First Golf Round of 2009 at King's Links

Spring golf arrived really late this year. Vancouver was hit with one of the longest and coldest winters I have ever experienced since moving to BC. Although I wouldn’t normally golf in these sub par conditions a coupon for 2 for 1 at King’s Link was enough to get us out of the house . The weather was gray and overcast and was about 10 degrees with a mild Boundary Bay breeze.

To see the greens punched so early in the season was a definite wake up call and also a reminder as to what a challenge we would be up against today…sanded tee boxes, all kinds of extremely muddy/wet areas to cross, goose poop all over the entire course (very disgusting).

After seeing the course conditions we would have been feeling ripped off at the end of the day had we paid full price. Thank goodness for the coupon we picked up from the Vancouver Golf Show.

The course needs some good weather and a great grounds crew if they are dreaming of those lofty green fees they will be asking for this summer.
Typical early golf…wet, sloppy, course maintenance and above all overpriced. We will check back in a month or so.

My score was 88. It was a tough round requiring you to be creative to get the ball close enough for a chance at par. Everytime I managed to get a par it was always with an approach and a “one” putt. Around the greens I used my hybrid and had some good results.

Golden Eagle

This was one long day, it started at 10:30am, meeting with the boys and heading out to Maple Ridge. We didn’t get home until 9pm that night. This is the last time I will go to a golf course in Maple Ridge this summer. I just can’t stand the commute…but let’s talk about golf.

I was invited to a tournament and it sounded great. The cost was $50.00 and this included ½ cart, your round of golf and dinner. The course was Golden Eagle “North” and for the middle of summer the course conditions were terrible. Instead of the course being fast and dry, it was the opposite. The course had been just soaked to the point where your ball was actually plugging into the ground in many of the landing areas.

This course is very narrow and requires a good strategy, backed up with good shots. It can be a ball eating course. One of the guys in our group lost at least 9 balls. There is a ditch or water hazard from one end of the course to the other. Sometimes on both sides of the hole you are playing. There are nearly no elevation changes to speak of and if my drive cart wasn’t included, I would have walked.

The tournament was a Texas Scramble format and our group came 4th with a -6/66 score.

New Grips: Winn Oversize PCI Hybrid polymer corded grips

I was looking for an excuse for my lousy play at golf as of late…and decided it was my grips. So off I went to Golftown to pick some grips and decided on the Winn Oversized PCI Hybrid polymer corded grip. What a great choice and when I was there I happened to speak with another customer that was re-gripping the rest of his set with the same grip. After doing his driver he wanted the rest of his set done.

This grip was $12.99 each at Golftown. The grip has a mixture of the soft sticky and comfortable feeling of a typical Winn grip along with the reassuring and confident feeling a corded grip gives in all conditions. With a new thumb positioning guide, these grips have been quite soft and sticky and with the oversize this really allows me to relax and soften my grip resulting in a more reliable swing allowing the club to really do the work. Also in the hot summer conditions with sweaty hands and wet grips, let me reassure you this grip isn’t all soft and sticky it has just the right mixture of corded grooves added for the extra grip required for all conditions.
14 clubs X 12.99 + labour = $220.00 aprox.

SkyCaddie - Just like having your own caddie!

Usually when it comes to new technologies, I let my friends buy first and basically perform my own private study of what to buy or not to buy. But when it comes to getting better golf scores I like to be at the front of the line.

Since buying the SkyCaddie I have played 3 rounds and have scored 83,81 and an 82. If not for making a few outright lousy shots at these rounds, I could have easily shot in the high 70’s. This is exactly what I have been looking for .…the feedback is great…it is just like having a caddie for club selection, hazard location and distance. Unbelievable when you know what club not to play, something happens to the rest of your game and golf starts to actually get a bit easier when your using a club that just can’t get you into too much trouble. The SkyCaddie gives me that added confidence and makes correct club selection a breeze.

I decided to purchase the SG2.5 model. Which costs $299.99. There is a pricier model but I was informed by the sales staff that is does nothing different except for having a color screen compared to the black and white screen my model has. Something I definitely wasn’t worried about.

Another bonus is how easy it is too set up and add new courses. My version holds up to 10 different courses at a time. You simply log into your computer to the SkyCaddie site, plug it in with your USB cable and select/deselect what courses you want. I have only purchased the Canadian golf courses plan which costs $34.95, but if I plan on travelling to the United States or Europe an upgrade purchase can be made easily online.

One other feature I think is great is the security. If I happened to find a misplaced Sky Caddie, you would turn it on and it will tell you the name and phone number of the owner. If the person who found it was dishonest and tried to use it, they wouldn’t be able to once the owner has contacted SkyCaddie. So theft isn’t worth it to the crook as it will render a piece of unusable technology unless they knew your account name and password. Of course if you want to sell your caddie to someone else you would just log onto your account and set up the transfer. It took me seven rounds to get into the 70's (79), at Langara on the BC day holiday weekend.

Fraserview - Summer 2008

Going to Fraserview is always a summer highlight. When I first started playing golf it was at Fraserview and when it’s time for a mid summer tune-up on my golf game I always head there for my favourite public Vancouver course. And it didn’t disappoint. I shot an 84 and managed to put together a decent round… the cost was $75.00 with my half of a share for a drive cart.

The course is walkable with quite a few challenging elevation changes. On a hot day the old growth tree line most fairways and offer a nice shady spot to hide from the sun. The course was in great shape and the green’s were nice and fast. These greens can be tricky on certain putts. Just remember the ball will always break towards the Fraser River even when it looks the opposite. It’s hard to realize this when your eyes’ are telling you it breaks the other way.

This was a great day at Fraserview and the 5 hour round was a typical amount of time required to play.. It seems long but we didn’t even wait on single hole.

McCleery Golf Course - Vancouver

Saturday was a great day for golf, but I wasn’t quite prepared for my commute from Delta to Vancouver. To be honest, I don’t know how my wife does it every day for work. It was a big nightmare on the Oak Street bridge a stall and on Knight street bridge a 3 car pile up. It was so bad I even had to call the course and delay the tee time 15 min.

Finally I arrived with full blown road rage…which is not good for golf. No warm up, pay on the tee box…this turned out to be a bit of rough round. The cost was $55.00/weekend rate and my score was an 86.

The course was well groomed with very fast greens. McCleery has great warm-up facilities a driving range, putting and chipping greens and a very nice club house. McCleery is a par 71 and is 6,265 yards.

This is a very walkable course although on this summer day with the high humidity and odd rain shower it became a bit of a workout. My new Clic Gear cart came in very handy with the umbrella holder attachment holder. I just stood under until it was my shot, stepped out and shot, then right back under the umbrella…as if a caddy had been holding my umbrella.

The course has a very tight layout and worked me over pretty good (as you can tell by my score). You really need an accurate shot here. The course was in great condition and if you are on your game you could score very well. The other nice thing is the beautiful mature trees bordering the fairways. As with all Vancouver Golf Courses you may want to book your tee time online with their new booking system.

Northlands Golf Course Review

I first heard about Northlands from my golf buddy Rudy. He kept telling me to check this course out, finally checked their web site and was quite surprised with some of the accolades this course has received.

Winner of the "Best Places to Play" 4-Star Award GOLF DIGEST, 2004, 2005 & 2006

Winner "Best New Course"GOLF DIGEST, 1998 Winner Reader's Choice of the "Favourite Course" Award PACIFIC GOLF MAGAZINE

We played from the white tee's and total yards was just under 5700 yards. This seems quite short compared to other courses but the green's are very challenging and the fairways do not give to many favourable lies. This course will challenge all gofers and will give your clubs a workout. I was using every club in by bag.

I enjoyed this course on two occasions one week apart. I shot an 85 and an 88. The first round was in much cooler temperatures at twilight, paying $45.00 and walking the course. Walking this course is possible under the right conditions. The second round I played was in 30 degree temperatures and was definitely a cart day. The cost this day was $70.00 with green fees and half for the cart was $15.00.

Northlands has many elevations changes ranging from moderate to tough and on most occasions this would be a definite cart course. Overall course conditions were fantastic and the greens are very fast and sometimes unforgiving.

My best highlight was getting two eagles there. Once on the par 4 hole 13 and the par 5 hole 15.

Kids Golf Free Week July 7-13/08

Kids Golf Free Week was developed by the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada to encourage families and juniors to take up the game of golf.

I have participated in this with my girls for the last two years. It is exciting to see that this year many new courses have joined up with this great promotion.

Lower Mainland courses include: Belmont, Redwoods and Poppy Estates in Langley. Peace Portal, King's Links, Morgan Creek, Hazelmere and Eagle Quest in Surrey. Musqueam in Vancouver, Mayfair Lakes in Richmond and Northlands in North Vancouver are also participating. In the tri-cities area visit Golden Eagle and Meadow Gardens.

In addition to the free golf, many courses will offer additional programs such as junior clinics, free range balls, free junior club rentals and parent/child tournaments.

Morgan Creek June 2008

I was totally pumped to golf Morgan Creek and it was a surprise to receive the invite Saturday morning from my buddy who just made the tee time. This is one of the rare days when you can wake up, phone a course you would like to play and guess what; you actually get on. The cost was $83.00 but the usual weekend rate is $100.00. I shot a 91 and let myself down in the score department but still managed to have a great time.

Despite having to wait on many of the holes due to slow play, the round was very close to taking 5 hours to walk and one time our group was asked to wait for the group behind us. This course did not really impress me like last season...there are some area's under construction, more houses being built and just overall seemed very busy and loud compared to my visit last year. This course is walkable but proved to be a good workout today. The overall course conditions were excellent and certainly up to par for Morgan Creek and there greens have got to be ranked as some of the finest in the Lower Mainland.

King's Link June 2008

I went back to my favourite course King’s Links at the start of June. It was overcast with sunny periods and the odd drizzly rain. Pretty good weather considering how cold our spring has been in the Lower Mainland.

I enjoy this course as it is very easy to walk with few elevations changes. The cost of the round with a golf cart is $72.45. The price is getting up there but when you end up paying $50.00-60.00 for an average course with waiting on each hole; the price doesn’t seem so bad, as you’re getting an awesome course with hardly any waiting. It allows you to get into a good rhythm so you can make some decent shots. It took us only 4 hours and 10 minutes to play.
Overall the course conditions were fantastic and the greens fast. The fairways looked liked they had been vacuumed.

My score was an 83. With a front nine score of 43 and a back nine score of 40. This is my best score to date for this challenging links style course.

New Booking System for Vancouver Parks courses

Vancouver Parks has replaced the automated telephone booking system with a new online one.
The Vancouver Parks Board Tee Booking system lets you book 6-30 days in advance. For same day bookings or cancellations you still need to contact the pro shop directly.
While the system is very simple to use I found it frustrating that every tee time I entered so far has come up with no close hits. Technology is great but I still prefer to just phone the pro shop and see whats available.
One other thing to keep in mind is there is a fee to use the premium advance booking service. For Langara and McCleery there is a $5.00 per golfer charge and Fraserview is $10.00. Tee time bookings 5 days or less are still free to book but good luck getting a good time.

Surrey Golf Club

The overcast and cool conditions plus being Mother’s Day made for a quiet round at Surrey Golf Club. We had the course to ourselves and played our round in about 3 and ¾ hours which is unheard of for a weekend round at Surrey and made for a real treat.

The cost was $60.00 with a pull cart and is easily walkable with few elevations changes. I shot a 94 and had a pretty rough round but was pleasantly surprised with my personal best long drive on this day…crushing it 315 yard on hole #5. The Callaway X Hot Driver 9.5 is really paying off. They call it the year of the driver and I’m believing it.

Overall the greens were fast and course conditions were excellent.

GBC Family Golf Day June 8th

GolfBC is introducing “GBC Family Golf Day” in June.

The event is a great way to introduce your family to the game. The only Lower Mainland location will be at Mayfair Lakes on Sunday June 8th.

GBC Family Golf Day includes a tee gift for kids, BBQ and Pop/water, golf clinics, fun competitions with prizes and of course a round of golf.

Hurry and register, as space is limited. For each adult the child is free to play. Check the link for other locations across British Columbia.

Spoiling Myself - Clicgear 2.0

I went into Golftown on Saturday and was the victim of an impulse buying spree. (Shakes head in shame). My big purchase was a new golf cart. The Clicgear 2.0 for $229.00. What is so nice about this cart is how it folds right up to a small package, perfect for the trunk of a small car or for the closet of your condo. There is also a custom bracket for hanging the cart on your wall.

Some of my favorite features are the modern looking powder coat paint finish and the overall design. Being able to mount my umbrella on the cart will be a huge bonus; I may even use it on those sunny days to save my neck from sunburn. And the drink holder will be perfect when the cart girl comes by with a cold one. Airless tires will ensure no annoying flats and the cart is constructed of aircraft quality aluminum. My old carts were quickly bent out of shape but I don’t see this happening with my Clicgear.

Now my only problem is explaining to the wife why I purchased this…but don’t worry I have that covered. In order to save gas (to help mother earth) I will sacrifice and take the small car to my golf trips instead of the minivan but unfortunately due to the small trunk I had to buy this new cart so that it fits…think this excuse will work?????

Riverway under Course Construction!

At the beginning of May we went to play Riverway. If it weren’t for my buddy enjoying Riverway, I would absolutely never play there. This course has a hard time really ever getting it together…. the cost was $57.00 /pull cart and the course was at least ½ under construction and not so much as a word of warning or even a discount, how professional!

This course constantly disappoints as far as I am concerned and other than a couple of nice drives there are not many highlights. I shot an 87 and found the only reason we made good time was the lack of golfers, probably due to the course construction. The construction wasn’t even half completed and will definitely be the entire summer season.

So let this be a friendly reminder unless you enjoy the challenge of a course in the midst of a major drainage upgrade, call before hand and get the scoop on the course condition!

2008 Golf Season

Officially under way with the opening round of the 72nd Master's behind us...not a better time to start talking golf. This season is going to be great...I already have a line up of club reviews planned mainly in the hybrid category and an excellent golf getaway planned for either the #1 golf destination in North America...Vancouver Island or one of my personal favourites the Okanagan. And of course I'll slip in Whistler (don't tell the wife).

King's Links Golf Special

King's Links is offering 4 more days on their special rate of $39.00. The reason for the cheap rate is due to the greens being punched. This special deal is only on from April 14-17. I like this course so much I would even play on punched greens there.

Callaway X Fairway 5 wood review

My 5 wood Callaway X Fairway wood 19 degrees was another great club. This one went directly into by bag. I found it very easy to hit.

This should be considered a neutral club but I pretty much hit a draw with this club. Probably one of only a few summer highlights type shots was with this stainless steel secret weapon….I out drove two buddies and they were using drivers. I rolled out to 245 yards with a nice soft draw.

This club is also on the Golf Digest Hot List 2007.

Club Review: Callaway X-460

My new driver the Callaway X-460 Titanium Tour Driver 9.5 degrees is the best club purchase of the year too date. It cost $238.00 and added approximately 25 yards to my drive...now flying 250 yards and rolling out up to 270-280 yards and this is under winter conditions.

I cannot wait for summer golf and just maybe under the ideal conditions a 300 yard drive...oh ya!!

The first time I used this club was in a fall golf tourney. It impressed my buddy so much he was out buying on Monday morning.

This club is on the Golf Digest Hot List 2007 and is currently selling for less than what I paid.

Morgan Creek

One of my last great golfing times of the summer was at Morgan Creek golf and country club. I happened upon a great deal emailed to me by Last Minute tee times. We were able to play for $58.50 including the pull cart. This was a great deal and couldn't’t be missed.

Morgan Creek is located in South Surrey and is a short drive from the Peach Arch border crossing. The course is situated within a beautiful upscale community. Many of the houses surrounding the course have the extra parking stall built into their houses for their golf cart. How sweet is that.

Morgan Creek is designed by Thomas McBroom and is ranked Top 50 in Canada by Score Magazine. This course is the best course I’ve played in British Columbia hands down. The conditions of the grass were so perfect, I wanted to take off my shoes and go barefoot. The tee boxes were all big and nicely leveled. The greens were blazing fast.

The course is also very walkable for those who enjoy walking, like I do. The staff in the deluxe clubhouse were very nice and they also have cart girls.

Morgan Creek is said to have a state of the art drainage system, so I expect to try some Fall golf on this course.