Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions. The wife and I had a fabulous two weeks in BC! Many thank to GCA Lurker Bob, who set me straight on Vancouver public options and escorted us on two occasions. He also suggested we visit the BC Golf Museum behind the 17th tee of University BC GC. Here's a quick trip report:
Our first round was at Fraserview with Bob. I would consider it an ideal municipal course with 40 yard wide fairways, light rough and large green complexes. The Poa Annua greens were firm and dry with very little chance of making a ball mark and they rolled extremely well. All in all a very nice public option, reasonably priced with a good set of forward tees for the ladies and seniors.
Our second round was at University of BC GC, designed by A V Macan. I loved the intricately shaped greens and the mix of holes was outstanding; everything from a 100 yard par 3 to a couple of hard to reach Par 4's. This was my favorite Vancouver public offering and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Sadly it looks like the land might revert back to the First Nations in another 5 years, so play it now! Don't miss the BC Golf Museum right behind the 17th tee in the old clubhouse. We spent two hours chatting with Volunteer Historian Mike Riste, who wrote the book on Macan. He a fascinating gut y to talk to and having him explain a lot of the items in the Museum was pretty cool. Definitely worth a trip if you are in the area.
We also played Langara which dates to 1926 but had a complete makeover recently by Thomas McBroom. The green complexes are challenging and quite well done. The course is intimate without feeing crowded; indeed there's really only two parallel holes where you might have to duck from a wayward shot. The mix of holes was excellent and it was very fair for ladies. Again conditioning was outstanding for a busy municipal course and the greens rolled quick and true.
Our second week was spent in Victoria and we only had time for one round there and happily it was Victoria GC; one of my all time favorite members clubs. The holes are all challenging but doable. The penalty for a screw up can be quite severe, knowing where to miss is critical knowledge there. The all world 7th hole had the pin in the front right which left two options: rinse one in the Pacific or three putt, I chose both! Just a great little course that keeps getting better as they have employed Jeff Mingay to keep it as true to Macan's original vision as possible.
We finished the trip back in Vancouver, this time on the north side where we were privileged to play Capilano. Wow, this is the full on golf experience. The members love to walk and Stanley Thompson's brilliant routing makes the walk on what is basically the side of a mountain both exhilarating and entertaining. Surprisingly the holes on the flatter land were more memorable than the numerous downhill ones. The finish is awfully strong with the two excellent par 4's 15 & 17 with the cool half par, 3 shot 16th wedged in between. The 18th is all world, I 've never seen a hole quite like it with the green site up un the pad for the Clubhouse. It's well bunkered and is actually best approached from the left hand side rather than straight on. Our host was kind enough to take us on a tour inside the Clubhouse which was just awesome. The view from the Men's Locker Room Bar is probably the best in golf, what a day out!