Lakeside greens

The golf course in Balfour has beautiful scenery and fantastic views

Continuing on in the tradition of great Les Furber-designed championship courses in B.C., Balfour Golf Club is an exhilarating layout carved into the Selkirk Mountains along the side of Kootenay Lake. Elevated tees are plentiful on this tree-lined course in combination with large tiered greens giving Balfour a wonderful mix of challenge and playability on all holes.

Encompassing lakeside meadows and high mountainside terrain, Balfour maintains a natural feel as the course cosies up with nature at every bend. Whitetail deer regularly wander the course as ospreys soar above to complete the perfect West Kootenay picture. The high point of the course at the tee box on Hole 10 features a romantic gazebo complete with oversized Adirondack deck chairs overlooking the white-capped peaks of the Purcell Mountains in the distance high above the lake's smooth surface, just begging for pictures to be taken.

This showpiece of the Kootenay region winds up in typical show business fashion by saving the best for last. The par four 18th winds its way around the edge of a plateau looking down on the lake, finishing on a bunker-guarded green that is close enough to the clubhouse to hear the drinks calling from the patio. A 30-minute drive north of Nelson, Balfour is ideally situated as a summer getaway location. Ainsworth Hot Springs, just 10 minutes up the road, provides a rewarding and unique way to relax your golf muscles after a day on the course, and the Kootenay Lake ferry five minutes south of the golf club links to the artisan-rich village of Crawford Bay and Kokanee Springs golf course with a half-hour scenic lake cruise that is an attraction all on its own.