NELSON, B.C.A golfer wishing to play Canadas best courses would have to spend a lot of time in the British Columbia Interior. For three years running (2008-2010), ScoreGolf magazine named a layout from the region the countrys Best New Course, and in 2009 and 2010 six of nine finalists were concentrated there. That golfer better bring money, however. Almost all are splashy resort affairs, many with three-figure green fees.
This helps to explain why my B.C. Interior trip is to the remote West Kootenays. Nelson, the unofficial capital, is an eight-hour drive from Calgary and even farther from Vancouver. A golf buddy once thought about spending a week here, then, after totalling up the travel time, booked a flight to Portugal instead. Big mistake. West Kootenay towns like Rossland and Nelson are some of the most charming and interesting in Canada, and the almost two dozen golf clubs in the area are truly that, golf clubs: small-town courses that cant charge a lot because the locals who constitute most of their customers wouldnt put up with it.
Just to confuse things, my West Kootenay tour begins with a track that blurs the club/resort distinction. The Kokanee Springs course is a ferry ride from Nelson on an isolated shore of Kootenay Lake. The setting is sublime, and the Norman H. Woods design, from the 1960s, is more akin to the Golden Age style of a Stanley Thompson (whom Woods once worked with) than to the generation of earthmovers who bulldozed so many quarter sections into submission during subsequent decades. At $79, the green fee is edging into resort-course territory, but since its such a pleasant treat it can be considered a reasonable splurge.
There arent a lot of better places to base a golf vacation than Nelson. Charming, historic, cosmopolitan, lively, its the rare small town with an eatery for everyone. There are two strong courses in the immediate vicinity. Right above town is Granite Pointe ($56), a nine-holer dating back to 1920 that was renovated and expanded to 18 in 1993, while a little farther away is Balfour ($63). Both demand accurate shot-making and feature lots of elevation changes and impressive lake and mountain views.
Plan also on spending a night in Rossland, an hour or so west of Nelson. A funky ski town in winter, its a quieter place come summer, but there are still lots of mountain bikers and triathlon trainees sharing trails with the bears. Its Redstone Resort ($59), another nine-holer from the 1920s thats been renovated and expanded to 18, is a terrific mountainside track that snagged third on ScoreGolfs 2010 Best New list.
In transit between Nelson and Rossland, play a round at the fine Castlegar Golf Club ($59). This is another course that doesnt lack for slopes and rolls, but overall provides a feel that is more parkland than mountainside. Its the kind of club course that will have you wanting to settle down and join.
Jim Sutherland is a member of the Meridian Writers Group.
