"California Dreaming" at the Northlands Golf and Country Club

Today I golfed my very first round at the breathtaking Northlands Golf and Country Club, and the soundtrack to my round was courtesy of the Mama's and the Papa's. It had been raining for half the day, but it cleared up long enough to get in a round. I had been postponing my first trip to Northlands for when the cold weather rates kicked in. Even with a half day of rain, a freezing gale force wind, sand traps that were like golfing in the Bay of Fundy; it was still an absolutely majestic experience.

This course is carved out of the base of the mountains, has beautiful rolling hills on their fairways, abundant wildlife, and giant old growth pine trees. The fairways were wet, so the ball often stopped where it landed. That is great on greens, but not fairways. I assigned myself a few extra mulligans on account of the foul weather, and managed to shoot a 111. For me that is an excellent round. Most of my par 72 rounds are in between 110 - 125.

On the 5th hole, I saw two Bald Eagles combing the area on a low level flight, later followed by another. Then on the back nine we saw two more Bald Eagles! I was scrambling for my camera while I had a shot, and this was the best that I could do. I saw herons, many ducks, 3 species of frog, but no deer or cougar. It adds to the tranquility to golf on a course with a vibrant ecosystem, and Northlands is built in the steppes of the coastal mountains. I could only imagine how magnificent my experience would have been had I played there in July instead of the end of October.

I would love to go back to Northlands this season, but I don't know how much playable light and playable grass that they have left. At a higher altitude they will get more snow and daylight savings murders the golf season. Hopefully next season I will be able to afford playing the top of the line courses in the beautiful greater Vancouver Area!