A golf vacation in Kamloops

Golfing buddies enjoy three very different rounds of golf

Since the Indian word Kamloops means meeting of the water, it was time to meet in Kamloops and play some golf. Golf Kamloops boasts that Kamloops is Canada’s number one golf destination (though Prince Edward Island makes the same claim.) Golf Kamloops started as a consortium of seven golf courses with the goal of promoting Kamloops golf courses.They use phrases such as “pure golf experience,” “mountain golf desert style” and “a preferred golf destination.” Over the years, additional courses have attached themselves to this organization, including The Dunes, Sun Rivers, Talking Rock Resort in Chase, Rivershore Estates and Golf Links, Sun Peaks Resort, Kamloops Golf and Country Club and Tobiano.

My friends and I selected a package of two nights and three rounds of golf. We had 12 hotels to select from and 13 golf courses. Booking can be done online at [email protected], or phone 1-888-232-6603. Once hotels and tee times are confirmed, Golf Kamloops sends you confirmation slips to be presented in the pro shops and hotels.

The courses we selected were The Dunes and Sun Rivers on day one and Tobiano on day two. We stayed away from the weekend for obvious reasons. On our drive to Kamloops from the Lower Mainland, we stopped in Merritt to warm up on their nine-hole local course. An alternate choice would have been the Richard Zolko-designed course near Merritt called The Club at Sagebrush. The weather in mid-June was warm but rain threatened.

The Dunes

The Dunes is called “Nature’s Golf Course.” The course is built on multiple sand dunes, with the fairways cut out of the sand and wheat and fescue grass between holes. In 1997 Golf Digest voted The Dunes as the best new course in western Canada. The course is open, has few trees, some water and of course plenty of sand traps. It is Par 72, 7,131 yards, CR 73.6 and a slope of 129.

Sun Rivers Golf Resort

After playing The Dunes in the morning, we had lunch at Sun Rivers overlooking the city and the Thompson River. Sun Rivers was voted America’s best new golf course in 2003 by Golf Digest magazine. This is my type of course, sculpted into the sides of Mount Peter and Mount Paul. The course has plenty of elevation changes as well as sagebrush, cactus, wildflowers and holes built in and around the canyons. This course from the back tees is par 72, 6,992 yards, CR 73.9 and a slope of 139.

Tobiano

This golf course is built on the historical site of the Six Mile Ranch. It is located about 30 miles south of Kamloops on the bluffs overlooking Kamloops Lake. Both Score Golf Magazine and Golf Digest named Tobiano the best new golf course in 2008. In 2011 it was voted the best Canadian public golf course. Score Magazine ranks Tobiano as the 16th best of the top 100 courses in Canada.

The layout of the course is very unusual, with five par 5s, eight par 4s and five par 3s. The Tobiano website claims "there is nothing like it in Canada—or anywhere." They are right there!

I would hate to golf here on a regular basis, although the view of Kamloops Lake is beautiful. The course, combined with the wind, made the course difficult to play. There are blind shots, long fescue grass, very sloped fairways, undulating greens, deep sand traps, canyons to hit over and greens perched atop barren hills. Don’t get me wrong—I left wanting to return, despite playing badly. This is not a course for the occasional golfer.

From the back tees the course is par 72, 7,367 yards, CR 85.3 and a slope of 135.

There are many beautiful golf course in B.C., so take advantage of your own backyard.