The Thompson Okanagan region has more than 50 18-hole golf courses offering panoramic mountain views, sage-covered desert terrain, and backdrops of orchards, vineyards and lakes.
Many Thompson Okanagan golf courses – including several award-winners – have been designed by renowned course architects such as Les Furber, Michael Hurdzan, Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Fred Couples.
Visit Okanagan golf trip ideas to learn more about golfing in this region, along with suggestions for places to stay and post-golf game activities.
Kelowna Golf Courses
Kelowna's Gallagher's Canyon delivers the quintessential Okanagan golf experience with exquisite scenery visible along its 6,802 yards. Gallagher's Canyon was listed among the Top 100 Courses in Canada bySCOREGolf magazine in 2008/2009.
For a unique golfing experience, try The Harvest Golf Club, home to a large working orchard. The property is also used to grow grapes for a local winery. The Okanagan Golf Club boasts the spectacular Bear Course, envisioned by Nicklaus Designs and built around a man-made lake, and the dramatic Quail Course, a Les Furber design.
Looking for something new? Tee off at The Club at Tower Ranch, opened in 2008 and named one of the top new Canadian golf courses by Golf Digest and SCOREGolf in 2009. Or check out the signature island green at the 6,394-yard Black Mountain Golf Club, which opened in 2009 and was a finalist in SCOREGolf's Best New Course in Canada 2010.
Kamloops Golf Courses
The stunning Tobiano, SCOREGolf's Best Public Course in Canada for 2009 and #16 on its Top 100 Golf Courses in Canada list, overlooks Kamloops Lake and was designed to highlight natural features such as bluffs, hoodoos and sagebrush-dotted gullies.
Kamloops is also home to the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed Rivershore Golf Links and The Dunes, a naturally beautiful course.
Other Key Thompson Okanagan Golf Courses
The highly acclaimed Predator Ridge Golf Resort in Vernon recently added the spectacular new Ridge Course, which SCOREGolf named Top New Course in Canada for 2010. The resort's Predator Course is consistently awarded 4.5 stars by Golf Digest and is listed among the top courses in the country by SCOREGolf.
Opened in Vernon in 2008, the Golf Club at The Rise has a Fred Couples Signature Course that looks out over Okanagan Lake from a vantage point of 400m/1,300ft above the water.
Heading for the Shuswap? Don't miss Talking Rock Golf Course in Chase, which highlights Aboriginal traditions and artwork. And soak up some history at the Salmon Arm Golf Club in Salmon Arm, established in 1928 at the base of an extinct volcano and ranked among the Top 100 Best Golf Courses in Canada by SCOREGolf in 2010.
Or travel south to Oliver, known as the "Wine Capital of Canada," to sample some outstanding vintages after a round at the Les Furber-designed Fairview Mountain Golf Club. There are 20 wineries located within 15 minutes of each other!
Practical Points
- The golf season runs approximately from March to November.
- Tee times should be booked in advance of arrival, especially in July and August.
- Many courses have a dress code in effect, so check ahead with the course or resort.
Golf Digest 4+ Star Courses
- Gallagher's Canyon Golf & Country Club
- Predator Ridge Golf Course
- Sunset Ranch Golf & Country Club
- The Dunes at Kamloops
- The Harvest Golf Club
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