Capilano Golf Club or “Cap,” as members and locals affectionately call it, is rightly placed at the top of the list of BC’s golf courses. Located a brief drive across the Lion’s Gate Bridge and up into the North Shore Mountains, Cap’s perch overlooking Vancouver (a spectacular view best seen from the tee box on the downhill par-four sixth) is befitting of a golf course located on arguably Canada’s most expensive property, a full-play initiation reportedly in excess of $90,000, and a waiting list several years long.

Cap is a Stanley Thompson design. Thompson, for those who may not know, is generally considered Canada’s contribution to golf course architecture. His golf courses, including Banff Springs and Highland Links, are courses of the highest regard and distinctly Canadian in their flavour. Often cut out of pristine surroundings, the courses retain their natural precondition while offering excellent golf shots and views alike. The courses are true monuments and absolute treats to play and walk. Capilano is no different. Indeed, despite the location to a major metropolis and its location on a mountain, Cap is both a walk-able course and one amongst the trees, creeks, and mountains that dominate much of BC.

Capilano is not a terribly challenging golf experience. Much of the front nine involves a descent down the mountain and features a short par five to start and several short par-fours. The back nine though, specifically the final three holes, present a challenge for any golfer. From a golfing standpoint, Capilano likely trails the test that Shaughnessy presents from the tips, but Capilano is much more about the experience of the round. Take your tee shot on seventeen. After making your par on the 247-yard par three sixteenth you ascend up the grassy steps some sixty-to-seventy feet to the seventeenth tee on the 490-yard par four located next to the spectacular clubhouse (more on this later). Here you’ll do well to avoid clipping one of the male members in your backswing who have just finished their round and are drinking from the open keg in the men’s locker-room nearby. After you hit, and provided you’re not too far left or right, you’ll have ample time to engage in conversation as your drive will seem to hang forever against the backdrop of the North Shore Mountains as it descends the some hundred feet or so onto the fairway below.

The course, of course, is in immaculate condition. Unlike some of the “private’s” it has its own water supply and thus is unaffected by the water shortages that have plagued summers in recent times in the Lower Mainland. The practice facility is excellent, but too likely trails that of Shaughnessy where a full grass range is available and driver can be hit with ease. The clubhouse at Capilano, however, is perhaps the highlight of any visit. The men’s locker room is stunning and the dining options fantastic. In fact, most locals will know Cap from the wedding they likely attended at the clubhouse. Find yourself a member-friend as Cap is best done as a full day event—breakfast, golf, and beer on the patio followed a meal in the clubhouse. However, fear not the lowly municipal golf course player looking to play a prestigious, highly private golf course. Cap, as a Stanley Thompson design, is accessible to members of the Stanley Thompson Society. Membership reportedly affords you an opportunity to play select Thompson courses, of which Cap is one.