Precision golf

Set in the St. Mary Valley and the Purcell Range, Kimberley has great, scenic golf

Avid golfer Chris Andrews recalls two favourite holes in the Kimberley area, one that is intriguing for its beauty and the other for its technical play requirements. Andrews, who works for Kootenay Rockies Tourism, offered his pointers on how to play the two holes. He finds the par four Hole 13 at Kimberley Golf Club very scenic. The 375-yard hole offers a nice challenge to go with the view. “You stare right down the St. Mary Valley and right at the cliffs and bluffs and Bootleg Mountain on the left. Those cliff walls make the dramatic backdrop and it’s a very good little golf hole. It is a precision-type golf hole. You want to hit it to a certain spot, then hit it to a two-tiered green. It just angles a little bit to the right. Most golfers fade the golf ball or hit a bit of a slice. If you do that, you leave yourself in a bit of trouble. But yet, you can’t go too far because there is a bunker way up on the left-hand side. You want to leave yourself back where you can hit a shot into anywhere on the green, because if it’s a pin on the right-hand side up on the second tier, you want to be on the left-hand side so you have a good angle of approach.” On the 13th tee, Andrews usually uses a three wood versus a driver, just to be precise. h3. A fascinating challenge While Hole 5 at Bootleg Gap is also very beautiful, Andrews keeps going back to the par five, 520-yard hole because of its fascinating challenge. “Very challenging tee shot—it’s just the tightness of the tee shot. You have to be very accurate. It’s a par five. If you do hit that perfect tee shot you are then left with an even more challenging approach to a green if you are trying to get there in two. With a bunker on the right, and a bank on the left, to a green that is kind of saddle-shaped, peaked in the middle, that faces you—it is a very challenging golf hole if you get aggressive. It’s one that you like to hit a good drive or a three wood, then hit a good lay-up and then try to get it up on the green and make a birdie if you can. If you get away with par, then you’re happy. Every shot is pretty challenging on that hole. If you get aggressive you can make a big number. “There are great golf courses all over that just don’t share the same scenic backdrop that we enjoy,” concluded Andrews. h3. Mountain golf The rolling terrain on pine-forested fairways at Trickle Creek is renowned for its balance of challenge and playability, which is the great achievement of Les Furber-designed courses. Golf instruction at Trickle Creek is excellent, providing private, group and on-course playing lessons. Cost-effective packages are a great option, as are intensive clinics.