University Golf Club - Vancouver, BC

[Silver]

Well, I'd say this has probably adapted into my "home course", merely because of its location, and therefore, the amount I play it. Prior to September, 2004, I'd never even set foot on the course. Since, I've played it at least 7 times, maybe more. Basically, it's right beside UBC, where I go to uni (hence the name of the course), so when classes are cancelled and what not, one of the guys in my class and I default to popping over to there to play.

Because of the frost/wet conditions, golfers currently are teeing off of the 10th, because the back nine gets more sun and dries out more quickly. The front nine is more shaded, so much so that they've had to close one of the par 3s and move it over to a section of the back 9.

It's a nice course with good variety, but it's pretty wet this time of year and is more expensive than it should be in the summer (based on land costs, I presume). It's fully public, but not a muni. There are no longer any memberships there and it may end up being where I try to get a summer job. Haven't decided on that yet though.

1) 10th - Medium length Par 4 - A fairly long par 4 with a reasonable fairway, there is trouble on the left in the shadow midway down the fairway. It's a tough bunker to be in because it leaves you at about 120 yards. I think that of the 7 or so times I've played here, I've been in the right trees about 5 or 6 of them. I can be striping balls all day and get to this hole and bam - in the trees.

2) 11th - Longish Par 3 - played to about 190 today and I gave it a good run with my 5 iron. If you look, you can see all the swells and dips around the green. It's well protected by sand in each of those dips (except the front left, which is a grass bunker). There are about 5 traps surrounding here and I ended up in the one on the left past the grass bunker. It's a very fast and undulating green that never quite breaks how you think it will. I got out and 2 putted for a bogey and was happy to have it on the card. We once watched this tiny little guy nail a 5 iron to literally 2 inches on this hole. He was small and didn't have a lot of distance, but he had game. He'd never had a hole in one and said that was the closest he'd ever come. That fence is the back of the range (about 275) and one of the guys that used to work at the range used to bomb them over all day long. Being on the 11th green was a dangerous place to be when he was hitting.

3) 12th - Medium Par 4 - somehow, this is one tough hole. The fairway is very clearly sloped left to right and it's almost impossible to find yourself in a flat lie. Also, a well bunkered and FAST green make getting down in 4 a challenge for the average player. This course has a real penchant for well-bunkered greens (with steep faces, might I add).

4) This is a boring, but telling shot. This green is the replacement for the closed Par 3 7th hole (which has been a bane for me every time I've played here). I like this hole much more, as you can tell by my tee shot. Also, much like the one from Fraserview on Tuesday, I two putted for par.

[Silver]

1) 13th - Longish Par 5 - View from the 14th tee box. This is normally a fairly long par 5 with disaster if you leave the fairway because the woods can be really dense (this hole runs parallel to the 10th, above). However, due to the temporary 7th hole taking up half of the tee box, it's currently playing to about 420 yards for a par 5 (just a tad longer than the women's tees). It helps, I par'd it! It's a very sloped green with that major ridge up on the right side of the picture (where I landed today, as usual).

2 & 3) 14th - Par 4 - holy moguls in the fairway! These two basically show what they've done to make this hole more difficult. It's a fairly flat par 4, so what does UGC do? Moguls the fairway to death. If you get unlucky with your landing, you won't be a happy camper as you might have a full foot downhill lie. Luckily, I hit a good drive (to where I took the pics from) and had an easy 9I into the green.

4) 1st - Par 5 - What a way to open a golf course. A dogleg right is no big deal normally, but here - you REALLY do not want to go right because if you look through the trees, you can see University Blvd - the main drag that leads into the campus. I probably came about half an inch from nailing a bus on a bad slice in September. You want to stay left on this fairway as about 100 yards out from the green, you can see a very TALL clump of trees that basically sit down right in the right/middle of the fairway. The first time we played here, I grabbed my 7W on my second shot to play safe and play left of those trees and blocked it right over and about 20 feet shy of the green. I tell you, I was impressed with my own mistake.

Overall a nice course, but I got lazy with the camera because we were rushing to finish by 1:30 in order to be in class by 2:00, but more pictures will be forthcoming as the weather clears up.

Cheers!

[Rockford35]

Nice pics. Course looks nice during the "winter".

I wish I had a course like that so close. What are rates like for it?

Did he who had that putt in the one shot make his putt?

Sweet pics Silver, I need to see some green in January (besides the changes to Shot Talk!!)

R35

[bdcrowe]

That looks like somewhat of a scitzoid course. Tight and then open. I love courses like that. Looks like a great layout in great condition.

[Silver]

Rock - re the putt - basically, the 7th is a par 3 that gets virtually no sun and therefore stays very wet all winter. As a result, they've opened up this temporary replacement for it between the 12th and 13th. And I two-putted.

4) This is a boring, but telling shot. This green is the replacement for the closed Par 3 7th hole (which has been a bane for me every time I've played here). I like this hole much more, as you can tell by my tee shot. Also, much like the one from Fraserview on Tuesday, I two putted for par.

As for the rates - we paid $40 today for a weekday winter fee. Twilight is about $30 right now. Summer rates range from about $60 - $70 or so.

Also, the website is http://www.universitygolf.com - well designed website that includes layout of the holes and a downloadable scorecard that basically describes every single hole and how to play it.

It's a rating of 71.0 and slope of 122 from the Blues.

And yeah bd, it's nice and in okay condition, but the drainage is nowhere near as good as Fraserview's, so you still get a good amount of plugging in the fairway and a lot of those spots that look firm but then you step on them and the big puddle of water underneath it just sort of shifts over to another spot - it's kinda weird, almost like walking on jello or something.

[Bravo]

The pictures are beautiful. You are lucky to have such mild winter weather.....

Also a great price on the greensfees

[Silver]

Truth be told, this is about as good as it gets in January. We're back to clouds and rain today and for the extent of the long range forecast. That's okay though, I got two good rounds in for January - here's to hoping that week off in February will be nice too.

The fees aren't bad right now, but in summer, they're more expensive than they need to be because there are comparable or nicer courses offered for less, but the location is certainly tops. Basically, UBC is right on the ocean on the western tip of Vancouver and the course is just east of the school. The real estate in this area is *pricey*. Houses are all in the $1,500,000+ range.

This is a prime example of the housing in the area. Needless to say, I have to drive an hour into school every day because there is no way in hell I can afford to live out there.

I guess I just have to get used to the idea that my favourite sport is one of the most expensive to play.

[Silver]

Oh, and TM, I think I commented on the FV thread that our average temp is about 8*C through the winter these days. That's a guess, it might actually be a bit lower. It was about 4*C when we teed off and probably got up to about 9*C by the time we finished.

[Rockford35]

Sorry I didn't put the text together with the pics. I read through it, but when I saw the pic, didn't put two and two together. Sorry Silver.

Nice course, anyways. Sorry about the two putt.....

R35

[Golfbum]

BEAUTY COURSE, I would love to play that track.

[Silver]

Sorry I didn't put the text together with the pics. I read through it, but when I saw the pic, didn't put two and two together. Sorry Silver.

Nice course, anyways. Sorry about the two putt.....

R35

I'll forgive you...this time.

But you better watch it, or else!

[Silver]

BEAUTY COURSE, I would love to play that track.

You dig those huge puddles (or "spontaneous water hazards" as I like to call them) on 14 too, huh?

I'm on a roll with the camera, I'm gonna keep taking it along for my rounds, so eventually you guys will have the unfortunate pleasure of seeing every course I ever play!

[DaveE]

I'll forgive you...this time.

But you better watch it, or else!

Better be careful Rock, he's gonna be a lawyer.

Great pics Silver, you are getting good with the camera. We have nothing like that here. Maybe in addition to our snow bird winter outing we should have a head north in the summer outing as well.

[Silver]

No courses like this? It's pretty much just trees and grass. Oh wait, you're in Tx, right? I can understand that then, I guess (this is based purely on my surely inaccurate view of Texas as a desert full of cactii and rock formations).

We've got lots of trees and hills, so it makes for a good environment for some interesting courses.