Tee 2 Green - Eaglecrest Golf Course

You’re a visitor to Vancouver Island. You’re here to spend the holiday season with Junior and his new wife. You spot this handy little Island Times magazine and flipping through you come across ... a golf column?

No, we haven’t gone off our rockers here on the Rock. Golf on Vancouver Island is a year-long passion for many of us. Unless we get one of those infrequent stay-on-the-ground-for-more-than-a-week snow storms, (maybe once or twice a year) the average winter temperature of eight degrees Celsius is just fine for taking the clubs along on any visit to the Island. Throw on a toque, make sure you have dry golf boots, an extra sweater and outcha go. Hit the links.

On the Island, most courses are open year round. Sure they get a little soggy sometimes — hence golf boots. Lightweight, extremely comfortable and hardly different from regular golf shoes, you can pick up a pair for less than $150 at most golf pro-shops.

How serious are we about golf in the winter months? On Nov. 21, nearly 140 golfers turned out for the annual Bull Moose Golf Tournament at Eaglecrest Golf Club in Qualicum Beach, just north of Nanaimo in the central Island area (known as Oceanside). Eaglecrest has been hosting this tournament since 1992. That’s no bull.

Most courses play on regular greens and tee boxes throughout the winter, and Eaglecrest is one of the courses you want to try when you wander up to the Central Island.

Built as a nine-hole course in 1972 and expanded to 18 in 1990, Eaglecrest GC is a par-71, stretching out to just over 6,300 yards from the back tips. But don’t let the size fool you. This is no piece of cake.

If you are comforted by the modest length, you may be stressed by the narrowness. Simply put, more than half the holes at Eaglecrest are tight. Many fairways are flanked by trouble. Hazards, lakes, houses — even roads. Then again, that’s part of the attraction to this old course. Don’t sweat if you’re not a monster driver; just keep it in play and be patient. Rewards are coming when you get up to the flag.

The best part of Eaglecrest are the greens. Most are relatively small in size and any advantage the big hitters had getting there is nullified by the complexes awaiting the short stick. Undulating, angled, rarely straight up and down, Eaglecrest always rewards the good putters in your group.

Two holes in particular will get your attention. The par 5 14th, which has two lakes to contend with; and the par 4 17th. Long, narrow, and always demanding. But there are four great par 3’s here, and two other par 5’s besides 14 which can be birdied if you don’t get wild or greedy.

Overall, Eaglecrest is one place all golfers should try — winter or not. The service is always friendly with the Kim family, head golf professional Steve Hocking and their team always getting it right — the customers come first.