Just back from a trip to beautiful British Columbia, westernmost of our provinces here in Canada. We had the opportunity to golf at Wildstone, Trickle Creek, Osoyoos, Predator Ridge - Predator & Ridge courses, Talking Rock, and Tobiano.
Rather than incite a frenzied discussion of each course (although that is certainly welcome), this photo tour is meant more to show, to some degree, courses which may or may not be well known in other parts of the world, and hopefully spark interest which may result in future play.
The 3rd course we played was the Desert Gold course at the Osoyoos Golf & Country Club, within a mile or two of the U.S. border. The Desert Gold course is fascinating in that it begins in a parkland setting, but soon opens up into a true desert environment, complete with rattlesnakes and the usual desert flora, before finishing with the last two holes in parkland. Temperatures here, and in the Okanagan Valley in general, can get hot in the summer months, as the Valley is the northern extension of the Sonoran Desert of the American southwest. The morning we played, the temp got to +35 Celsius. But it's a dry heat! Their golfing season is quite long, for Canada's standards anyway, with a 10-month season, excluding only December and January.
From the course's website...
"Experience Canada's Only Desert-Style Golf Course, Plush Conditioning, Warm Hospitality and 36 Holes of Championship Golf in the Heart of Okanagan Valley & Wine Country
Few things are more synonymous with incredible Golf than “British Columbia” and and very few
clubs offer more than the 36-hole Osoyoos Golf & Country Club. Framed by evergreen hardwoods, Members, Guests and Groups play here for its plush fairways and silky-smooth Bent Grass greens. A warm desert climate and beautiful mountainous terrain combine to create an ideal canvas for golf. Perched high above the Town of Osoyoos, vistas of mountains, lake, desert and valley comprise our two full eighteen hole championship layouts which offer all golfers a unique golfing experience. The Park Meadows, the easier of the two is a classic design with less trouble than The Desert Gold. We keep the rough at a “friendly length” on the The Park Meadows to emphasize fun. The Desert Gold is a more modern design and requires more precise shot making. The rough is a little “rougher” and overall it’s a more challenging golf course. You’ll see here that we have two golf courses and depending on what you’re in the mood for – we have something for you."
Gold = 6,500 yds slope 140
Black = 6,039 yds slope 134
Silver = 5,571 yds slope 123
Bronze = 4,924 yds slope 118 (w)
Obviously the course is not real long, but it's 140 slope emphasizes the challenge incurred. The desert surroundings definitely come into play, but overall I thought that the playing corridors were generous. The fairways and greens were in great shape (hard not to grow grass in the desert) but some of the teeboxes were a bit on the dry side. There's definitely some elevation change on the course, notably the downhill 6th, dropping 100+ feet to the fairway below.
A few photos from the course...
Cheers,
Jim