23 of 70: Riverside Golf Course, Edmonton, Alberta

Nice views of the cityscape from everywhere at Riverside.

Riverside is one of three municipal golf courses in Edmonton along with Victoria, which you have discovered in my last blog, and Rundle, a fun par 3 course but not in the cards at this time. As its name implies, Riverside is located by the North Saskatchewan River, however, contrary to what it claims on its website, the river never comes into play. You have to be lucky to even have a token view of the river walking down the eleventh or twelfth fairways. Maybe some sixty years ago, when the course was built and the forest had not yet grown in, and the fences were not there, a bad hook or a mean slice from a lefty might have found its way to the water. Look at the trees up here, they will grab your ball long before the water does and it might cost you a lot more.

But true to its claim, Riverside is a fair test of golf for players of all abilities. Even though it is not outrageously long at a mere 6,316 yards, it looms large on your mind. I will concede that the par 5's are short by any standard and might provide a fair amount of birdies for long hitters. There are, however, an equal amount of long par fours which at 400 to 459 will more than tax the average golfer. Not counting that, all but one of the five par 3's play over 180 yards (up to 225). The course is beautiful, in very good shape and calls on you to come and play with your best game if you want to score well. The fairways are wide and inviting but you do have to play target golf or thanks to some mean slopes, you may end up in the forest even with a half decent shot.

On this day I shot a 91, which happens to be dead on with my handicap factor. As usual, I was hoping to do better but it was not to be. My first hole was the worst and I sacrificed a few strokes to the tree gods. I did manage two pars on the front and two more on the back. Had 3 putts twice. Over all, a very average game but a most enjoyable one anyway. The weather was good and the company even better. Derek and Darryl (standing on the 200 yard par 3 17th) are both enthusiastic golfers, very friendly and interested in the old game. Derek is preparing for a summer in Ireland and Scotland, where his wife has family. As most of us would, he is contemplating a pilgrimage to the Old Course. ''Happy trails to you'' Derek, ''until we meet again''.

View of the 404 yard 16th hole.

22 of 70: Victoria Golf Course, Edmonton, Alberta

View of the 1st and 9th Fairways, the University of Alberta in the background.

Today, May 26th, I enjoyed returning to one of my old stamping-grounds when playing the Victoria Golf course in Edmonton. I spent 26 years of my life teaching at the University of Alberta which we can see in the background of this first picture, out there, over the North Saskatchewan river which borders Victoria Park but never comes into play on the golf course. As a matter of fact, there are no water hazards at Victoria. Sand yes. Elevated greens also. The course is said to be forgiving but I sure did not find it so forgiving today but more on that later.

The Victoria Golf Course has a rich history going back to 1896 and has sat on the present location since 1907. It is the oldest municipal golf course in Canada and one of the busiest in the world. In a way, Victoria is where I really started to play golf in earnest. When I turned 50, I joined the Senior Men's League in anticipation of an early retirement for which I had to prepare. I even became one of the volunteer course marshals at Victoria which was a good learning experience in human interaction. I had a great time at Victoria, however, when it came time to retire we moved to the Okanagan Valley and I took my golf game there. There is no shortage of golf courses in the Okanagan and I was privileged to belong to two of them in my early retirement years. I first played the Ponderosa Golf Course in Peachland and then Kelowna Springs where I returned a few weeks ago. But back to Victoria.

View of the 17th green and the city.

The course offers magnificent views over the city to the north, the University campus on the south side, the Alberta Legislature and the high level bridge to the east. The fairways are wide but tree lined so one can still find unplayable lies and out of bounds. Some of the fairways  show signs of winter kill as there was still snow here a month ago. The greens are in good condition but slow compared to most of those I have played in the last few months. I enjoyed my outing and the company of Simon and Tom, my playing partners for the day, a father and son team, both graduates of the business faculty at the U of A. I shot a 95 today, a poor result for this course. Strangely enough, I drove the ball well but my putting was atrocious. I had six 3 putt greens which is unusual for me. On many of these occasions I was putting for birdie and ended up with bogeys. Not nice! I also had to take a snowman (8) on both the 13th and 18th. The back nine proved to be a hard walk today and I am seriously considering a return to cart golf. Leave the walking to the pros at least they have caddies. I only found squirrels on the course today and they didn't photograph well. No wildlife to share... so sad!

Overview of the well protected 15th green.

21 of 70: Tobiano Golf Course, Kamloops BC

View from the first tee box

On Friday the 18th of May we played Tobiano which was a memorable experience. We first had to find the course and that proved to be far more difficult  than we had expected. Our GPS was of no help, Google maps got us lost, and after we finally had the golf course in sight, we had problems finding the clubhouse. In our humble opinion, the signage needs improvement.

All par 3 are played over ravines

That being said, Tobiano is an exceptional golf course and well deserving of all the accolades it has received. It has been recognized as the best public golf course in British Columbia and is ranked sixth amongst Canadian public courses. In SCOREGolf Magazine Top 100 courses in Canada, it ranks 16th. It is certainly one of the jewels in Thomas McBroom's portfolio. Tobiano was carved out of rugged territory overlooking Kamloops Lake and routed amongst incredible ravines which need to be negotiated on almost every holes. The layout offers five par 5, five par 3 and 8 par 4. McBroom designed the course with five sets of tees which are named rather than colour coded. The Tour tees play at 7367 yards, the Iron for low handicappers, the Spur for mid handicappers, the Lake (15 to 22 handicap) and the Sage up front playing at 5358 yards. I played from the Lake tees (6109 yards) and had to work very hard  for my 98. There is no water hazard on this course but the canyons and ravines play as lateral hazards and did cost me a fair number of strokes.

But the ravines aren't the only hazards on this course. The views are incredibly spectacular and it is quite difficult not to be constantly distracted playing Tobiano for the first time. Each hole offers a number of different panoramic views over the lake, the surrounding mountains, the adjoining holes up and down the canyon. And long freight trains run on both sides of the lake giving the landscape a moving perspective for the longest time. 

Long put on 16th green

But the game goes on and one still has to line up that put and get that ball in the cup sooner or later. In this picture, I caught Brenda in action on the 16th green. Waiting his turn to put is Ben. We had the pleasure of playing with Ben and his wife, Audrey who are from Kamloops and had played Tobiano in the past. Their guidance was helpful but first hand knowledge of the course remains essential if one expects to score well.

Hoodoos

While waiting our turn to play the 17th hole par 3, Ben drew our attention to the hoodoos carved out of the ravine behind the tee box. That sent Brenda back to work with her camera to gather further evidence of our passage through Tobiano. In spite of the distraction we managed another ravine crossing and another bogey. Going back over my scorecard I realize  I only posted one par in that round. Time to pay more attention to my game. But I can't leave this installment without a picture of the wildlife, so here comes the marmot!

20 of 70 : Kelowna Springs Golf Club, Kelowna BC

On May 4th, we played Kelowna Springs Golf Course which has always been one of our favorite courses in the Okanagan Valley for a number of reasons, the most important being we have friends there. Kelowna Springs is an exquisite little course playing at 6242 yards from the back tees, but do not let that fool you. Les Furber, who is a disciple of Stanley Thompson (one of Canada's greatest golf architects), has made the most of the small piece of land he was given. The course is far more difficult than it appears to be. Water comes into play on eleven of the eighteen holes and it boasts over a hundred sand traps. The small greens are heavily undulated offering a challenge to golfers of all skill levels.



Readhead Duck

 But as you walk the course, for it is highly walkable, you have the opportunity, not only to socialise, but also to appreciate the distant mountain range, still covered in snow at this time of year, the local farm life and newborn calves, the adjoining marshes buzzing with colorful birdlife. And on  and along the course's ponds, you will always find a variety of ducks as well as the ever present Canada geese, but the loons can only be found on the green as you mark your ball with your dollar coin as part of your putting routine. In late afternoon you might, however,  see a lone coyote in search of an easy meal.

On this day, we had the privilege of being paired with two new members of Kelowna Springs, Bruce and Dawn. We really enjoyed their company and their golf experience for not only are they excellent golfers, but also very well travelled and therefore able to recommend a number of courses we might want to play as part of our ongoing endeavour. Courses located both in Western Canada and the Phoenix area.

Yes, it has become obvious, I am avoiding the subject at hand, well, you only have to look at this picture of a rather bad swing to understand that I was not playing well and should have been on the driving range as opposed to the golf course. This particular swing resulted in a snap hook, one of a few dozen of them... But there is more to life than a few bad swings. Yes, the weather was cold, look at that snow! And the rain showers unpleasant. But after the round and a hot shower we retired to the Crush Bistro in Vernon for a delicious lamb shank dinner and a fabulous cabernet sauvignon from the Church and State Wines of Oliver BC. That and the heart warming presence of my wife Brenda and our friend Janice, and all was well in my world again.