Talking Rock Golf Course at Quaaout Lodge

On the shores of Little Shuswap Lake just outside of Chase, B.C., lies one of the hidden treasures of British Columbia golf.

On the shores of Little Shuswap Lake, just outside of Chase, B.C., lies one of the hidden treasures of British Columbia golf: Talking Rock Golf Course.

A friendly member of staff welcomes you as you approach a grandiose log structure accented with decorative carvings of wildlife. If they see you pulling clubs out of your trunk they’re probably on their way with a cart already. As you enter through the heavy wooden doors, themselves elaborately hand-carved with eagle’s heads for handles, you enter a large room with lofty ceilings and a wall of windows overlooking the lake.

Unobtrusively tucked away to the left is the pro shop, to which you’ll surely want to return after your round for a shirt or hat embroidered with the Talking Rock logo.

You stop by the practice range, itself a thing of beauty—a wide, long and picturesque glade that opens before you as you drive the wooded path toward the first tee box—and you hit a few complimentary balls and get a feel for the speed of the greens on one of the two practice surfaces. Maybe you hit a few bunker shots.

As you head over to the first tee, you realize, not for the first time, that you’re in for something special today.

Here’s your first tip: Unless you’re a five handicapper or better, check your pride at the parking lot and step up to the white tees (gold if you’re especially long off the tee) and play from there. It’s a 7129-yard course from the blacks, and you will certainly feel that extra length by the end of the day if you’re back there—and it will show on your card. In fact, there’s about 500 yards separating the tee boxes over the course of a round (5437, 6111, 6634, and 7129), so keep that in mind when you’re picking your launch point on the opening hole.

Course highlights

The first tee is also your first chance to just put the ball in play. This is no time for heroics. Leave the driver’s head cover on and pull a three or five wood out, or even a hybrid or long iron to get it to the corner. There’s a bunker splitting that fairway right at the corner, so unless you’re carrying that and turning left to right to take the corner itself, just lay up short of it. There are plenty of opportunities later to let loose the big dog.

Then just enjoy your time in the woods (well, hopefully not IN the woods, though, as the trees are thick once you’re off the fairways by more than about a dozen yards anywhere on the course).

Once you reach the back nine, you’ll be heading up the side of a mountain as you make your way through the forest, and will need all of your shots and club-selection capabilities to deal with the changing elevation. But it will all be worth it as you make the turn at 15 and look down on the lake and make your way back down to the 18th, which runs alongside the edge of it on your way back to the lodge.

Stay and play

Depending on the time of year and your budget, you might want to consider taking advantage of the package deals available. From $230 in early and late-season to $360 in peak season on weekends for two people’s room and round, you can take advantage of the seclusion and the excellent dining at the lodge, and just stay the night.

You’ll likely want to anyway, because once you go around this track you’ll want to play it again almost immediately. Maybe just plan to do that and book the overnight deal ahead of time.