LOWER Mainland golfers are in an enviable position: our climate enables virtual year-round play and we have access to the best public courses in the country, in a market where courses are competing for our attention and green fees like never before.
For a business or organization to try to crack the lineup of public courses it takes vision, dedication, a commitment to excellence and a fiery competitive spirit. They have to give public golfers an excellent experience and back it up with a high level of service and all the intangibles that go to creating a unique destination.
Now open in Tsawwassen, the Tsawwassen Springs Golf Club provides all of that and more.
If you had played the old Tsawwassen course, you'll know where it is, but until you play the new Tsawwassen Springs course, you won't really know what it is.
The old course was a reliable track - short, mosquito-infested, and fairly easy - a favourite destination for industry tournaments where many participants weren't regular golfers.
Today, Tsawwassen Springs is at the heart of a new community planned and executed by people whose reputation for success is legendary. Ron Toigo's Shato Holdings, owners of the White Spot restaurants, the Vancouver Giants hockey club and numerous real estate developments around North America, have partnered with leading local names in golf, sports, entertainment and residential development.
Together they have created a quietly remarkable new neighbourhood that combines the Lower Mainland's best climate and easy access to major transportation hubs with award-winning design and amenities that even now is in its infancy.
Their partner in the residential development is Talisman Homes, multiple Georgie Award winners for design and commitment to owner satisfaction. They are integral to the construction of the 496 condominiums and detached homes that make up the Tsawwassen Springs community.
In concert with impresario Bruce Allen, hockey legend Pat Quinn and entertainer Michael Bublé, the Toigo family engaged local golf course designer Ted Locke to take a hard look at the expanded course real estate and completely reinvent it.
Ted Locke has earned a reputation for developing new courses with a natural feel that reflect and enhance the landscape at facilities like Langley's Redwoods and The Falls in Chilliwack. He also has a knack for updating existing courses and bringing them in line with playing experiences demanded by today's golfers.
He has overseen revitalization projects at Furry Creek, Seymour Golf and Country, Beach Grove, Point Grey and over a dozen other courses in B.C. Alberta and Washington State.
At Tsawwassen Springs he has both improved an existing layout and added a new one. The first 10 holes follow much of the old course's terrain but that's where the similarity ends. The front half of the course has been re-drawn and is light years ahead of its predecessor in both length and course condition.
It's a tightly woven warren of trees, narrow corridors and tiny greens. Fairways are lush and putting surfaces slick and water comes into play on 7 of the 10 holes.
On the back half of the course, it's all brand new. The wide open layout brings the wind into play and there's plenty of water and fescue to deal with.
It's a treat to play.
I had the opportunity to do just that recently and was joined by friends Dan Rothenbush, David Hanley and my colleague John Gallinger from the Delta Optimist Newspaper.
It was a gorgeous sunny Saturday in late August and the course had only been open for play a few weeks. I was expecting some new-course teething issues: turf not quite mature in some spots, bunkers not quite finished in other spots-but there were none.
Tsawwassen Springs was ready to go.
Improvements were evident on the first tee. Turf was healthy, tight and very well manicured. The old 160-yard opening hole had been replaced with a 310yard dogleg right par 4 and a promising round was underway. White fairway markers are at 125 yards and once we factored that into our shot calculations, course management got easier.
If memory serves, there was an abundance of par-3s on the old layout. Now there are three on the front and three on the back, as well as four par-5s and eight par-4's.
One of the knocks against the old Tsawwassen course was its length. At 5,439 yards from the championship tees, Tsawwassen Springs is within hailing distance of the white tees at Beach Grove, Squamish and Northlands so there's enough length for regular players.
From the front tees, at 4,010 yards, it's a good test for shorter hitters but make no mistake, this is not a "slamdunk" course. Regardless of your length off the tee, there's plenty of challenge and the small putting surfaces are very quick -an impressive feat for such a young facility.
The second hole is a very good example. At 226 yards from the tips, it's plenty of hole for players of any ability. There's water down the left side of the fairway and the big evergreens at the foot of English Bluff rise suddenly beyond. The right is well treed and your options for error are few.
The most difficult hole at Tsawwassen Springs is the 475yard par-5 fifth. Its long narrow fairway draws up to an elevated green guarded by sand and some mature trees on the left front of the green.
Dan made good contact and was in a little swale just off the right side of the green in two. What did he do? Chipped in for eagle, that's what. We howled. John managed a birdie, but was upstaged.
The second par-5 on the front nine, the 492-yard eighth hole, was a long rightward crescent with water all the way from tee to green down the left side. Ranked third hardest, the right edge was lined with trees, so accuracy was the order of the day. We played with a little more caution and kept errors to a minimum.
The back half of the course is all new and something of a revelation: as you cross the road to the 11th tee, you're faced with a wide open expanse of fairway and fescue. There are few trees to block the wind and there's water on seven of the eight holes.
It was a gorgeous view and worth pausing to absorb. There was a stylish new condo building to the left of the tee, flanked by a water hazard and practice green. Beyond the hole, the North Shore mountains rose above the Delta lowlands - stoic blue-hued sentinels guarding the Lower Mainland's northern frontier.
The fairway of the 301-yard 11th is a broad jade saddle, fringed with fescue baked to a crisp gold in the Tsawwassen sun. The landing area, at about 240 yards from the tee, was generous and a good beginning to this eminently playable section of the course.
One of the most interesting holes was the 334-yard par-4 14th. A wide fairway hangs a hard right at about the 250yard mark and bends along a narrow isthmus to the green. There's water left and right and your second shot needs to be spot on for any hope of par or better.
The second hardest hole on the course, the 484-yard par-5 16th, is a compact brute: a right-then-left double dogleg bounded by ponds to a green beyond view of the tee box. You have 220 yards down the left side and 250 down the right before water enters the conversation. The safe play is about 240 yards down the right side and hope you're far enough along to see the target.
The next hole, the 227-yard par-3 17th, is a long straightaway with water all the way down the left side and behind the green. This isn't your grandfather's Tsawwassen golf course.
The final tee box on the 484yard par-5 18th looked toward the whole of the new development. The fairway ran about 400 yards to where water guarded a peninsula green. It was a great finish to a highly enjoyable round.
Yet this is just the beginning for Tsawwassen Springs. Construction is well underway on more multi-family units and new detached homes are sprouting along selected fairways.
Ground has been broken on the new clubhouse beyond the 18th green. At 32,000 square feet, the new centre will feature a pro shop, restaurant, pub, fitness centre, spa, cafe and store for the new community's residents. There will be tennis courts and an outdoor skating rink for winter use.
In the reality of BC's competitive golf market, Tsawwassen Springs is a vast improvement over what existed before and has some serious game. Given the bench strength and competitive spirit of the team behind the dream, it will be interesting to watch it grow and flourish in the years ahead.
