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 last course played on our trip was Tobiano, about 20 minutes west of the city of Kamloops, adjacent to the Trans Canada Highway and Kamloops Lake.
From their website...
"Golf at Tobiano is unlike golf anywhere else in the world
Award-winning Canadian golf architect Thomas McBroom used his entire palette in designing a course like no other. The site of the historic Six Mile Ranch has been transformed from rugged bench lands into a golf course that is as visually captivating as it is thrilling to play.
With five par 5s — including the spectacular 8th, the No. 1 handicap hole — eight par fours highlighted by the elegant necklace of holes 4, 5 and 6, and five par 3s that will inspire the shot maker in each player, from the dramatic first tee to the undulating 18th green, Tobiano is unforgettable.
SCOREGolf's Top 100 - Tobiano ranks 16 in Canada
In our first year of being eligible for the national ranking of Canada's top private and public golf courses, Tobiano received rave reviews from SCOREGolf's 102 panellists as it debuted into the prestigious Top 100 in 16th position.
Tobiano was the highest-ranking public golf course in B.C., and the 6th highest public course in Canada!
Tobiano was also rated 8th in the Top 15 Modern Courses in Canada (1960 - present)."
I noticed on ScoreGolf's latest rankings (2012) that Tobiano is now ranked 10th in Canada. Nearby Sagebrush, about an hour to the south, is ranked #11. Frankly this scares me (Tobiano ranked 10th best in Canada). I am assuming it is because of the course's visual impact and the severity of the terrain onto which it was built. As others have attested, the course is a beast and if not played "from the correct tees" will make for one long day. This golfer played "from the correct tees" and suffice to say will not likely be back. I lost a ball on the 1st hole on my second shot of the day, just missing the fairway to the left but never finding the ball. Did it again several holes later, same scenario. Due to time constraints (we still had a 5 hour drive to Jasper, Alberta after the golf and we weren't planning on golfing in the first place but had just planned a "look see" - my wife actually talked me into playing the front nine - so we didn't tee off until 1:00 that day) we just golfed the front nine and then hit the road to Jasper.
Matt Bosela has some excellent photos and a nice discussion on the course, see his thread here...
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,42367.0.htmlOn to the course...
View of back 9 from entrance road off Trans Canada Highway
Range with 1st hole in background; 9th hole at far left
1st hole par-5 576 yards
landing zone 1st fairway
approach area 1st fairway
from behind 1st green
2nd hole par-4 350 yards ... green is behind bunker complex on right
2nd hole, in the crook of the dogleg
2nd fairway
short left
behind 2nd green
3rd hole, par-3 162 yards
from behind 3rd green
More to come ...