Glacier Greens Golf Course is in great condition

By Keith and Heather Nicol

      We had been wanting  to revisit Glacier Green golf course for a while and so with our son Michael visiting we decided we could show him the front nine on Monday, August 19  and then we played the back nine on Friday, August 23.  We have been sampling several course in the Comox Valley over the last 10 days  and Glacier Green was certainly in the best condition given the dry summer we have had.  The green and tee boxes at Glacier Green were in great shape and most fairways were as well.  Some of the other courses we have played lately had  hard, brown fairways but not here (see photo below). 

The fairways were a treat to play on - green and well mowed

        We were fortunate to play with some locals on Monday since they could tell us which side of the fairway to try to hit toward and other strategic pointers. Fred Williams was one of our four some and he has been playing here since 1991 so needless to say he knew this course.  One aspect of Glacier Greens layout that we noted was that it has quite a few dog legs which force you to play your shots straight and to one side of the fairway or the other.  As well there is a good mix of water and sand traps to force you to think carefully about your approach shots. Most fairways are reasonably wide but there are enough narrow ones that again put an emphasis on straight ball hitting. We saw several deer on the course and Fred told us that they are very common and can been seen on just about any hole.

Michael putting on the 8th hole

       We played the back nice on Friday , August 23 around 3:00 pm and turned out to be the perfect time to play. Not only did we not see anyone ahead of us but we also didn’t have anyone behind us. It was like we had the course to ourselves which made for a very relaxing round.  The back nine is abit more open and provides good views of the Beaufort Range and the course is right next to the Comox Airport so the control tower is a backdrop on some holes.  Last time we played in 2017 parts of the back nine were under construction with the building of a water retention pond.  It was nice to see the final product which is a water feature along holes 14 and 16.  We really liked the layout of the last few holes and although the last hole is just 316 yards (par 4) it is very tough with trees and a pond protecting the green.  

We liked the tree lines fairways

 The front nine is a par 36 (2952 yards off the white tees) and the back nine is 200 yards shorter and is a par 35. The course is known for its lessons including fitting you with proper length clubs.  Glacier Greens  is full service with a driving range, putting green, clubhouse and pro shop. They are also one of the few courses here that are open year around so watch for various golf specials. We want to come back to play the course in the fall when the autumn colours should really enhance several holes. For more information see:  http://www.glaciergreens.com/. 

Heather putting on the 14th green