroundings, that they can feel and be themselves. You can go Rogue when you’re slumming, you can go Rogue when you need to impress. You can go Rogue with a date, your mates or with your boss. 601 West Cordova Street Vancouver, BC V6A 0A1, Canada (604) 678-8000
  • The Alibi Room: Arguably one of the best places to grab a beer in Vancouver, the Alibi Room has 50 taps of local and imported craft beer (See below to for beers featured in the show). 157 Alexander Street Vancouver, BC V6A 1B8, Canada (604) 623-3383
  • Salt Tasting Room: The food pairing enthusiast need look no further with the Salt Tasting Room where you can pair up delectable cured meats, artisanal cheese, and a dynamic array of wines. Blood Alley Square Vancouver, BC V6B 0C4, Canada (604) 633-1912
  • The Diamond: By day a boutique bartending school, by night a mixology cocktail parlour, The Diamond is one of the top places to find some truly original cocktails. The Diamond’s own Josh Pape recently won the Barate Kid Invitational, an annual bartending competition in Vancouver. 6 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1E7
  • Guilt & Co: This unique bar embraces our guilty pleasures and offers up a number of infuzed cocktails, with homemade bitters, tinctures, and garnishes. Some of their drinks are even known to have aphrodisiac qualities. 1 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1E9, Canada 1 604-288-1704
  • Shebeen Whiskey House: If you love whiskey, you will love Shebeen Whiskey House which houses one of the largest selections of single malt bourbons, rye, scotch, and Irish whiskeys. Taste all types of Whiskey’s from all over the world. Gastown, 9 Gaoler’s Mews Vancouver, BC V6B (604) 915-7338

WHAT WE DRANK

The Rogue Caesar Recipe

Hotel Nacional Recipe

Picket Fence Recipe

Unfaithful Servant Recipe

White Manhattan Recipe

What We Featured

Fun Facts

  • The origin of the bloody mary is unsure, but claims have it introduced in 1921 or 1939.
  • The Italian inventor of the Caesar fashioned it after a popular item choice in Venice, Italy.
  • Clamato juice is a blend of tomato juice, clam broth, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
  • The Alibi Room has 50 taps of local and imported craft beer.
  • Lambic beers are exposed to wild yeasts and bacteria, usually leaving a sour taste.
  • There are 9 breweries in Vancouver.
  • Most BC wine stays in BC because production is not enough to warrant export.
  • When pairing food and wine, the weight, body, and texture of the wine should be matched to that of the food.
  • A 1963 embargo blocks trade from items, including rum, with Cuba.
  • The Bar-ate Kid Invitational is an annual bartending competition in Vancouver.
  • A built drink is a drink that is served in the glass it is made in.
  • The “Stone Fence” has many variations; but all require hard cider in the recipe.
  • Candied salmon gets its sweet flavor from fresh maple syrup.
  • Canadian Whiskey’s must be aged in a barrel for a minimum of 3 years.