The Olympic View Golf and Country Club, Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC

Olympic View was voted one of British Columbia's Top 3 values of 2005 by readers of Pacific Golf Magazine. Its practice facility was voted number 1 in its class the same year.

Vancouver Island is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful, scenic destinations in on the North American Continent. Better yet, the island is home to almost a dozen spectacular golf courses including my own favorite, Olympic View.

Breathtaking views across the Juan de Fuca Strait to the snow-covered Olympic Mountains form the back-drop for this beautiful golf course. Stand on the first tee, driver in hand, and it’s easy to imagine the gods of golf, high atop the tallest peak, scheming as to how they might test you over 18 holes that would challenge even the Tiger.

Low handicap, high handicap or pro, you’re sure to enjoy your round. No, you don’t have to play like Tiger. You just need a little restraint - leave the driver at home or in the bag.

Shot-making is the key to scoring well here. Smart players take a 3-wood or long iron off the tee and lay-up instead of “going for the green.” But “smart” is not so easy.

Take the short par 4, 12th, for instance. The smart play is a 5 or 6 iron along the fairway to the left, but the temptation is to grab a wood and try to clear more than 200 yards of water and make a birdie. How many hearts have been broken here I dread to think.

Then there’s the 17th, perhaps the most beautiful 417 yards in all of golf. From an elevated tee the fairway sweeps past an exquisite Japanese garden to the green where a spectacular, 80-foot waterfall cascades from the rocks above.

Olympic View is a journey of beauty and challenge. A poor score here will not dispirit, but good one will live on in your memory for ever.

Facilities at Olympic View are extensive and include a state-of-the-art practice and training area with 40 grass tees, six target greens, a 6,800-square-foot putting green, a 3,200-square-foot chipping and pitching green, and fairway and green-side practice bunkers.

The John Jacobs' Golf School at Olympic View is one of only two courses in all of Canada to host two, three and four-day programs of instruction.

The pro shop is well stocked, the staff helpful and friendly, the dining room spacious and comfortable and the food is just about as good as it gets. The 19th is a spacious lounge that features a complete a lunch and dinner menu.

Only 20 minutes from downtown Victoria, Olympic View offers VIP shuttle service from all the local hotels and ferry terminals in the city.