Golfing at Whistler Golf Club Gets Better with Improved Greens

Credit: Whistler Golf Club

The Whistler Golf Club has resurfaced all 18 greens with 007 bentgrass to improve the putting surfaces

Arnold Palmer’s Whistler Golf Course course has earned the reputation among BC residents as the best in Whistler, and its latest improvements make its green an even better golfing experience

As a teenager, my two chosen sports were golf and skiing. I remember spotting a sign at the bottom of Whistler’s Olympic ski run portraying a future year-round resort village that would include hotels, restaurants, shops, an expanded ski lift capacity and a golf course.

This billboard allowed me to dream about a perfect life at Whistler where, only a few hours from Vancouver, I could ski all winter and golf all summer.

Ten years later the village of Whistler began to take shape. In August 1983, Arnold Palmer, the King of Golf, played the official opening round at the Whistler Golf Club. Palmer’s design was the first of four resort courses at Whistler created by some of the leading names in golf design: Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Course, Jack Nicklaus left his legacy at Nicklaus North Golf Course, while Bob Cupp designed Big Sky Golf Course in Pemberton.

Evolution of the Whistler Golf Club

It’s now 29 years after Palmer’s inaugural round of golf and things continue to improve at Whistler. Palmer’s course has earned the reputation among BC residents as the best of the Whistler foursome. Some might argue that the other courses are longer or more scenic, but no one can argue with the positive experience, course condition and friendly service that have been the reputation of Whistler Golf Club since opening day.

Palmer’s design has remained the same but the Whistler golf course has seen a few changes and improvements along the way. The course has been lengthened, irrigation and drainage have been improved, fairway undulations and sinkholes filled in, new tees and bunkers added, sand in bunkers changed, cart paths paved, and a new clubhouse, snack shack, putting green and an improved driving range are the noticeable changes.

The irrigation system overhaul in 2002 made a remarkable improvement to the growth of tees and fairways, and allows the greens to flourish in the warm Whistler summers. Improved agronomy practices allow the golf courses to be groomed early after winter and extend the season until early October.

2012 Improvements

During the 2011/2012 off-season, the Whistler Golf Club undertook a huge project to resurface all 18 greens with 007 bentgrass in an effort to help improve the putting surfaces and increase the winter resistance to snow mold and ice damage.

“It is a very exciting year for us. Our new greens project has gone very well and we’re sure our guests will love the new greens this season,” said Alan Kristmanson, general manager. “Our maintenance crew has worked very hard getting the greens ready for play and the golf course will be in excellent condition for this early in the season.”

Whistler Golf Club Rates and Packages

Rates at Whistler Golf Club in the shoulder golf season months of May and October are $99;  $139 June through September. Twilight and sunset rates are also available.
BC Resident rates offer a tremendous savings with summer rates at $99; $79 in the shoulder months of May and October. Tee times may be booked online one month prior to your date of play.

Stay and Play packages include:

• Unlimited Golf: Includes one night accommodation and one round of unlimited golf, with cart.
• Golf and Scandinave Spa: Includes one night accommodation, one round of golf (includes cart) and a visit to the Scandinave Spa.
• Golf and Gondola: Includes one night accommodation and one round of golf with cart and one ticket for the incredible Peak 2 Peak gondola.

Some Dreams Do Come True

Somewhere in my teenage dream was a plan to buy a cabin in the mountains at Whistler and live there for the rest of my life. I eventually did find my home in the mountains, not at Whistler, but on a plateau overlooking the suburbs of Coquitlam.

With the improved Sea to Sky Highway, the journey by car from my home to the Whistler Village is an easy two-and-a-half hour drive. Many times my regular group has driven up to Whistler in the morning, played a round of golf at two different Whistler courses and easily made it home to Vancouver that night. We occassionally start the day with a round of golf at Nicklaus North Golf Club followed up with 18 holes at Palmers’s Whislter Golf Club. Some days just one round of  golf at any of the four great courses is enough!