Even to a non-golfer like me, it’s no news that Fraserview Golf Course (7800 Vivian Drive, South Vancovuer, 604-280-1818) is the best of the city’s three excellent i8-hole public courses. By the agreement of golf magazines, it’s also one of the best courses in the country. On a fine summer day, this course in the city’s semi-pastoral southeast quadrant is golf heaven. Walkers can enjoy it too; a well-tended path encircles the entire tree-framed site.
McCleery Golf Course is flush with the North Arm of the Fraser River (7188 Macdonald Street, Westside, 604-280-1818); Langara Golf Course is smack in the city’s south center (6706 Albert Street, off 49th Avenue, South Vancouver, 604-280-1818).
Vancouver’s mild climate allows for year-round golfing, and while not everyone likes to putt in a drizzle, many apparently don’t mind one bit. When it pours, you can always retreat to a clubhouse and restaurant. The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation has spent $25 million over the past decade fixing drainage and updating the facilities on all three courses.
The board also operates pitch-and-putt courses at Queen Elizabeth Park (Central Vancouver, 604-874-8336) and Rupert Park (3401 East 1st Avenue, East Vancouver, 604-257-8364) — the latter with great views of the mountains. But the best, says parks board spokes¬woman Tern Clark, is the one near the south entrance to Stanley Park (2099 Beach Avenue, 604-681-8847), in the Ted and Mary Grieg Rhododendron Garden. Of this location in spring, Clark says:
“The colors and wafting scents in and around each fairway make this one of the most beautiful pitch-and-putts in the world. I kid you not.”
If you have wheels, the Burnaby Mountain GolfCourse is a scenic and reasonably priced option (7600 Halifax Avenue, Burnaby, 604-280-7355).
Northlands Golf Course in North Vancouver is gorgeously sited at the foot of the mountains and challenging; it was named best new Canadian course a few years back. From the Upper Levels Highway, take exit 22 to the Mount Seymour Parkway and follow the signs. For tee times, call 604-280-1111.
Finally, Gleneagles Golf Course is a public nine-hole ge.m tucked between the mountains and the ocean near Horseshoe Bay (6190 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, 604-921-7353). It’s not long (par thirty-five) and it has its trials — the third hole is aptly named Cardiac Hill. However, it’s lush, pretty, and, I’m told, fun to play. It’s also relatively cheap (as are the city’s public courses).
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