Victoria Golf Courses
Victoria BC is unofficially known as the retirement capital of Canada. There are several factors involved in gaining this reputation, not the least of which are the strangely mild winters that leave most other Canadians feeling green with envy—the only green they'll find in February! Victoria's temperate climate benefits golfers and many are well aware of the mini-Mediterranean on the West Coast of Canada. Gardeners are also wise to the warm winter weather, and it is they who delight in making Victoria's colorful golf courses the pride of Vancouver Island.
The only problem with golfing in beautiful Victoria is choosing which course to play first!
Cordova Bay Golf Course
The Cordova Bay Golf Course was designed by well known golf course architect Bill Robinson and is located a short drive from downtown Victoria on Highway 17. It is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, an 18-hole championship course with a driving range, and features a delicious restaurant, a popular lounge, a short game practice facility, and premier quality Pencross creeping bent greens. Please be advised that soft spikes are mandatory on the course. Rental clubs and carts are available and it is open year round.
The Ridge Course in Cordova Bay
A 9-hole, par 3 course with spectacular views of Haro Strait and the San Juan Islands. It first opened in June, 1999, and was also designed by Bill Robinson. This course is perfect for beginner golfers but also offers some nice challenges for advanced players. Located beside the Ridge Course is an 18-hole Grass Putting Course with manicured undulating greens that cover 40,000 square feet and provide great practice for golfers of all skill level. Both are open year round.
Glen Meadows Golf and Country Club
A family owned and operated Country Club in Sydney, close to the BC Ferry landing at Swartz Bay, and 20 miles from Victoria. It offers a challenging 18 hole championship golf course plus curling and tennis facilities. The clubhouse features two lounges and has seating inside and out on a patio. Glen Meadows is a semi-private club that is open to the public everyday, year round. The Canadian Tour has qualified here on a handful of occasions but new golfers shouldn't be intimidated. The course has four sets of tees (5485 - 6859 yards) making it suitable for everyone. If you want, playing it from the front tees can make it the shortest 18 hole courses in the region. It was designed to showcase the innate talents of players not to hedge them in.
Ardmore Golf Course
Located on the Saanich Peninsula near the Victoria International Airport, the BC Ferries Swartz Bay terminal and downtown Sidney. The Ardmore Golf Club is a 9 hole course featuring a pro shop and a licensed lounge called the Irons Grille that serves a full menu of delicious items. The course is surrounded by inspiring Garry Oak meadows and ancient Douglas Fir trees. Slopes are different for men and women, 103/117 respectively, and likewise the ratings are separated at 65.4 and 69.9. For two years running, starting in 2006, Ardmore has won the Peninsula News Review "Readers Choice Award” and nothing holds it back from winning again.
Bear Mountain Golf and Country Club
Jack Nicklaus and his son Steve designed the Mountain course at Bear Mountain. Dad says “I think some of the holes out there are just unbelievably fantastic... there are 18 signature holes”. Set at the base of Mount Finlayson, this course has both supreme playability and offers true challenges. A year round sure-thing for all golfers, the panoramic mountain, city and ocean views keep players coming back month after month. Undulating fairways, verdant forests, and the highest slope rating in Canada from the back tees make this 18 hole Vancouver Island gem is a winner from the first tee to the pro shop.
Cedar Hill Municipal Golf Course
Vancouver Island's very first municipal golf course, Cedar Hill offers 18 holes of fine public golfing with practice greens, an outdoor patio in the clubhouse, a snackbar, coffeeshop, plus club and cart rentals. CPGA Professionals on hand for golf instruction if lessons are what you seek. It has green fees for either 9 holes or the full 18 holes and is open year round from dawn to dusk. There are reduced rates for juniors and a dress code is in effect. The course is short yet challenging, mainly due to sudden rock outcroppings and tricky water hazards. There are actually so many shot tasks that golfers often end up using most of their clubs, if not all of them. Tip: there is a severe dogleg on the 12th that turns a 362 yard par four hole into a grueling test of skill for even advanced players.
Gorge Vale Golf Club
Situated in the vicinity of downtown Victoria, this club has ample parking, nicely manicured greens, and rolling fairways. Water hazards and elevation changes give this 6820 yard championship course a challenging twist beneath its picturesque appearance. Watch for wind on holes 10 and 14 and be sure to choose your clubs wisely. Hole 12 is the trickiest on the course, as there are "out of bounds" on either side of players. Number 17 is a spectacular hole, the pride of the course to be sure, built around a gigantic Oak tree to the left which makes a drive in the fairway essential. A highly playable course, built like a park by golf course architect Les Furber. Facilities include a driving range, putting green, and chipping green.
Olympic View Golf Club
Positioned on the southern most point of Vancouver Island, less than half an hour from downtown Victoria, the 6542 yard, par 72, Olympic View Golf Course has won more awards than we can list here. Several of the 18 holes are considered "masterpieces" and offer breathtaking views of the thrusting peaks of the Olympic Mountain Range. Nature lovers enjoy this course, for the roaring waterfalls, Bald Eagles, White-tailed Deer, dozens of lakes and poetic stone outcrops make it feel more like a sanctuary than a golf club. Olympic View has the honor of being the first golf course in Canada that Tiger Woods played. Open to the public from dawn to dusk everyday.
Prospect Lake Golf Course
Located 20 minutes from downtown Victoria in a tranquil country setting on the southern shore of Prospect Lake, this 9 hole golf course is suitable for mid, low and high handicappers. Bring all your clubs for this one because you are going to need them. Narrow fairways, testy greens, sassy sand bunkers and distracting vistas require golfers to strategize through every step of the course. Hole 6 has a noticeable elevation change, and is viewable from the clubhouse patio so be on your best behavior, there are people watching you! The knowledgeable staff is uniquely suited to combine golf with dinner events and has earned a loyal following of people who come back again and again for the friendly service and tasty cuisine.
Royal Colwood Golf Club
A private 18 hole, par 72 club located on Goldstream Ave in Victoria. Golf architect Arthur Vernon Macan originally designed the course in 1913 as a parkland style championship course. Golf course managers have remained loyal to his vision, and have preserved the four century old Douglas Firs and majestic Garry Oaks that surround it. Members of the Royal Colwood are from all sorts of backgrounds but share one thing in common, a deep love for golf. Both the young and old enjoy this course, which is one of the country's finest, so fine in fact that the club has hosted several members of the Royal family over the years. Aside from golf, the banquet facilities at Royal Colwood are suitable for any sized event and is staffed by people well trained in the art of service with a smile.
Victoria Golf Club
Situated in Oak Bay, this heritage golf club has more than a hundred years of experience in offering superb seaside golf to members and visitors alike. The Victoria Golf Club has much to be proud of, but most of the boasting comes from being open for play more days in a year than any other course in the country, and, from being the oldest course in Canada. Its location on the most southernly tip of Vancouver Island gives it a broad and breath-taking view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the 35,000 square foot newly renovated clubhouse endlessly pleases the approximately many golfing and social members. This 18 hole, par 72 championship golf course is set upon a rocky point, so golfers should be advised that wind is always a challenge at the Victoria Golf Club.