Golf Australia – April 2018

dog with everything on it as two mighty bald

eagles take of out of the trees, and fly over our

heads, wingspan of military drones, the world’s

biggest eagle.

Animals abound atFairwinds Golf Club

where signs warn of wild deer and orcas swim

under pleasure craft in Nanoose Bay. The course

weaves through mighty Douglas fir and shaggy red

cedar. There’s a quiet, autumnal, “Silence

of the Lambs” feel to the place, you could see

Clarice Starling jogging through it in her FBI

sweats. Canadian Armed Forces practice

manoeuvres hereabouts.

The club is part of a “residential community”

populated by families and older couples who don’t

fancy the long trip to Florida endured by many

of their fellow “Snow Birds”. And they live in fine

old homes that poke out of the cedars and abut

the course. And they golf at Fairwinds, and do

whatever they want.

Later we find a pew on the fine deck

overlooking the 18th hole and enjoy a salmon

burger and a beer, as golfers stif shots into the

receptive green.

And so up to Bear Mountain where you’ll find

the paw-prints of the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus,

who’s created 36 holes typical of Nicklaus:

wide fairways, spectacular vistas, and dicult

approaches to undulating, protected greens.

Any bears in these woods? There are not. You

could find the odd cougar, bald eagles, and all the

deer you could eat. And millions of Douglas fir

trees, the dominant organism.

The whole joint is called the Westin Bear

Mountain Golf Resort Spa and has a “ski resort”

sort of feel. It’s alpine and crisp, and people enjoy

hiking about without hitting a golf ball, if you can

believe it. The restaurant is all-time and there’s

fine wine tasting in an underground cellar. In 2016

Spaniard and very interesting man Miguel Angel

Jiminez visited Bear Mountain to play in the PGA

Tour Champions event, the Pacific Links Bear

Mountain Championship. Naturally he found the

cellar where he proceeded to point to those wines

he desired. “I’ll have that one, and that one, and

that one, and that one, and that one...”, and so on.

The golf? There are two courses – Mountain

and Valley, which as you’d expect sit across the

former and wind through the latter. They both

sport spectacular views and signature holes

(though Nicklaus reckons there are 36 signature

WHERE TO PLAY

CORDOVA BAY GOLF COURSE

http://www.cordovabaygolf.com

WESTIN BEAR MOUNTAIN GOLF

RESORT SPA

http://www.bearmountain.ca

VICTORIA GOLF CLUB

http://www.victoriagolf.com

FAIRWINDS GOLF CLUB

http://www.fairwinds.ca/golf

NANAIMO GOLF CLUB

http://www.nanaimogolfclub.ca

UNIVERSITY GOLF COURSE

http://www.universitygolf.com

TOBIANO GOLF COURSE

http://www.tobianogolf.com

WESTIN BEAR MOUNTAIN

118 APRIL 2018 | golf australia