Kelowna Golf & Country Club

Kelowna Golf & Country Club is the only fully private, member-owned golf club in Kelowna, offering a classic inland layout shaped over six decades by A.V. Macan and under ongoing sympathetic renovation by Toronto-based architect Jeff Mingay since 2013. The course's Macan-era greens, with six of the originals remaining in play today, sit at the centre of a layout where precision on approach dictates scoring far more than raw distance.

History of Kelowna Golf & Country Club

Golf in Kelowna dates to 1899, when a nine-hole layout operated near the present-day City Hall. The club relocated twice before its members incorporated as the Kelowna Golf Club in 1920 at the current Wolaston property on Glenmore Drive, with 72 founding members funding the purchase through a share issue.

An 18-hole layout with sand greens opened on 20th March 1926 following the acquisition of additional land. Water supply constraints led to a temporary reduction to nine holes between 1949 and 1950, during which grass greens replaced the original sand surfaces for the first time. The arrival of a dedicated irrigation agreement with Glenmore Irrigation District in 1960 made a permanent 18-hole expansion viable.

A.V. Macan was commissioned in 1960 to plan an entirely new 18-hole routing. New tees, greens, and fairways were seeded in September 1961, with the official opening on 23rd June 1962. The June 1966 clubhouse fire, which destroyed the structure almost entirely, led to a new clubhouse opening in November 1967.

City of Kelowna road-widening works in the mid-1990s required the club to surrender its southernmost holes. Three replacement holes were constructed in 1997 following a negotiated settlement. Toronto-based architect John Harbottle was engaged to produce a master plan for the course in the early 2000s.

Following his passing in 2012, Jeff Mingay was appointed to continue that programme. Ongoing work since 2013 has addressed greens and bunkers on all but four holes, and the signature 12th hole was remodelled as part of the club's centennial celebrations in 2020.

Course Layout & Playing Experience

Kelowna Golf & Country Club plays to a par of 72 over 6,344 yards (5,802 metres) from the back tees, with a course rating of 70.6 and a slope of 131. The flat-to-gently-rolling inland terrain, at the heart of the Okanagan Valley, places a premium on driving accuracy and considers approach play to greens carrying the subtle contouring characteristic of Macan's West Coast work.

Eagle Pond, the lake that bisects the property, donated to the club in 1925, comes into play on a sequence of mid-round holes that members refer to as the "Amen Corner." Water on these holes punishes the wayward shot without making recovery impossible, consistent with Macan's philosophy of fair but firm examination. Six original Macan greens remain in play, providing a direct link to the 1962 layout.

Jeff Mingay's ongoing renovation programme, described on his own website as a "sympathetic renovation of an original design by A.V. Macan," has updated bunkers and green surrounds across 14 of the 18 holes since 2013. The Centennial Bridge, constructed for the club's 100th anniversary in 2020, connects to the remodelled 12th hole and serves as the course's most visible recent structural addition.

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The Verdict

Kelowna Golf & Country Club occupies a singular position in the Okanagan: the region's only fully private, member-owned club, operating on the same Glenmore Drive property since 1920 and carrying six original Macan greens from the 1962 layout. It offers an alternative to the hillside resort layouts that dominate the wider Kelowna golf calendar.