Explore:NW Explore:NW Spring 2016 | Page 58

B I G S K Y G O L F & C O U N T R Y C L U B big sky golf & country club photo A Robert Cupp designed course in the nearby Pemberton Valley, Big Sky Golf Club’s par 5 number 4 hole is dubbed ’Purgatory’ for its creek and water-andsand-framed green. some holes, dubbed infinity greens, appear to float untethered against the blue and silver lake. Further east, in the Kootenay Rockies region, alpine rivers are the water feature of choice. At Trickle Creek Golf Resort, a Les Furber design in Kimberley, players drive shots across mountain streams; at the Riverside Course, one of three golf options at the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, the play crosses the rushing Columbia River six times over 18 holes. Further north in Golden, the Golden Golf Club boasts tree-lined 56 explore:NW | The Official Magazine of kenmore air | Spring 2016 fairways, natural forest and show-stopping holes, a select few winding in spectacular fashion along the Columbia River bank. Air At some BC golf courses, the game literally takes to the air as balls soar across gaps and gullies to island greens and rocky outcroppings. At the Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, a Nicklaus Design 36-hole duo near Victoria, the Mountain Course offers plenty of air with its island greens, cliff-edge holes and elevation gains. Here, the 14th hole is simply unforgettable: it’s played across a gap to a cliff edge against a city and ocean backdrop. The neighboring Valley Course shows Bear Mountain’s gentler side as it winds through the forest among lakes and creeks. Greywolf Golf Course, set nearly 1,200 metres (4,000 feet) up in the Purcell Range at Panorama Mountain Resort, makes the most of the area’s jagged peaks, and glacier-fed creeks with steep elevation changes and long drives across