182 replies to this topic

[Wayne]

Thinking of joining a golf crse.

 

Looking at The Gorge, Royal Colwood or the Uplands.

 

Any advice, good and bad experiences or other options?

[LJ]

Thinking of joining a golf crse.

 

Looking at The Gorge, Royal Colwood or the Uplands.

 

Any advice, good and bad experiences or other options?

Gorge membership is huge and quite hard to get tee times. Cemetery in the middle of the course and a trailer park along one side. 

 

Royal Colwood OK, couple of iffy holes, a few holes have lots of road noise, pretty stuffy and old fashioned membership.

 

Uplands, large membership but a lot of them don't golf anymore, good bunch of people there, lots of social type activities, pretty boring course to play after the first few times, but usually well conditioned.

Some road noise.

 

Where are you located?

[Wayne]

LJ

 

Great feedback, thanks.  Live in Broadmead and Uplands is the best for location.

[LJ]

I would go with Cordova Bay then, second choice would be Uplands.

[Wayne]

Cordova Bay is a couple mins away.  But it has a different membership in which is based on a rebate program.

[LJ]

That's true, but if you play a lot of golf it can be quite cheap, and if you only play one or so days a week it is quite a bit cheaper than paying monthlies, which you will be doing at any of the others.

 

Their locker room etc. is pretty minimalist, and I don't think they have club storage so you have schlep your clubs with you, but they do keep the course in great shape and you never have a slow round.

 

If you're looking for the social aspect and a sense of belonging then I would certainly pick Uplands.

[VicHockeyFan]

Golfing days numbered at Prospect Lake

Cfax1070

2015 will be the last year for Prospect Lake golf course. 

Manager Shawn Steele says the family owned course will go out of business in November, after more than 40 years, in part because interest in golf seems to have peaked...

"I mean there's 18 golf courses in Victoria alone, and sixty on the island. There's an oversupply of golf out there and not as much demand as there used to be"

The Steele family intends to retain ownership of the property, but is seeking entrepreneurs who might want to lease it or form a partnership in some other recreation based venture. 

 

MORE: http://www.cfax1070....t-Prospect-Lake

[aastra]

18 in Greater Victoria but 42 on the rest of the island? So how do those other 42 courses stay in business?

[lanforod]

18 in Greater Victoria but 42 on the rest of the island? So how do those other 42 courses stay in business?

Quite a few in the Parksville area. Still, 42 seems high.

 

I golfed Prospect Lake for the first time last year. Lousy course. Any course that uses t-mats instead of grass t-boxes isn't going to survive long term. Ardmore does it right.

[thundergun]

Haven't played there for years but it was a pretty affordable course so many overlooked the tee mats as long as the rates stayed low. I remember there being lots of deer on/around the course which was nice when you weren't worried about hitting one.

[VicHockeyFan]

Golf courses are also suffering from the drinking/driving laws.  I think of all sports, it's likely got the highest ratio of single-occupant cars arriving at the course.

 

It's a bit of a double-barrel hit.  Your restaurant/lounge suffers as people are less likely to have a beer after their round, and people are less likely to want to golf period, when they can't have a beer after the round.  To top off Prospect's problem, is their location does not work for staff that do not have a car.

[sebberry]

So let them have a beer during the round.  Or will that affect their ability to drive straight?

[lanforod]

So let them have a beer during the round.  Or will that affect their ability to drive straight?

Improves mine .

[VicHockeyFan]

So let them have a beer during the round.  Or will that affect their ability to drive straight?

 

Well, some courses do that, Bear Mountain has booze drink carts for example.  It's not all that comfortable, or as social as sitting around your table after the round.  Looks like at least part of Prospect Lake is in the ALR.

[lanforod]

Well, some courses do that, Bear Mountain has booze drink carts for example.  It's not all that comfortable, or as social as sitting around your table after the round.  Looks like at least part of Prospect Lake is in the ALR.

I don't know of any course that bans alcohol completely while playing (though I'm sure there is some...). Pretty much all I've played allow alcohol, so long as you purchase it from them. I've only played a few on the Island, but have played about half of the Vancouver/Fraser Valley and Okanagan courses.

[VicHockeyFan]

Well, today's TC article paints a little better picture, for a possible future for the place.

 

http://www.timescolo...ators-1.1766341

 

Cedric and Dorene Steele, who have operated the Prospect Lake Golf Course for 40 years and nurtured the game for thousands of local players of all ages, are packing up their clubs and heading into retirement after the 2015 season.

The Steele family will retain ownership of the picturesque nine-hole course on the south end of Prospect Lake, but are accepting expressions of interest for operators to lease the golf facilities and surrounding properties.

The family owns 88 acres in total — 35 dedicated to golf, 45 of forested lands and eight acres of protected lands.

Shawn Steele, the couple’s son and manager of the course since 1999, said the goal is to partner with an operator with “recreational interests” who will run the golf course and develop activities such as mountain biking, rock-climbing and other adventure-based businesses in the surrounding areas.

The rural Saanich property is zoned for day-use recreation and commercial use.

 

- See more at: http://www.timescolo...h.I49YLmh3.dpuf

[SimonH]

Cordova Bay is a couple mins away.  But it has a different membership in which is based on a rebate program.

Wayne what course did you decide on in the end. I'm also looking for membership, any advice gladly rcvd.

[Sparky]

Why Canadian golf is dying

The culprits: greed, hubris and the demise of free time [...]

 

http://www.macleans....he-end-of-golf/

 

In the US   http://www.bloomberg...h-straight-year

[Wayne]

Wayne what course did you decide on in the end. I'm also looking for membership, any advice gladly rcvd.

Simon, nothing decided yet. But will probably end up taking LJs advice with Cordovo Bay. Great crse,and has the most flex when it comes to mbrs.

I have looked into most crses and there are great choices. In addition,I have not heard any negative comments from mbrs at each crse.

[Rob Randall]

A long, in-depth feature on golf in America. It's not looking good. I think in Victoria we have escaped the worst simply because so many people come here to retire. But we are feeling the effects of the drop in golf's popularity.

As the homes around them hit foreclosure, courses often went neglected, leaving behind what has become a depressingly common sight and the enduring symbol of the sport's sad state in America: the abandoned course going feral. They line the Carolina coast and pepper central Florida, and are littered throughout the West —fairways sprouting dandelion heads, water hazards infested with snapping turtles, rattlesnakes slithering out of bunkers. According to the NGF, a golf course in America closes roughly every two days, while just 11 courses were opened in 2014.

Read more: http://www.mensjourn...2#ixzz3eErhVLwC
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