Salmon Arm (Champions)

Situated just south of the Shuswap Lake in the beautiful Shuswap region of British Columbia, Salmon Arm Golf Club lies near the base of Mount Ida, the most northerly peak measuring more than 10,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains.

The course was a mere six holes in size for nearly seventy years, having been built by R.A. Steele in 1928. Then, in 1994, Les Furber designed an extended 18 hole championship course and added another nine hole course - well, if you’re going to upgrade the place, you may as well go the full distance!

In typical Furber fashion, the new holes blend in beautifully with their surroundings. Fairways and greens follow the natural contours of the terrain and are routed through towering fir and pine trees. As the course architect says, “…it’s one of the most natural sites around... designed by God… discovered by Furber.”

The signature hole is the 18th, a 504-yard par five which has true reward potential. It is reachable with two good blows down the relatively narrow, tree-lined fairway but the smart play is to lay up in front of the pond which protects the front of the green. A huge fairway bunker on the left of the fairway must also be avoided off the tee to have any chance of carding a five at the closing hole.

The clubhouse at the semi-private Salmon Arm Golf Club is a very informal place where the Ironwood Restaurant offers, as the club states, “pub style dining in a casual, relaxed atmosphere.” The clubhouse can cater for more than 100 golfers on the main level, 50 on the mezzanine, and an additional 60 on two outside patios.